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Rabbits don't lay eggs so why do Easter Bunnies bring Easter Eggs?! And what is all this nonsense about hunting for Easter eggs - where did that come from?! Most people think of Easter as the holy days of the Christian Calendar marking the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But many Easter celebrations include The Easter Bunny and the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. How did this come about? The answer comes from thousands of years ago, long before Easter was even celebrated. In ancient times people all over the northern hemisphere of the Earth celebrated the Spring Equinox or Vernal Equinox which occurs each year on or near the 21st of March.
The Spring Equinox is the first day after Winter when the Earth's axis is once again perpendicular to the sun's rays marking the start of Spring. This day is still celebrated in many countries as New Year's Day! Being the beginning of the planting season, it is a time of fertility and fertility ceremonies. Eggs and rabbits have always been symbols of fertility. But how did they become Easter symbols?
The English word "Easter" comes from the ancient pagan goddess of Spring known as Eostre. According to folklore, Eostre once saved the life of a bird whose wings had been frozen in the winter snow. She did this by turning the bird into a rabbit with fur that could survive the winter cold. And in the 18th century Jakob Grimm, one of the famous Grimm brothers who wrote Grimm's Fairy Tales, added the idea that since the rabbit in the story had once been a bird, it could still lay eggs. And that is why today we see so many Easter bunnies carrying Easter eggs!
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