The Easter Egg and Bunny

Easter is a time of celebrating new life for Christians. So, how did the colored egg and bunny get into the middle of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead? Before Christianity emerged, the English honored the goddess, Eastre, to celebrate New Life and the beginning of spring. For thousands of years before Jesus was born, Iran celebrated spring on Nowruz, or the Iranian New Year, by decorating colored eggs. When the Germans migrated to America in the 1700s, they celebrated a hare named Oserbase, an egg-laying rabbit that colored the eggs and placed them in the nests their children made. The European Catholics incorporated the pagan practice into their Easter celebration. Today, Easter provides a gala spring event for children who search for colored eggs a bunny rabbit prepared for them. So, as new life blossoms on plants and trees, Christians remember the Giver of new eternal life on Easter Sunday. Around the world, many people still celebrate the pagan Green Man and Mother earth each spring.