Easter...bunnies and eggs?!?

Question

We have Easter because of Jesus right? Well where do the bunnies and eggs come from?! Its just a question that popped into my head and I'm sure others would like to know as well...Help!

Answer 1

Hold on to your hat...here's a little lesson in History...
Easter, as it is celebrated today with all the bunnies and eggs, etc. is PAGAN (i.e. - Pre-Christian) in oragin. Even the word..."Easter" comes from the Germanic word "Eostre" who is actually a German fertility goddess. She is the one whose symbol is the rabbit (actually, the hare) and to whom gifts of colored eggs were given on her feast day.
When the Saxons and Germans were first converted to Christianity, those traditions and symbols were incorporated into the celebration of the 'new' Spring Lord (Jesus).

Answer 2

No, we have Easter because of the goddess Eostre, goddess of the dawn and rebirth. If you read up on that you will find the reasons for the bunnies and eggs. Its Germanic.

We, Christians, celebrate the Messiahs ressurection on that day, because the Roman Catholic Church felt that it would fit nicely as a replacement of the Pagan celebration. Many pagans excepted the Christ that way. Nothing wrong with doing that as long as the pagan elements of it aren't celebrated along side the Lord...like it is anyway with rabbits and eggs.

Answer 3

Do some reading on the pagan origins of Easter and you'll learn a lot.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/easter/why.html :

"The fact of the matter is no one knows for sure, but our best bet comes from Bede ("The Venerable"), a late-seventh-century historian and scholar from Anglo-Saxon England. He says Easter's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, associated with spring and fertility, and celebrated around the vernal equinox. So there you go. As Christmas was moved to coincide with (and supplant) the pagan celebration of winter, Easter was likely moved to coincide and replace the pagan celebration of spring.

And while we're at it, the Easter Bunny comes from these pagan rites of spring as well, but more from pagan Germany than pagan Britain. Eighteenth-century German settlers brought "Oschter Haws" (never knew he had a name, did you?) to America, where Pennsylvania Dutch settlers prepared nests for him in the garden or barn. On Easter Eve, the rabbit laid his colored eggs in the nests in payment. In Germany, old Oschter lays red eggs on Maundy Thursday. If anyone knows why children in an agrarian society would believe a rabbit lays eggs, please tell us or a historian near you. We're all dying to know."


http://www.religioustolerance.org/spring_equinox.htm :

Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara. She gave her name to the Christian Easter and to the female hormone estrogen. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west. One delightful legend associated with Eostre was that she found an injured bird on the ground one winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But "the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs. ..the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre."

Answer 4

Some stupid thing people came up with for their children i guess....

*Gabby*