Well, you asked, here is my take and you can delete if you want. To me the most meaningful aspect of Easter is the Rising up of Jesus Christ, for those that believe as I do. He died and rose again for all everyone. Some will believe, some will not. Those that do will spend their eternity with Him those that don't, will not. Of course if a person does not believe the Holy Bible is the true word of God, this will make absolutly no sense at all. As far as the bunny rabbit, eggs, and other stuff, true it is fun for all, mainly children as to how it started, I am not sure. As for PEEPS, a great little sugar coated marshmellow treat candy. If you google peeps on line you will be astonished as to how many are made each year. Oh, hope you had a great Easter. Check out the (number-3) of mine in the number theam
The use of eggs seems to pre-date Christianity as a sign of fertility/new life. It was an obvious symbol for Christians to use as the new life that Jesus promised to those who follow him. Empty egg shells illustrate the resurrection - symbol of the empty tomb. I like that idea. I've heard it said too that the egg represents the stone that sealed the tomb.....makes sense too.
Sometimes the origins of symbols are lost in history.....
Why coloured eggs....have no idea! Would guess that we could explain it as an expression of celebration/joy....but that's just how it seems to me. We always boiled our eggs in water coloured with gorse/whin blossom which is in full bloom at Easter time in Ireland.
Rabbits.....Easter Bunny.....now that's a mystery to me! And as for the bunny leaving eggs.....how's that for confusion!!! I have no idea at all where the bunny came from and would love to read ideas on it....
Peeps.....never seen one! Not sure if we have them in UK - will have a look to see. We have pink and white marshmallows......
I heard that people used to believe that bunnies laid eggs, because they would sit in nests of birds who didn't spend a lot of time with their eggs. Wikipedia it or something :p
Peeps website http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/
They are little marshmallows covered in colored sugar, they are in different shapes depending on the holiday. For Easter they are bunnies and chicks; Christmas trees and gingerbread men; etc.
From Wikipedia:
The Easter Bunny or Easter Hare (sometimes Spring Bunny in the U.S.[1][2][3]) is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning.
The Easter Bunny is very similar in trait to its Christmas holiday counterpart, Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday. It was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Frankenau's De ovis paschalibus (About the Easter Egg) referring to an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs (and the negative impact of too much egg consumption).
Origins
The Easter Bunny was not originally an Easter symbol. Bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire, and southwestern Germany, where the practice was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s. The first edible Easter Eggs were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.
The Easter Bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.[4] The arrival of the Osterhase was considered one of "childhood's greatest pleasures", similar to the arrival of Kriist Kindle (from the German Christkindl) on Christmas Eve.
According to the tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. The "O_ster Haws_e" would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. As the tradition spread, the nest has become the manufactured, modern Easter basket, and the placing of the nest in a secluded area has become the tradition of hiding baskets.[5]
Rabbits and hares
Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.
The saying "mad as a March hare" refers to the wild caperings of hares as the males fight over the females in the early spring, then attempt to mate with them. Since the females often rebuff the males' advances before finally submitting, the mating behavior often looks like a crazy dance; these fights led early observers to believe that the advent of spring made the hares "mad".[6] This bold behavior makes the hares, normally timid and retiring animals, much more conspicuous to human observation in the spring.
Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. The females can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first. This phenomenon is known as superfetation. Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the sayings, "to breed like bunnies" or "multiply like rabbits"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.
The precise origin of the ancient custom of coloring eggs is not known, although evidently the blooming of many flowers in spring coincides with the use of the fertility symbol of eggs—and eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes. Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red,[7] the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter.
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.[8]
The idea of an egg-laying bunny came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhas", sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws". "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.[9] In 1835, Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of a goddess called Ostara,[10] but as a romanticist, he tried to connect contemporary customs to pre-Christian traditions, knowing that no written sources of that time existed. Additionally, a goddess of that name is only mentioned in a single ancient source giving an ambiguous statement about an Ostara month.
In France the Easter bunny doesn't bring the eggs! The bells do! Apparently the church bells fly off to the Vatican on Good Friday to be blessed and return on Easter Sunday morning with chocolate eggs for the children.
Thanks for the answers It was fun to know all these things. I was in a convent school so I know more or less about christmas but easter was always confusing.. but this year after watching so many photographs I became real curious!! So thanks for the answers again.
@ Richard, @Elizabeth - Thanks for the knowledge there are so many wonderful stories related to customs and cultures and the beauty is that they vary from place to place.
@Chris I get ur point and agree to it completely, because here in India we have a festival every third day and that has lead to a lot of commercialization of things that were earlier cultural or of emotional value. Leads to competition and display of wellbeing, between families neighbour and friends etc. But at the end its featival and I belive we should enjoy it and be content and not get trapped in some brilliant business idea :)
So happy easter to all of you and thanks for sharing the lovely stories!
