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The Easter Bunny Origins

 


Acknowledgements: 

I got most of the history and information on the Easter Bunny from Country Living (see link at bottom of post)


How did the Easter Bunny become associated with Easter? How did it become a bearer of colorful eggs and gifts? Well as most folklore, The Easter Bunny harkens from Germany as Oschter Haws or Easter Hare who lays colorful eggs. Its earliest mention is in the 1572 “A Dictionary of English Folklore,” which reads, “Do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you; should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest.” 


Moving forward to 1682, we find the German Botanist Georg Franck von Franckenau telling children the tale of the Easter Hare and it laying colorful eggs, and having the children looking for those eggs in his garden, which is the beginning of Easter Egg Hunts. Then in 1757 Dutch Settlers brought the Easter Bunny to Colonial America, and as time went on the traditions became more elaborate, like chocolate easter bunnies. 


The Easter Bunny does not have a direct connection to Christ, some claim it is connected to the goddess Ishtar (Ashteroth in the Bible) who was a false goddess of sexuality and fertility. Which may be why Mary The Madonna in Catholicism had hares/ rabbits about her, in the 16th Century painting by Titian called “The Madonna and The Rabbit” features a white rabbit with Mary. Roman Catholics called Mary The Queen of Heaven, which is the same title Ishtar/Ashteroth has, “The women added, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes impressed with her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?”

 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him, “Did not the Lord remember and call to mind the incense burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem by you and your ancestors, your kings and your officials and the people of the land? When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became a curse and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today. Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see.” (Jeremiah 44:19-24). Thus it is likely that the association of Mary Queen of Heaven in Catholicism with rabbits is because the Catholic Mary is Ishtar/ Ashteroth returned. The real Mary of the Bible was ordinary woman who even declared she too needed a savior because she is a sinner, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:47). However, the Easter Bunny as we know it today is not directly tied to Ishtar of antiquity, that it aforementioned dates from the folklore of 1572. The false goddess Ashteroth had hares or rabbits plural to represent her fertility, because rabbits breed rapidly; the Easter Bunny is singular and tall anthropomorphized character. Thus it is a stretch to claim that the Easter Bunny is a servant of Ishtar. 


The Easter Hare like Santa Claus bothers me not because of its origins, but that it supplants and usurps Christ as the focus (Hebrews 12:2), especially for children. Easter and Christmas are the holiest holidays in the Church, one celebrating the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the other the Birth of Christ. That two folklore figures of Santa and The Easter Bunny having arisen to overshadow Jesus during these holidays seems to me a work of Satan to ensure our Lord does not get the focus and glory during his holidays! As for should you introduce the Easter Bunny Folklore to your children, that is for your conscience, but let me raise this concern, when your children learned you told them The Easter Bunny and folklore Santa is not real, will they not then question your teachings that the Lord God is real? You have already established you tell lies about magical and powerful beings, will they not then wonder about your message about God? For that reason I think these traditions are dangerous, because Jesus is real and exists! The Easter Bunny does not. I say do not add a stumbling block to your children that the devil can use for doubt later. If you intend to introduce the Easter Bunny, tell it like Cinderella and other folklore, explaining it is an imaginary story, and if the kids want to pretend as kids do that easter hare visits with colorful eggs, then at least you were honest and they can trust you about God and the Gospel, since you did not deceive them by saying the Easter Bunny is real. Amen. 




Sources:


Country Living

https://www.countryliving.com/life/a41715/easter-bunny-origins/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=arb_ga_clv_md_dsa_prog_org_us_a41715&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItr3Xgv_fhAMVhg2tBh06XQUZEAAYASAAEgJxX_D_BwE


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