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Easter Bunny is a symbolic rabbit, usually
in depictions, used in the celebrations of Easter,
in other words the Easter Bunny is one of the best
known Easter symbols. .
Pre-Christian origin
Both Easter and Easter Bunny originated from the pre-Christian
goddess, Eostre, who was sometimes depicted with a
hare's head. Her associations with the hare seem to
be related to its high fecundity (ability to reproduce
quickly). Her connections with the hare would appear
to be the origin of the Easter Bunny, eggs being a
worldwide symbol of fertility. A story is told that
the goddess turned her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain
some children. The rabbit immediately laid some brightly
colored eggs, which the goddess gave to the children.
Modern history
The Easter Bunny as we know it came from Germany
in the 1500's. In fact the first edible Easter Bunnies
were made of pastry and sugar at that time. The idea
of an egg laying rabbit came to the United States
in the 1700s. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania
Dutch area told their children about the "Oserhase"
(also: "Oschter Haws") or Easter Bunny. Only
the good children received gifts of coloured eggs
in the nests that they had made in their caps and
bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws
laid them when they were not looking. German settlers
in the Pennsylvania Dutch country introduced the Easter
Bunny to America in the 1700's. Kids were taught if
they were good the Easter Bunny would bring multi-colored
eggs. The eggs were originally painted with bright
colors to represent the spring sunlight. Many times
they were given to friends and family as gifts.
In the United States, the Easter Bunny purportedly
leaves baskets of treats (inlcuding Easter eggs and
assorted chocolates) on Easter morning for good children.
This is a common practice even in non-Christian households,
as Easter has started to become a more non-sectarian
festival, like Halloween or Valentine's Day.
In Australia, where rabbits have been an environmental
disaster and are in consequence not popular, there
have been attempts to replace the Easter Bunny with
the Easter Bilby.
More info about the easter bunny and Easter Bunnies
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