That time of the year when everything turns pastel, eggs filled with mystery are scattered all around, and bunnies of all kinds decorate every corner. This must certainly mean it is Easter season. Bringing chocolate, adventure, magic, and wonder into children’s lives, Easter has been modernized to appeal to children these days. However, it was not always like that.
Now that we are older and no longer celebrate this holiday as enthusiastically as we used to, many things about this about it, start to pop into our minds. If you truly think about it, a random holiday where children suddenly start searching for painted or plastic eggs hidden by a magic bunny is certainly very strange. What does a bunny have to do with eggs? What does eggs hidden by a bunny have to do with chocolate? This seems to be many main ideas put together into one holiday. But what came first, the Bunny or the Egg?
Easter Eggs
As many must know Easter, like many holidays in the United States, began as a Christian Holiday. And to Christians it is a very important holiday, as it represents and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It began with missionaries with the intent of teaching kids about the origins of Easter in Jesus’s story. They began to paint eggs with different parts of the story and hide them for the Children to find. The joy of finding the Egg was meant to mirror the happiness of Jesus’s resurrection.This tradition traces back to Martin Luther, a protestant from 16th century. The joy of finding the Egg was meant to mirror the happiness of finding out about Jesus’s resurrection.
But why eggs? To celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, eggs represent birth and new beginnings. A perfect way to represent His resurrection.
The Easter Bunny
The origins as to why a bunny came to represent Easter became unknown with the passage of time. However, many theorise that this rabbit comes from an ancient pagan tradition called “The festival of Eostre”. Honoring the goddess of fertility and spring, the festival was symbolized by a rabbit, which was the goddess’ animal symbol. Since the festival was a spring tradition it is likely that it might have become tangled with Easter as time went by.
This Easter bunny was first introduced to America by German Immigrants in Pennsylvania with their legends that a rabbit would lay colorful eggs for well behaved children. This eventually spread to the U.S, becoming one of the most celebrated traditions here.
Chocolate Eggs and Bunnies
Lastly, chocolate came into the picture. As our world modernized and industrialized so did our traditions. Slowly, chocolate started replacing ancient symbols of the holiday related to new life and rebirth. The fast industrial late 19th century in the UK began this consumption culture of chocolate during Easter once it got its hand on better molding techniques. From then on, they started producing editable chocolate eggs and bunnies for the sake of the sales of the holiday.
In conclusion, to answer our questions, the Egg came first and after that things just seem to come and take their place into the Holiday. Though its meaning may have become somewhat forgotten over time, the holiday still holds its main core traditions. And like most things in our modern world, it has modernized with its people as the years went on.
