My Ladybug had her picture taken with Easter Bunny yesterday. Not because I am crazy about Easter, or because I adore Easter Bunny. We had a play date in the mall with one of my good friends whose son turned 5 months yesterday. It is our babies' first Easter, so as an activity we decided to have their pictures taken with Bunny. Ladybug almost missed out on the experience. She was asleep when we got to the mall, and she was still sleeping while we waited in line. However my Ladybug is a lot better with her time management than me (she was born on her due date!). Jessica and Josh were about to see the Bunny when Ladybug woke up. It took me about 2 minutes to change her from long-sleeve onesie, pants and socks into a spring dress with a hat and tights. As always when she just wakes up, she was all smiles, hugs and giggles when she sat on Bunny's laps. I snapped a few shots while the "professional" photographer took a couple of hers. Ladybug had a blast. She waved Bunny "Bye-bye!" and we went along with our play date.
When we got home, I started thinking about Easter, Bunny, and their relationships. I found it very strange that growing up in Russia and celebrating Orthodox Easter I have never heard of Easter Bunny. My grandmother always colored the eggs. My grandfather played an 'egg game' with me. But Easter Bunny never visited me. Neither he visited my friends. Did he just decide to skip Russia on his Eggs Delivering Route?
So why Bunny comes to kids on a religious holiday? I do not remember reading about him in the Bible. He is, after all, Easter Bunny.
Turned out that Bunny is an Easter symbol for the majority of Eastern European countries and (alas!) USA. Bunny comes from pagan believes celebrating Spring, Earth Awakening and Fertility. Easter Bunny first appeared in Germany and filled bird nests with brightly colored eggs for well-behaved children. Some children were leaving their hats for Bunny to put the eggs in. Easter basket as another holiday symbol came into the picture much later. Easter eggs were too beautiful, delicate, and precious to be laid by a hen (think Faberge eggs!). German immigrants brought this tradition to the USA in 18th century, and now every spring American kids are looking forward to getting their Easter baskets filled with bright chocolate eggs and other goodies Easter Bunny left for them. They go to the mall and have their pictures taken on Bunny's laps. Just like Christmas, another religious holiday became a victim of commerce and marketing. Bunny is cute. Chocolate is all time best seller. So why not overload our children on chocolate eggs?
Personally, I like the ancient myth about a bunny who is famous for being so reproductive that it was, at one point, banned in Australia. Bunny, a symbol of fertility, who follows Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. But Easter Bunny? For me, there will always be Easter when we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there will be a bunny. There will be a basket full of brightly colored eggs. There will be a white lily on my dining room table filling the air with sweet tangy smell. I will celebrate Easter, and then I will celebrate spring awakening!
When we got home, I started thinking about Easter, Bunny, and their relationships. I found it very strange that growing up in Russia and celebrating Orthodox Easter I have never heard of Easter Bunny. My grandmother always colored the eggs. My grandfather played an 'egg game' with me. But Easter Bunny never visited me. Neither he visited my friends. Did he just decide to skip Russia on his Eggs Delivering Route?
So why Bunny comes to kids on a religious holiday? I do not remember reading about him in the Bible. He is, after all, Easter Bunny.
Turned out that Bunny is an Easter symbol for the majority of Eastern European countries and (alas!) USA. Bunny comes from pagan believes celebrating Spring, Earth Awakening and Fertility. Easter Bunny first appeared in Germany and filled bird nests with brightly colored eggs for well-behaved children. Some children were leaving their hats for Bunny to put the eggs in. Easter basket as another holiday symbol came into the picture much later. Easter eggs were too beautiful, delicate, and precious to be laid by a hen (think Faberge eggs!). German immigrants brought this tradition to the USA in 18th century, and now every spring American kids are looking forward to getting their Easter baskets filled with bright chocolate eggs and other goodies Easter Bunny left for them. They go to the mall and have their pictures taken on Bunny's laps. Just like Christmas, another religious holiday became a victim of commerce and marketing. Bunny is cute. Chocolate is all time best seller. So why not overload our children on chocolate eggs?
Personally, I like the ancient myth about a bunny who is famous for being so reproductive that it was, at one point, banned in Australia. Bunny, a symbol of fertility, who follows Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. But Easter Bunny? For me, there will always be Easter when we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there will be a bunny. There will be a basket full of brightly colored eggs. There will be a white lily on my dining room table filling the air with sweet tangy smell. I will celebrate Easter, and then I will celebrate spring awakening!
This post is worthless without pictures :D!
ReplyDeleteThank for posting this, I've been wondering what bunny had to do with eggs!