what does eggs and bunnies have to do with Easter?

Answer 1

Decorating eggs was around long before Easter. It was a eastern European tradition like the Christmas tree. The symbol was adopted to represent the rock that sealed Christs tomb. The egg is also a universal symbol of ones soul and birth; so it is an appropriate symbol for the rebirth of Jesus. Bunnies represent purity and goodness.

Answer 2

The Easter Bunny has a long history. It was brought to America from Germany by immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. It has become an integral part of the American Easter tradition and has to a lesser degree been accepted in the UK.

The Easter Bunny is usually considered to be a benevolent, vaguely supernatural creature that brings gifts to good boys and girls. Today these gifts are usually in the form of chocolate Easter eggs.

The origin of the Easter Bunny probably goes back to the festival's connection with the pagan goddess Eostre. Eostre (sometimes spelt Oestre) was a fertility goddess from whom we derive the word "oestrogen" and she is closely associated with fertility symbols such as eggs. The rabbit is known as a highly fertile creature and hence an obvious choice for Easter symbolism.

In fact the use of a rabbit is probably a mistake - the Easter "bunny" is more likely to be a hare, since it is the hare that is usually considered the sacred creature of Eostre. Hares have been considered sacred by many cultures including the ancient Egyptians who believed them to watch the moon during the night. Although hares and rabbits are related they are most definitely different creatures, as a certain Bugs keeps reminding us!

Answer 3

the rabbit was a favored symbol of a goddess of fertility, Ester, that was worshipped before christianity. pagan holidays are sometimes kept, to make newcomers to the religion (back in the day) comfortable - easter is a holiday that actually celebrates that spring is here and crops can grow again

as well, the rabbit reproduces quickly, and seemed an endless source of life - they just keep on coming.

also, the egg represents fertility and birth.
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many times in the past i have told the following story to people that i know, when they ask me, "jim, why are there rabbits and eggs at easter?"

i explained to them how important a food source the egg is. i mean really, a chicken can lay so many eggs without having a male there, and they're not going to end up ...being anything. so many can be made in such a short time..

well, when god took away jesus, and let the romans take his life to show the world how much christ would give, people got scared. what if god took away their favorite food source?

well! people started running through the streets yelling "Hide the f-cking eggs! Hide the f-cking eggs!" and since they didn't know where to hide the eggs from the christian god, they figured that since rabbits don't lay eggs, the eggs could be hidden under the rabbits

well! the rabbits didn't really know what to do with the eggs. i mean, they can't really sit on them properly or anything. and they don't have refridgeration to keep the eggs from spoiling. so the rabbits would play mean tricks on helpless children by leaving eggs in hidden places in the house.

this leads to the origin of the easter egg hunt, where people were frantic to find the eggs before they spoiled, so that their yards and houses didn't stink up the neighborhood

Answer 4

The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.

Answer 5

Rabbits and eggs are both symbols of the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara. Her symbol is also the moon, in which some cultures see a rabbit instead of a face. Eggs also symbolize the moon and are the ultimate symbol of creation and new life. The basket is a symbol of the womb in which this new life is carried.

The feast day is pagan and was widely celebrated way before the time of Jesus. Like pretty much all holidays, it was adopted by Christians to help get more converts. However, since the point is to celebrate new life and the hope of continuance, Christian symbols of a Resurrection day and the old pagan symbols mean the same thing. Just like Christmas, we are all celebrating the same thing, just using different symbols.

Answer 6

All pagan:

In Germanic and Slavic languages, the word "Easter" comes from an ancient pagan goddess of the spring named Eostre. According to legend, Eostre once saved a bird whose wings had frozen during the winter by turning it into a rabbit. Because the rabbit had once been a bird, it could still lay eggs, and that rabbit became the modern Easter Bunny

Answer 7

uh....... what do pumpkins and costumes have to do with Halloween? What does a pine tree and ornaments have to do with Christmas? What do fireworks have to do with the 4th of July? People try to start traditions that relate to what the holiday is based on. For example, Easter has to do with re-birth, and the coming of spring, so in some bizaar way, eggs and bunnies are what come to a person's mind when Easter is mentioned. Not my pick of the best relation to spring and happiness, but that's just how it is.

Answer 8

In ancient times, eggs were a symbol of new life. In the Christian faith, Jesus rising from the grave gave people the chance of a new life in Christ, free from the punishment for their sins. Monks and priests used to give out decorated eggs around Easter as a reminder of the new life possible in Christ.

Answer 9

eggs represent a new life/rebirth and fertility. they've been used for spring-related festivities throughout different cultures, since spring is the time when plants seem to 'come back to life' after a long winter.

they're used during easter to represent the resurection of christ.

don't know about the bunnies though... guess they're just cute and good for marketing practices.

Answer 10

Eggs are a symbol of life so I can see where the eggs came from but at this time when easter is celebrated bunnies arnt really reproducing all to much so It is a really hard q to answer lol :)