Why Bunnies for Easter?

Copilot responds with: Rabbits are associated with Easter due to their symbolism of fertility and new life, which aligns with the themes of spring and rebirth celebrated during the holiday. The tradition of the Easter Bunny delivering eggs can be traced back to German folklore, where an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” rewarded well-behaved children with colorful eggs. Over time, this custom spread to other countries, evolving into the modern Easter Bunny we know today. (This still makes me wonder what were the ancient Germans thinking about. Did they not know where eggs came from? I had a student once long ago ask me if ham came from a pig but he grew up in the city and had no idea where food came from. In his mind it came from the store.)

Interestingly, the connection between rabbits and Easter isn’t rooted in Christianity but rather in older pagan traditions celebrating spring and renewal. (There is a surprise thought. Early Christian influencers tied their new ideas to the old ones everyone had previous.)

Google’s AI engine responds with: Rabbits are associated with Easter due to their strong symbolic representation of fertility and new life, which aligns with the springtime celebration of rebirth and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This association stems from pagan traditions, particularly the veneration of goddesses like Ēostre (Anglo-Saxon) and Ostara (Germanic) who were associated with fertility and spring. (I think Google asked Copilot for the answer.)

From the BBC we get: Even though symbolism and animal fables from the East have entered European iconography, the origins of the Easter Bunny might lie closer to home. Most Christian symbols derive from Biblical sources, although some survived from the art cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.

The Bible offers mixed attitudes towards rabbits. In the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, they are referred to as impure animals. (Israelites are forbidden to eat them and other animals.) However, in Psalms and Proverbs they are described as possessing some intelligence, although ultimately condemned as weak. (There also seems a confusion about rock-badgers and rabbits and hares which could be a translation issue.)

What fascinated ancient Greek and Roman writers most about our leporine friends was their fertility. The philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), for example, noted how rabbits could breed at jaw-dropping speed. Another influential writer, Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), mistakenly believed that their breakneck procreation was due to the fact that hares were hermaphrodites, and that childbirth was shared by both males and females. Could the Easter Bunny be connected to this classical idea of fertility, used to express the rejuvenation and fecundity of springtime? (The picture included is from the BBC. – Whereas in Pisanello’s Allegory of Luxuria (1426), a rabbit takes on a completely different meaning (Credit: Alamy)

… and…

These biological traits of rabbits and hares also prompted association with fertility in otherwise disconnected cultures. In Aztec mythology, there was a belief in the Centzon Tōtōchtin – a group of 400 godly rabbits who were said to hold drunken parties in celebration of abundance.

Even within Europe, different societies used rabbits as an icon of fecundity and linked them to deities of reproduction. According to the writings of the Venerable Bede (673-735 AD), an Anglo-Saxon deity named Ēostre was accompanied by a rabbit because she represented the rejuvenation and fertility of springtime. Her festival celebrations occurred in April, and it is commonly believed that through Ēostre we have acquired the name for Easter as well as her rabbit sidekick. If this is right, it means that long ago, Christian iconography appropriated and adopted symbols from older, pagan religions, blending them in with its own.

Does this close the case on the origins of the Easter Bunny? The problem with trying to give any definitive answer is the lack of evidence. Apart from Bede, there is no clear link between Ēostre and Easter, and Bede can’t be considered a direct source on Anglo-Saxon religion because he was writing from a Christian perspective. While it might seem very likely, the connection can never be proved for certain.

Rather like in Alice in Wonderland, the white rabbit can never be fully grasped. Through history, rabbits and hares have been seen as sacred and the epitome of craftiness.

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I fell down this rabbit hole this morning after receiving a Happy Easter greeting via text message from my sister-in-law with an easter bunny doing a happy dance with Danny Kaye singing on YouTube. I sort of got stuck on Venerable Bede who lived from 672 to 735 as well as Deuteronomy and Leviticus. I could not find any reference to rabbits or hare in Proverbs or Psalms in my New American Bible. A rock-badger is a different although similar animal.

Venerable Bede (Bede, the venerable or simply St. Bede) described in detail how to compute the date of Easter among his writings and he wrote a lot. An early English writer, so early it was not England yet, he has a lot of writings and commentary on things christian. Not the least of which is an early computation of how many years after the start of the world was Jesus born. (This got him in trouble with the heresy police.) He wrote this near his death, “Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man who considers—before his soul departs hence—what good or evil he has done, and what judgment his soul will receive after its passing.” (translated to modern English)

Enough! It is springtime. It is Easter Sunday. The sun is shining. There is new grass on the field. (Sorry that is from a song.) A lot of things are coming together this week for me.

Happy thoughts only! He has risen.

Carpe Diem.