Spring:Evil Easter Bunny/History of the Easter Bunny
History of Easter
German immigrants in Pennsylvania brought over the tradition of the Easter Bunny, even though it has nothing to do with the Easter holiday of Christ whatsoever. There is no mention in the Bible or any religious text that a giant bunny comes to deliver eggs on your lawn in the middle of the night. The legend goes that a bunny would produce colorful and bright eggs to those who were good. Children would make nests and warm welcomings for the bunny.
To Europeans back in history, the Easter Bunny was known as the Easter Hare, implying the significance of the Hare in connection with religion. In the Neolithic era, hares represented rebirth to many in Europe. Hares had ritualistic burials and were never eaten due to their religiousness. In contradiction to this, many Europeans celebrated Easter by hunting hares and eating their meat.
Witches of Easter
Eating the meat of the Hare was the main way to get rid of witches on Easter. It was believed that witches sucked out the energy of people in villages and made them sick on Easter if a Hare was not eaten.
In Germany, bonfires and traditional dances were held to get rid of witches. These bonfires were meant to scare the witches away and prevent them from ruining the new spring season. Along with this, Swedish people believed that witches would dance the devil and eat the traditional food while flying away on their broomsticks.
The “Evil” Bunny
It's without a doubt that when children hear the folktales of the Easter Bunny, there is fear surrounding it. After all, it’s a scary, red-eyed, giant bunny coming to eat the carrots placed in nests by children, all while deciding if a kid is naughty or good. Many would have the fear that they would wake up and see there were no eggs left for them, but in reality, that most likely would happen.
As kids grow up, they learn that the scary bunny they have known and feared for the past possible decade was really their parents. Nowadays, kids dye hard-boiled eggs and create designs to welcome the bunny — their parents — into the year of spring. Waking up at the crack of dawn and stepping on the moist lawn, getting socks wet, and eating the candy left in the hard plastic eggs.
