Today is Easter. Christians celebrate this day to remember and rejoice in when Jesus Christ was resurrected three days after being crucified.
So, wait, what does the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs have to do with all of this? Well let's find out.
First, let's talk about Easter in general. It's named after the goddess of spring, Eastre. It was actually a festival that the pagan Anglo Saxons celebrated in honor of her. They celebrated it each year during the vernal equinox, or as many of us know it, Spring. Christians wanted to convert these pagans in a way most comfortable for them. Basically, they let them keep their festivals and celebrations, however, since Easter was during the time that the Christians honored and celebrated the resurrection of Christ, Easter was then turned into a Christian holiday.
With that in mind, let's figure out all this Easter Bunny and Easter egg stuff out, shall we?
Spring is thought of as a time of rebirth, renewal, and life. When you think of springtime, you think of flowers growing, trees getting their green back, and animals and their little babies frolicking around, right? That would the renewal, rebirth, and life. So, when you think about that, it's easy to understand how these two Easter traditions are symbols of fertility.
The Easter Bunny used to be known as the Easter Hare. But either way, this mammal sure does have a lot of minis running around, doesn't it? Which is why it's one of the symbols of Easter, rebirth, and renewal.
The egg, in general, was thought to be symbol of new life in some religions, and for Christians, it is symbolic of Christ resurrecting because it is the "seed of life." In other words, this too, is a symbol of rebirth, and life and such. Thus, the egg became a symbol of Easter. That equals the Easter egg.
It all makes sense now, doesn't it? Now that you know about the stories and history of these popular Easter traditions and symbols, have fun with these fun Easter facts.
* More than half of Americans prefer to bite the ears of a chocolate bunny before anywhere else.
* Kids' favorite flavor jelly bean is the red one.
* Easter is America's second biggest candy-eating day. (Halloween is first of course.)
* Originally, painting the eggs was called "Pysanka."
Have a great Easter, Whyvillians!
~fairypup2
Author's Note: Sources:
http://www.harlowherald.co.uk/content/hlwherald/news/story.aspx?brand=HLHOnline&category=NewsHarlow&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=newslatestHLH&itemid=WEED01%20Apr%202010%2016%3A42%3A11%3A633
http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm
http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/easter.htm
http://www.yumsugar.com/Easter-Fun-Facts-200482
http://lilduckduck.com/13-fun-facts-about-easter/998
http://www.parents.com/holiday/easter/crafts/fun-easter-facts-and-crafts/
