For some, Easter is a serious religious holiday. For others it is a celebration of the late winter and early renewal. For others, it is both – but children, often about a gift of chocolate Easter holidays, colored eggs, candy and other surprises.

It is well known that Easter is a mixture of different traditions of many cultures. The Easter Bunny is without doubt one of the icons of the party, and actually has some very interesting origins.

Both the eggs and rabbits and hares have been fertility symbols of antiquity. Since it is very prolific, it is surprising that these animals became a symbol of fertility and rebirth associated with the land after a long hard winter.

The first German immigrants to the U.S., which brought many of their old country traditions with them (the Christmas tree was one of them). "Pennsylvania Dutch" parents entertain their children with tales of Osterhase, or "Easter Hare." Like St. Nicholas at Christmas, Osterhase visits during the night and leaves gifts Easter – including colored eggs – for well behaved children. To this day, some children leave carrots for the Easter Hare, much to leave aside the milk and cookies for Santa Claus.

For such a soft and gentle creature, the Easter Bunny wakes up a lot of controversy, both in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S., some groups in a well-intentioned attempt to maintain a wall of separation between religion and secular life and become more inclusive to non-Christians, has changed Bunny was named "Spring". Moreover, some Christians completely ignore Easter recognition of the holiday's pagan roots. In Australia, the introduction of rabbits – a species not native – nearly resulted in an ecological disaster when raised in a plague. The Australians have been trying to replace the Bunny Easter with an indigenous species, a marsupial known as the Bilby. If you are in the Holy Land Down Under (which actually occurs during the fall), baskets Easter children are equally likely to contain a chocolate Bilby just like a chocolate bunny.

Another story attributes the Easter Bunny a "old words" heathen. According to this "legend" the goddess Eostre – for whom "Easter" is supposedly the name – found a wounded bird in a snowy forest winter. In order to help survive the cold, made him a rabbit – but the transformation was incomplete, because the rabbits continued to lay eggs. In gratitude, the rabbit and decorated their eggs and Eostre presented each spring. Curiously, no references to this legend before 1990, so it is doubtful that this story is any kind of tradition old.

However, Easter gifts and Easter baskets still be a fun celebration of spring for children of all ages.

About the Author:

Anne Harvester is a homemaker extraordinaire with years of experience creating spectacular events and gifts. See her favorite Gift baskets, Easter gift baskets, Childrens Easter gifts.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Easter Bunny History

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