2006-11-20 19:57:09 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Easter
Pagan fertility rites.
2006-11-20 19:58:18 · answer #1 · answered by Yuck 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There was a time when Christianity pretty much overtly decided to absorb and twist all the existing beliefs and religions so it was easier to convert the local believers. This is an old trick from ancient Rome, which used to do the same thing with gods rather regularly.
You can see signs of this phase of Christianity all over, if you know where to look. One is the blending of voodoo and Christian mysticism that can still be found in certain regions. Another is ornate pagan equal-sided crosses that were just tacked onto equally ornate poles and called Christian symbols. And one is in the placement and symbology used in popular Christian holidays.
Pagan spring fertility rites were once very nearly ubiquitous. Nature is coming back into bloom and people celebrated it with things that they associated with fertility. One rather obvious symbol is that of the egg. To a primitive mind, the egg is almost magickal - it seems inanimate, yet when cared for properly it produces life.
So, too with the rabbit. Or, more properly the HARE. Rabbits and hares both have famous rates of reproduction. It's not by accident that Playboy magazine uses bunny ears for their logo, after all. Hares in addition have a very unique distinction - they are the only animal born with OPEN eyes. Again, to a primitive mind this speaks of something truly remarkable... a creature that has seen what no other creature has witnessed, and perhaps carries knowledge not only of the pre-birth, but perhaps of pre-life. Hares thereafter were seen as very totemic and powerful, and to this day many people carry their feet for good luck even if they usually don't know why.
So here we have two very popular and powerful symbols of fertility and of life as a whole: the egg and the hare (well... the rabbit these days... who can tell the difference between a rabbit and a hare anyway?). We can only credit human ingenuity with COMBINING the two symbols into a bunny that actually brings or lays easter eggs. And Christians just absorbed those ideas and hauled them along with Easter, the new (and in many places and times ONLY) sanctioned spring-time event.
2006-11-22 17:54:45 · answer #2 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's Celtic in origin. It became associated with Christianity during the middle ages when the church was concerned with converting people. Adapting other culture's tcustoms was a way to include them and hopefully win converts. In this manner the tree has also become associated with another Christian holiday--Christmas. This one was borrowed from Germany.
2006-11-21 04:03:36 · answer #3 · answered by Ice Cream 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rabbits represent fertility and it is pagan. Now I hear you asking "So how come it is in Christianity?"
You tell me :))) ha ha.
hint: evolution of religions!
2006-11-22 00:14:03 · answer #4 · answered by gollum 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your parents. LOL
2006-11-21 03:59:52 · answer #5 · answered by WCDANIELS1 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wonder that too.
2006-11-23 00:12:05 · answer #6 · answered by K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