Easter
Many people associate Easter with brightly colored eggs, baby animals like chicks and bunnies, and pastels. And many more associate it with a religious holiday. But what on Earth do these conflicting narratives have to do with each other?
What does the Easter Bunny have to do with anything?
- In ancient times, rabbits were believed to be hermaphrodites. Because they could theoretically reproduce without losing their virginity, they became associated with the Virgin Mary.
- Rabbits can give birth to a litter while still pregnant with another, a phenomenon known as superfoetation. This is one of the reasons they can reproduce so quickly, and why they came to be associated with fertility.
- Since spring is the time birds lay their eggs and rabbits give birth to new litters (both be examples of reproduction), those images became associated with fertility as well.
- Spring in general is a time of rebirth, as the weather is finally optimal for trees to grow their leaves back and bloom, as well as animals to return from hibernation.
- Eostre is a Saxon goddess of spring and the dawn. The apocryphal belief that the hare is her sacred animal became popularized in the 1800s. Easter and bunnies became closely associated.