Where did the Easter bunny come from, and how does it relate to eggs and Easter?
For the last 100 years in the West (especially in the USA) there has been a tradition of hiding painted eggs (now they are mostly made of chocolate), which children then look for. They are supposedly hidden by an Easter bunny.
German folk legends told of him as a sacred animal, a symbol of the mother goddess, patroness of spring and fertility. The hare symbol was associated with the arrival of spring and the rebirth of life.
According to legends, the goddess Oestra (from no name comes the English. Easter - Easter) found a wounded bird, and to save it - turned into a rabbit. However, he retained the ability to lay eggs. And then every year he presented decorated eggs to the goddess in gratitude for his salvation.
Already in the 16th century, a Christian legend about the Easter bunny appeared: he allegedly saved the Archangel Gabriel, who came down to earth, from robbers. And the hare promised him that he would bring decorated eggs to honest workers.
The legend has taken root, it has come to the liking of both children and adults, and every Easter, Catholics arrange games with the search for hidden Easter eggs.The egg - like the rabbit - is a symbol of fertility. According to one of the legends, when Christ died and then rose again, Mary Magdalene came to the Roman emperor Tiberius and brought an egg with her (she had nothing else).
She reported the news of the resurrection, the emperor did not believe: dead - resurrected, it's as if a white egg turns red. And at that moment, it allegedly turned into the color of the blood of Christ. This explains the tradition of painting eggs red. Then it developed to multi-colored decorating and painting.
You will also be interested to read:
- How to explain to a child the meaning of Easter
- How beautiful to paint eggs for Easter
- Easter traditional recipes
