What Do a Rabbit, Colored Eggs and Candy Have to Do With Jesus?

[LongTomH]

There's a great post by Kari Henley, over at the Huffington Post site, on the history of Easter and equinoctial customs in general.

Ever stopped to wonder how bunnies, eggs and scavenger hunts are related to Easter's religious celebration of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again? Strange bedfellows they are. I never had any idea as a kid. No one seemed to question the whole odd mix: why would a rabbit have a basket of eggs in the first place, and how that tied in to crucifixion and resurrection was another matter. Let's explore some Easter myths while popping a few chocolate Cadbury treats, shall we?

I grew up in a vaguely Christian family, and today am sort of a floating generalist. Our kids celebrate Jewish and Christian holidays, and are exposed to Buddhism, Hinduism and Native American practices. God has many names to us and we are not members of a church.


It seems the name 'Easter' and the bunny & egg bit may all derive from a Germanic goddess who went by the names: Ostara or Oestre / Eastre. She was goddess of spring and who especially loved children. There's a lot more here, enough to make the article really interesting, like the fact that Ostara / Oestre / whatever may have been invented as a joke by an early Christian monk.

It seems the name 'Easter' and the bunny & egg bit may all derive from a Germanic goddess who went by the names: Ostara or Oestre / Eastre. She was goddess of spring and who especially loved children. There's a lot more here, enough to make the article really interesting, like the fact that Ostara / Oestre / whatever may have been invented as a joke by an early Christian monk.

Read on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kari-henley/what-does-a-rabbit-colore_b_185636.html

There's more information on equinoctial myths and fables on the Wikipedia page defining equinox.

By the way, if you haven't read Land Shark's beautiful post: "Getting to the Heart of the Matter - What would an Autopsy on the Death of Jesus Show?," I do highly recommend you read it now!

[ZombieHorde]

1. Fertility, spring, Resurrection. (except for the candy) nt

[Sal Minella]

3. ...... oestrus cycle ......

[ZombieHorde]

5. For the soul. nt

[Sal Minella]

11. for anything that has ovaries, actually.

[Neoma]

2. I just thought....

That when Jesus was stabbed, colored eggs popped out.

[Warpy]

4. There are other traditions associated with this

"Despite claims being made that Easter Eggs were originally pagan symbols, there is no solid evidence for this. It was not until the 18th Century that Jakob Grimm theorised a putative pagan connection to Easter Eggs with a goddess of his own whom he named Ostara, a suggested German version of Eostre.

"At the Passover Seder, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The ancient Persians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the Spring Equinox. This tradition has continued every year on Nowrooz since ancient times."

http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/icons/easter_egg.htm

People in the ancient world were great travelers, buying and selling goods along the way while exchanging customs.

Notably absent are the Celtic traditions, which are reserved for May Day.

[Fovea]

6. Have a happy Oestarra!

May your season be fertile, in all the ways you need.

[MineralMan]

7. May you have a happy spring fertility holiday...

Fuck like bunnies, try not to lay an egg, and eat all the candy you can find. That's my advice.

[Fovea]

13. I cant eat much candy

but I will work on the first two.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. It means go forth and multiply like rabbits.

Eggs lusty bunnies and chocolate!

[Neo Atheist]

9. St. Peter was actually a rabbit

look more closelier at the painting Leonardo Da Vinci made of the Last Supper.



Only the Hare Club for Men was aware of the fact that the first Pope of the Catholic Church was in fact a rabbit.

[Ian David]

10. Lucifer's Testicles

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/eastereggs.html

[Occam Bandage]

12. Oh no! Jesus is coming! Hide the eggs!

[and-justice-for-all]

14. Well. nothing...

The eggs and the rabbit are pagan/Druid or something to that affect. It is a fertility holiday in celebration of Estre/Ester.

[ChelseaCenior]

15. Hmmmm

Jesus loved bunnies, and wished that eggs were colorful and filled with candy, that's exactly how it all fits together