Why are rabbits associated with Easter?

Answer 1

Easter is, and always was, even before it's being preempted by Christianity, a spring festival, dedicated to fertility. Rabbits, being very fertile, are an apt symbol, as are eggs.

I recall reading that at some celebrations of the arrival of spring, villagers would meet in a field outside of the village and enjoy a day-long sexual romp, in the belief that all that coupling must be good for the field, and therefore, the crops.

Answer 2

There are several variations of the story of the origins of the Easter Rabbit or the Easter Bunny, or perhaps more correctly, the Easter Hare. The hare was was associated with the Pagan festival celebrating the goddess Eostre (also known as Eastre or Ostara), from which the word Easter is derived. Eostre's earthly symbol was the hare or rabbit. The hare is also symbolically associated with the moon and therefore may have indirectly become associated with Easter since the date of Easter is determined by the phases of the moon (the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring Equinox, March 21). An article from the About's Alternative Religions site gives more details of the Pagan origins of the Easter Bunny.
The appearance of a rabbit as a creature that lays brightly colored eggs as gifts for children is documented in Germany in the 1500s, where kids eagerly awaited the arrival of the Oschter Haws.

The tradition seems to have been brought to America in the 1700s by settlers, where the Easter Bunny became firmly established as a popular symbol of Easter. Germans are also credited with creating the first edible rabbits (pastry-based) in the 1800s.

Answer 3

I believe:

The symbols of the Egg and Rabbit were originally a representation of the Goddess Eostre (the goddess of fertility). She is recongized in Pagen religions even today and was prior to Christianity. The assocation of the Egg and the Rabbit, for Easter, was later adopted by Christianity.

A couple sources are below:

Answer 4

Eastre (earlier, Eostre, derived from the Saxons' Germanic heritage) was the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of dawn, spring and fertility. Our word, "east" is related to this deity's name. Her male consort was the Sun god, and the sun does rise, after all, at dawn and in the east. Rites of spring were celebrated in her honor at the vernal equinox (first day of spring). The first Sunday after the first full moon succeeding the vernal equinox was also sacred to her, and this pagan holiday was given her name -- Eastre. The full moon represented the "pregnant" phase of Eastre -- she was passing into the fertile season and giving birth to the Sun's offspring.

Eastre's symbols were the hare and the egg. Both represent fertility and, consequently, rebirth. Since rabbits are more common in most lands than hares, over time the rabbit has been substituted -- not without merit, since rabbits are notorious for their fertility. Thus was born the "Easter Rabbit" tradition.

Answer 5

March 21 -- Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)


As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper

Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

Answer 6

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

Answer 7

in other cultures, Sumerians considered psychedelics an aphrodisiacal prelude to sex. Ostara, or Oestra, was a sexually liberated, hot-blooded kind of goddess. (It’s no co-incidence that the fertility hormone oestrogen is derived from her name.) In ancient Germanic and Norse mythology she was also the source of the egg-laying Easter Bunny (an animal noted for its capacity to breed). Legend has it that Ostara changed her pet bird into a magical hare which laid eggs for children during her festival. The festivities also involved the sacrifice, roasting and consumption of a sacred hare, quaffed down with hemp beers, followed by public, collective lovemaking. Many ancient civilisations honoured the egg as a symbol of the universe, believing the world to be egg-shaped. In this, they were way ahead of their time since, centuries later, everyone subscribed to the flat earth theory. The egg was thus associated with Rites of Spring festivities, representing the rebirth of the earth.

Answer 8

Rabbits are symbols of fertility. They have many babies at a time, and often. Springtime is when things are born and grow. Some cultures use the pig as the fertility symbol because she has many piglets at a time, and often, as the rabbit does.

Answer 9

I think it's those commericals with the bunny who clucks like a chicken and supposedly lays chocolate Easter eggs. lol

Answer 10

your guess is as good as mind because last time i checked, Easter stands for the resurrection of Christ.