The Easter Bunny – is this cryptid real, or something born of legend and lore? And just what the heck does a candy-making rabbit have to do with the most important Christian celebration – ever? CryptoVille investigates!

The Bunny is Born

German legend tells us the story of Eostre, a maiden goddess who, one fine Spring morning, was walking along a field full of blooming yellow flowers. Snow fell overnight and there was a light dusting on top of this blooming groundcover.

Eostre quickly noticed a fallen bird on its back, freezing in the snow, unable to fly and in great distress. Moved with pity, she picked up the little creature and saw it was near death. To save it, she quickly transformed the bird into a hare. The bird, now a bunny, was forever grateful and followed Eostre wherever she went.

There was one little side effect of the quick transformation, though – the bunny/bird never lost the ability to lay eggs. Each time she did, the bunny painted the egg in bright colors and gave it to Eostre as a gift.

Symbolism and Beliefs

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the rabbit/hare was a symbol of fertility to the ancient Teutonic people (Germans) because they also noticed how quickly rabbits reproduce. In fact, in ancient times, the people thought somehow invoking a rabbit would assist them with any reproductive problems they were having. The tradition of carrying a rabbit’s foot sprang from this belief.

In addition, Eostre was their goddess of fertility and eggs were another symbol of fertility. So, Springtime and fertility, even in its sense of rebirth, was huge to these northern Europeans.

After the long hard winters of northern Europe, the ancient pagans were delighted to celebrate the coming of Spring and they had their own festivals and traditions long before Christianity arrived on the scene.

They further embellished the story of Eostre and her hare by adding that at one point, she launched the poor animal into space and created the constellation Lepus the Hare. (Maybe she was tired of it following her everywhere?)  Presumably the hare came safely back to Earth because the pagans continued to believe it laid eggs every Spring.

Major Influence of Christianity

Time went on and Christianity expanded through Europe, finally reaching the northern tier of countries.  As was their custom, they tried to draw parallels between the faith and local traditions. For example, the Spring festivals were condensed into the celebration of Easter.

How did the Easter bunny make the transition? No one is sure, but the first historically accurate mention of the fuzzy-tailed creature came in the notes of a professor of medicine in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1684. In his notes, he deliberates the ill-effects of eating too many Easter eggs.

Westward Ho

German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania brought all their Easter traditions with them, including the Easter bunny. By the 1800s Germans were making chocolate bunnies to celebrate Easter. Other candies and treats were added over time.

In the old country, children would make nests for the eggs the Easter bunny would bring in their little caps and bonnets. But once in the United States, the tradition of putting the treats in a basket became most popular.

The Easter basket tradition spread far and wide not only in America, but abroad as well.

Other German Traditions

Here’s a rundown of some other German Easter traditions:

Easter Bonfires

An ancient tradition, lighting a bonfire on Easter Saturday night, preferably with the wood from your previous Christmas tree, would help protect anything and anyone the light shone on from illness and misfortune.

Other Animals that Delivered Easter Treats

I know, the thought is horrifying – something else usurped the Easter bunny as deliverer of Spring treats? Well, yes. This happened in some parts of Germany and Switzerland. Here’s a list of those interlopers:

• Osterfuchs – Easter fox.  His eggs were dyed yellow using yellow onion skins. The children would hunt for and collect them.
• Easter rooster: Apparently stole the eggs from the hens and then ran around giving them away. Nowadays we’d probably call that job security.
• Easter stork: Words fail.
• Easter chick: I have to think these babies would be too small to carry anything, but OK.

Fortunately, the Easter bunny won the race, and these other interlopers have all but faded into the past.

Easter Trees

We do love decorating trees in this country and elsewhere in the Western world. This charming tradition came about by hanging Easter eggs on branches on outdoor trees, as well as inside on little trees, or even a vase of branches.

Easter Lamb

This one wasn’t trying to deliver eggs and candy, instead, it’s a cake! There are quite a few ways to make an “Osterlamm” depending on your sweet tooth’s preference. Check them out on Pinterest.

Easter Market

Germany’s Ostermarkte (Easter market) is said to be just as wonderful as their world-renowned Christmas market. It’s full of beautiful artwork and crafts as well as treats to please any palate! Must put this on my bucket list. How about you?

So that’s how the Easter bunny came into existence. Is he real, or just a charming bunny tail tale? When I was little, we put out a carrot the night before Easter and sure enough, every Easter morning, the carrot had been partially eaten. The proof? The two prominent teeth marks left on the carrot! This meant the Easter bunny had been to our home.

So, I’m going to go with “I believe” on this one!  😉

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Wishing you all a very Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and a Lovely Spring! And as always, thank you for visiting CryptoVille!

References

https://dehorton52.wordpress.com/

https://www.thoughtco.com/german-easter-traditions-1444511

Some of the articles I used for this post are no longer available online.