That was a good question Mita and thank you for giving the opportunity to so many folk to share information. I'd forgotten all about not being able to eat eggs during Lent so of course there would be an abundant supply on Easter Sunday. Shrove Tuesday uses up the last of the eggs, cream, butter, sugar and white flour before Lent.
I suppose yes, businesses get in on the act but the real meaning is still in there somewhere!
Hope you've had a good Easter.
I know the question was more than answered, but after reading all these replies (my house celebrates Easter, too), I think that Easter may be summed up in one word...Renewal. Secular or religiously, literally or spirtitually. It about new life, awakening. So whether it be Jesus who rose again, or a springtime that awakens after a long winter. I'm just adding it here, because it's the first time I really thought about it in one word, LOL. And I have a five-year old who asks lots of questions. :-)
I'm in agreement with Christine...Easter = Renewal...no matter what your faith. The catchphrase in our Easter service (Presbyterian) this year was "Practice Resurrection". Each day brings about the chance to renew, refresh and start anew...whether it be in your family life, job search, or faith. Just do it. :-)
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Sometimes the origins of symbols are lost in history.....
Why coloured eggs....have no idea! Would guess that we could explain it as an expression of celebration/joy....but that's just how it seems to me. We always boiled our eggs in water coloured with gorse/whin blossom which is in full bloom at Easter time in Ireland.
Rabbits.....Easter Bunny.....now that's a mystery to me! And as for the bunny leaving eggs.....how's that for confusion!!! I have no idea at all where the bunny came from and would love to read ideas on it....
Peeps.....never seen one! Not sure if we have them in UK - will have a look to see. We have pink and white marshmallows......
They are little marshmallows covered in colored sugar, they are in different shapes depending on the holiday. For Easter they are bunnies and chicks; Christmas trees and gingerbread men; etc.
From Wikipedia:
The Easter Bunny or Easter Hare (sometimes Spring Bunny in the U.S.[1][2][3]) is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning.
The Easter Bunny is very similar in trait to its Christmas holiday counterpart, Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday. It was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Frankenau's De ovis paschalibus (About the Easter Egg) referring to an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs (and the negative impact of too much egg consumption).
Origins
The Easter Bunny was not originally an Easter symbol. Bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire, and southwestern Germany, where the practice was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s. The first edible Easter Eggs were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.
The Easter Bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.[4] The arrival of the Osterhase was considered one of "childhood's greatest pleasures", similar to the arrival of Kriist Kindle (from the German Christkindl) on Christmas Eve.
According to the tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. The "O_ster Haws_e" would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. As the tradition spread, the nest has become the manufactured, modern Easter basket, and the placing of the nest in a secluded area has become the tradition of hiding baskets.[5]
Rabbits and hares
Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.
The saying "mad as a March hare" refers to the wild caperings of hares as the males fight over the females in the early spring, then attempt to mate with them. Since the females often rebuff the males' advances before finally submitting, the mating behavior often looks like a crazy dance; these fights led early observers to believe that the advent of spring made the hares "mad".[6] This bold behavior makes the hares, normally timid and retiring animals, much more conspicuous to human observation in the spring.
Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. The females can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first. This phenomenon is known as superfetation. Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the sayings, "to breed like bunnies" or "multiply like rabbits"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.
The precise origin of the ancient custom of coloring eggs is not known, although evidently the blooming of many flowers in spring coincides with the use of the fertility symbol of eggs—and eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes. Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red,[7] the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter.
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.[8]
The idea of an egg-laying bunny came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhas", sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws". "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.[9] In 1835, Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of a goddess called Ostara,[10] but as a romanticist, he tried to connect contemporary customs to pre-Christian traditions, knowing that no written sources of that time existed. Additionally, a goddess of that name is only mentioned in a single ancient source giving an ambiguous statement about an Ostara month.
Thanks for the answers It was fun to know all these things. I was in a convent school so I know more or less about christmas but easter was always confusing.. but this year after watching so many photographs I became real curious!! So thanks for the answers again.
@ Richard, @Elizabeth - Thanks for the knowledge there are so many wonderful stories related to customs and cultures and the beauty is that they vary from place to place.
@Kathleen, @Nicole , @Cara, @Alexis, @Sue Thanks for the links and the info...:)
@Chris I get ur point and agree to it completely, because here in India we have a festival every third day and that has lead to a lot of commercialization of things that were earlier cultural or of emotional value. Leads to competition and display of wellbeing, between families neighbour and friends etc. But at the end its featival and I belive we should enjoy it and be content and not get trapped in some brilliant business idea :)
So happy easter to all of you and thanks for sharing the lovely stories!
Regards,
Mita
I suppose yes, businesses get in on the act but the real meaning is still in there somewhere!
Hope you've had a good Easter.
I would say the same. (: