So why do we celebrate Easter? And what is it with the eggs and bunnies? (2024)
Easter is a Christian festival and properly begins on Ash Wednesday and has the 40 days of Lent (a time of fasting or giving up something for many) leading up to Holy Week, for Easter is actually a whole week-long festival in many churches across the world.
During Lent the act of alms giving is also very important for many Christians with financial, food and other giving increased for the duration of lent.
In our modern society it must be admitted that the commercialisation of Easter is fully established, and the eggs are in supermarkets from the start of January. Sending of cards is also now a popular event, a little like the Christmas cards which rose to eminence in Victorian society.
Eggs have been used for thousands of years to indicate the hope of new life and hope as the (northern) world gets lighter and warmer. Flowers begin to spring and young animals are born. Probably where the easter bunny comes from.
Records indicate that as early as 200 years after Jesus’ life the early church decorated eggshells red to signify the blood and empty tomb. This may also have “appropriated” earlier festivals and easter also coincides with the Jewish Passover festival. All however relate to the new life experience, and this is what the Christian church wished to use in its festivals, as we believe Jesus gives new life by what was accomplished at the cross.
In the earlier church, eggs were also one of the foods “given up” for lent as a part of the fasting. So the return of eggs to the menu (having allowed the chickens to ‘rest’) was a very important part of the feast that followed the Lenten time.
Easter is an important Christian festival – it’s when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Christ died on a cross on a day called Good Friday. Was buried for three days. According to the Bible, Jesus was then resurrected and came back to life on Easter Sunday.
This significant event, historically attested to outside the church by many, is still having a great impact on our world 2,000 years later. It is this which gives Christians their hope.
After His resurrection, Christ ate and drank in the company of His disciples. “We, who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection…” In our festivals, and the communion that is involved, we join in this remembrance and look forwards to His kingdom.
The Easter story is the decisive move of God in saving humankind from sin and restoring all things to Himself.
So convinced were the apostles of the reality of Christ’s resurrection, that they almost all met a martyr’s death for the sake of their faith.
Easter is a time for joy, feasting and love to all as we recall the steps God took to allow us all to approach and be reconciled to Him.
May your Easter, however you celebrate it, be one of rest, joy and hope for a brighter future.
The answer may lie in combining iconography. Eggs, just like the rabbit, have long been considered an ancient symbol of fertility, rebirth and new life, all associated with the springtime celebration of Easter! From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection and his emergence from the tomb.
Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.
And what do they have to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Well, nothing. Bunnies, eggs, Easter gifts and fluffy, yellow chicks in gardening hats all stem from pagan roots. They were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition of honoring the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
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.
In Germany in the 1700s children would build nests, and leave carrots out for the "Osterhase" or "Oschter Haws" - the Easter bunny. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs for good children, as they are also a symbol of new life.
The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolized new life emerging from the eggshell. In the Orthodox tradition, eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The egg-coloring tradition has continued even in modern secular nations.
Easter actually originated as an ancient pagan celebration of the spring equinox. In Christianity, the day was dedicated to observing the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrated around the time of the Jewish Passover.
The most prominent secular symbol of the Christian holiday, the Easter bunny, was reportedly introduced to America by the German immigrants who brought over their stories of an egg-laying hare.
Throughout history, people have given each other eggs at spring festivals to celebrate the new season. Eggs represent new life and rebirth, and it's thought that this ancient custom became a part of Easter celebrations.
There's no mention of the Easter Bunny in the Bible of course, so its origins aren't necessarily religious. And why does the Easter Bunny bring eggs to children on the holiest day of the Christian calendar?
If Good Friday is a day of sorrow and remembrance, it begs the question – why is it called “Good” Friday? Good Friday is called "good" because of the religious significance of the day for Christians, who believe that Jesus's death on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins.
We shouldn't worry too much that the word “Easter” or the celebration itself is not found in Scripture. The term “Trinity” is not found in Scripture either, yet we affirm its biblical significance.
Writings from the 17th century in Germany describe the “Oschter Haws” (Easter hare) for the first time. According to folklore, the Easter hare would lay colorful eggs in the nests (baskets) of well behaved children. German immigrants brought this tradition of the Easter Bunny to the United States in the 18th century.
Sometime in the 1600s, the Germans converted the pagan rabbit image into Oschter Haws, a rabbit that was believed to lay a nest of colored eggs as gifts for good children. Since males don't lay eggs, one would surmise the 'Easter Bunny' must then be female.
Accounts from the 1600s in Germany describe children hunting for Easter eggs hidden by the Easter hare, much as in the United States today. Written accounts from England around the same time also mention the Easter hare, particularly in terms of traditional Easter hare hunts and the eating of hare meat at Easter.
It actually has nothing to do with the biblical Easter (obviously). It dates back to 13th Century Germany where they worshiped gods and goddesses including the goddess Eostra, who was the goddess of fertility. Since rabbits are very fertile and eggs represent fertility, that's how the bunnies and eggs came into play.
The use of eggs as favors or treats at Easter originated when they were prohibited during Lent. A common practice in England in the medieval period was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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