What’s up with the Easter Bunny?

The idea of rabbits bearing eggs has been around much longer than Easter. Here’s the story.

Easter is a lunar (moon) festival rather than a solar (sun) event. The celebration of Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Spring Equinox, one of two days in the year when days and nights are exactly equal in length.

Eostre, Goddess of the Dawn

The name of the Christian holiday Easter is derived from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the Dawn, which is why we call where the sun rises the “East.” Eostre is also the goddess of Springtime, the morning of the year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) when the earth wakes up after a long winter’s sleep.

If you look closely at the picture, you will see Eostre holds in her hand an egg, a symbol of new life. Whether they consciously know it or not, eggs are related to Christianity because Jesus also promised new life to his followers. This is another example of Christianity adopting “pagan” ideas and symbols to make the new religion attractive as it spread across the pagan world.

Rabbits are playful animals, especially at night, when they like to gambol under the light of the moon and the stars. According to legend, Eostre became angry at the rabbit for keeping everyone up one night and cast it into the heavens. Today we can see the constellation Lepus the Hare, at the feet of Orion.

Eostre also has a rabbit in her lap. Rabbits were special to Eostre because they are born in springtime with their eyes wide open, ready to greet the day. Since Easter opens a new time for us (the gifts of the new season for all and the promise of new life for Christians) rabbits, especially the Easter Bunny, have become an integral part of the season.

Because she knew the rabbit was only being naughty, Eostre gave Lepus the gift of laying eggs once a year, which is why we have the modern-day tradition of the Easter Bunny delivering Easter eggs. And once a month, she allows the rabbit to play on the biggest egg of all: the full moon.

Look closely at the full Easter moon and see if you can find the Rabbit. The dark areas to the top of the full moon are the head, with the ears pointing to the upper right. Below are two large circular areas representing its body. And at the very top is …an egg! So every time you look at the full moon, remember the gifts the Easter Bunny brings once a year, and if you are Christian, the gift of new life promised by your faith. In any case, now you know the full story. H0ppy Easter!