LOOK WHAT THE BUNNY LEFT!
By Sheryl Marsh
Daily Staff Writer
The Decatur Daily, AL
April 16 2006
Why eggs during Easter?
While Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead,
the holiday has elements with pagan origins such as decorated eggs
and cute little bunnies.
For centuries people have used the egg as a symbol of fertility and
new life. That concept – like the bunny, which is another fertility
symbol of new life – predates Easter but has been assimilated into
the Easter celebration.
Children throughout the world will participate in Easter egg hunts
today, although many searched for eggs last week.
The egg hunt makes Easter a big day for small children; however,
grandmothers like Deborah Adams of Hartselle try to instill in the
little ones that Jesus is the main focus of the day.
She and her husband, Wayne, plan to have their four grandchildren –
Anna Grace Cobb, Mary Katherine Cobb, Tyler Cook and Kaleigh Baker
– today.
“After church we’ll hide Easter eggs for the kids, but that’s just a
part of it,” said Adams. “We teach them that the main reason we have
Easter is because of the resurrection of Jesus.”
Easter eggs were originally painted bright colors to represent
spring. They were also used in egg-rolling contests or given for gifts.
Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians and Hindus believed that
the world came into being with a giant egg. Most cultures around the
world consider the egg a symbol of new life and rebirth.
The Rev. Richard Lawson, rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church, said
Americans share the belief of other cultures that the egg symbolizes
new birth or new life. A story is behind colored eggs.
“I remember a story being told of a Christian saint being before
a Roman emperor who denied Jesus’ resurrection,” said Lawson. “She
pointed to an egg that God changed into a colored egg as a sign of
Jesus’ resurrection.”
Various cultures have unique decorating methods.
Austrian artists create patterns through fastening ferns and small
plants around the eggs and then boiling them. This results in a white
pattern once the plants are removed.
Germany and other countries pierce the ends of eggs with a needle
and blow the contents into a bowl. Then, they dye the hollow eggs
and hang them from shrubs and trees during Easter week.
Armenians decorate using the same process, but decorate the eggs
with pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary as well as other religious
designs.
Americans dye eggs and decorate them with various designs.
Some cultures play egg games. Romans celebrate Easter by running races
on an oval track and giving eggs as prizes. Also, like Americans,
they hold Easter egg hunts.
Children join in a search Easter morning to find eggs the Easter
bunny hid while they were asleep. Older children help the younger
ones look for eggs throughout the house.
Easter egg hunts are a community celebration of the holiday. Eggs
are hidden in public places and all the children in the community
are invited to participate, similar to the way Americans hunt eggs.
Normally, Marsha Keeney of Decatur would help hide eggs for her
grandchildren outside, but this year they will do like the Romans
and hide them inside.
Keeney said they have not been in their new home long, and “we have
landscaping to do, so we’ll hide them inside the house.”
Easter bunny
The Easter bunny reportedly originated as pre-Christian fertility
lore in Germany in the 1500s. Like the egg, the rabbit, one of the
most fertile animals known, served as a symbol of new life during
the spring season.
German settlers introduced the Easter bunny to American folklore
after arriving in Pennsylvania Dutch country in the 1700s.
The children built nests in their homes, barns or gardens. Boys used
caps and girls used bonnets to make the nests. Later, Easter baskets
became a tradition as Easter caught on throughout the country.
Adams and other grannies look forward to such traditions each year.
“I started giving my girls Julie and Jennifer personalized eggs and
a bunny each year when they were little. I still do that for them
and for the grandchildren.”
Some information for this story came from “Easter on the Net.”