O Easter Bunny is known as an important symbol of the Easter, Christian celebration commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This figure established itself as a paschal symbol from the 19th century onwards and is currently known for bringing the eggs of chocolate for children.
Accessalso: Do you know when Lent started?
meaning of the easter bunny
We all know the tradition of the Easter bunny and its role of bringing the chocolate eggs, as well as the Santa Claus bring the gifts in the Christmas. The Easter bunny keeps the eggs hidden, and the children who find them keep them. In the name of this tradition, many parents play the game of hiding eggs around the house so that their children can look for them.
This story has a lot to do with the germanic folk culture, for in Germany there was the legend about the Osterhase, a hare that brought decorated eggs to children during the period of the spring equinox. The hare brought the eggs and hid them, it was up to the children to find them.
This legend was brought to the United States by German immigrants from the 18th century onwards, becoming popular there. There is a lot of speculation about its probable origin, whether it is pagan or Christian, but the fact is that it is impossible to make this definition.
What we do know is that the way we see Easter was modified, from the 19th century onwards, to turn this celebration into something more familiar. This process understood Easter as a festivity to be celebrated in the family and contributed to establishing the rabbit as one of its symbols.
This process is also related to the how Western societies came to see childhood. This stage of life came to be seen as a period in which, in addition to preparing for adulthood, the child could have access to leisure and situations that made them happy.
This new perspective on childhood reverberated at Easter, making it something more familiar, and the game of looking for eggs is part of this change in childhood as a most fun phase in the formation of the human being. Besides, it was a home game.
Finally, the impacts of all this development caused a new symbol to emerge: the rabbit. This is because, as mentioned, the legend spoke of the hare, a larger and more aggressive animal. O rabbit, in turn, is smaller and more docile, and transforming Easter into a family celebration involved creating a more tamable symbol.
As we can see, with the Easter bunny another symbol was established: the Easter egg. The egg was a very traditional symbol (in pagan cultures of Europe and the Orient) of fertility and was understood as a symbol of the renewal of life. Therefore, in certain places and times, eggs were decorated and distributed as gifts.
Accessalso: Why Ash Wednesday?
Origin of the Easter Bunny
The origins of the rabbit as a symbol of Easter are difficult to be precise, but some information helps us to understand this matter. The rabbit is an animal of great symbolism, both in pagan and Christian cultures.
Paganism
The most common relationship with the rabbit in pagan cultures is to associate it with the fertility symbol, given the great capacity it has to reproduce. Traditionally, there is a rabbit as a symbol of eostre, germanic goddess also known as Ostara, reported by an 8th-century monk named Bede.
Ostara was known as the goddessgivesspring, when nature is reborn, after winter. This rebirth of nature is linked to fertility, an attribute for which she was also known. This association of the rabbit with Ostara is, however, questioned by many scholars.
A Germanic legend said that Ostara decided to turn a bird into a rabbit, but the animal would have been unhappy with its new form and asked to return to its original form. Ostara granted the request, and the bird gratefully presented the Germanic goddess with colored eggs, which she distributed to the children.
You Grimm brothers, important Germanic folklorists of the 19th century, associated the legend of the hare (which took eggs to children and hid them) with the goddess Ostara. The Easter bunny in German is known as Osterhase, name quite similar to the Germanic goddess. Again, historians have no historical proof of this theory.
Christianity
In Christianity there is also an association of the rabbit with important passages of this religion. Initially the symbol used was the hare, and, as mentioned, over time it was replaced by the rabbit, a much more docile animal.
It can be said that, among the Christians of antiquity, the rabbit or the hare were seen as symbolsinchastity. This association took place because it was believed that rabbits were capable of reproducing asexually. This contributed to these animals being associated with Mary, mother of Jesus, since, in this view, she, like rabbits, reproduced without sexual contact.
Another version points to a species of hare getting pregnant a second time while carrying the first calf. The image of the rabbit as an animal that represents chastity and virginity is very strange to us, since we recognize this animal as a sign of fertility for its great capacity. reproductive.
However, the image of the rabbit as a symbol of purity and innocence remained throughout the Middle Ages and was present until the rbirth, as there is a painting, by the Renaissance painter Tiziano Vicelli, which depicts a rabbit with the Virgin Mary. This picture was named the virgin and the rabbit.
Another important reference to the rabbit in Christianity is found in Devon, in England. In this place, a series of churches from the medieval period have, in their iconography, a symbol that presents a circle with three rabbits (or hares) interconnected by their own ears. Historians do not know whether the rabbits, in this symbol, represent purity or have another meaning.
Finally, there are legends that point out that a rabbit was the first being to witness the resurrection of Jesus and that this animal was a renewal symbol, as he was the first to leave his lair at the end of winter. This renewal would be understood, within Christian theology, as synonymous with the resurrection.
By Vanessa Sardinha dos Santos
Biology teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/pascoa/coelho-da-pascoa.htm