Easter Bunny

The bunny, or hare, has always been a sign of fertility in many ancient cultures. This would explain the association with a fertility goddess and why hares were used in many pagan rituals.
The hare (Easter Bunny), from ancient times was a symbol of the moon, it being a nocturnal animal. The hare is the only animal born with its eyes open. The Egyptian word for hare is "un," meaning "to open." Thus, the hare was associated with the opening of a new season, spring, in April, at the vernal equinox.
The hare and eggs were mutually symbolic in Egypt of the opening of their new year, at which time eggs were ceremoniously broken.

Because of its fertility (one doe can produce up to 42 young a year), the hare is an emblem of fertility, abundance, sexuality, lust, rampant growth and excess.
It became the emblem of gods and goddesses in many different cultures. Philostratus said the most suitable sacrifice to Aphrodite was the hare as 'it possesses her gift of fertility in a superlative degree'.

Pliny the Elder prescribed its meat as a cure for female sterility and reported that if you ate a hare your body would be sexually attractive for nine days. Hare's genitals were carried to prevent barrenness.

Through the centuries stories of the hare abound in relation to the moon and the springtime. If Eostre/Easter was the goddess of spring and the dawn, representing a rebirth of life on the earth, then it would make sense that the highly reproductive hare was associated with her. The sun was always closely connected with the moon as seen in many different cultures around the world.

According to myth, Eostre had a hare that was a large bird which she one day magically changed into a hare. Because this hare was still a bird at heart, it continued to build a straw nest in which to lay its eggs. From this, and countless other stories, we get the idea of an 'egg laying easter bunny'.

Hares are different from rabbits, however, they are not as common as their cousins which lead to the eventual use of the rabbit as the easter bunny, rather than the hare.

Around the 1500's written traditions surfaced in Germany which told of the Oshcter Haws (Osterhaas), a hare that brought colored eggs to children and placed them in the baskets they had made. German immigrants brought the Osterhaas legend to the Americas where it quickly spread throughout families.
As noted above, the rabbit soon replaced the hare due to it being more common.

Hare's build their nests in a flattened nest of grass, compared to the rabbit which lives underground in burrows. This could be where the idea of the 'grass-filled' easter basket comes from, along with the idea of new grass growth in the spring time.

As most myths go, the Easter bunny has been engrained in our culture with the likes of Santa Clause and Cupid. What makes these symbols even more disturbing is that people insist they hold a place in celebrations of our Lord and Savior! Jesus did not die on a cross and rise from the dead in order that we might have liberty to worship Him with abominable things.

"You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things." Deuteronomy 12:4

If God doesn't care whether or not we worship Him using these types of symbols, then that is a far more frightening thought than if He does care (and He does).

Easter Eggs

The “Easter egg” has been a staple of the festivities as long as we know. Eggs were also a symbol of fertility and were often used in various ceremonies and pagan practices. Again, this would explain the connection between the fertility goddess easter and eggs.

How the tradition of coloring the eggs got started is not completely understood, though some historians trace the practice back to ancient Greece and Persia. There are many legends as to how this practice may have begun, but regardless, we know that they are all related to any number of pagan cultures and their practices revolving around the spring equinox.

The egg has been a symbol of fertility and rebirth for thousands of years. Virtually every pagan culture around the world has employed the use of the egg in their fertility rituals.

The ENCARTA ENCYCLOPEDIA;
"The Easter egg is associated with beliefs of particularly ancient origin. The egg was an important symbol in the mythologies of many early civilizations, including those of India and Egypt. It was commonly believed that the universe developed from a great egg and that the halves of its shell corresponded to Heaven and Earth. The egg was also connected with the springtime fertility rituals of many pre-Christian and Indo-European peoples, and both the Egyptians and the Persians made a practice of coloring eggs in the spring. In Christianity the egg is a symbol of resurrection, representing the emergence of Christ from his tomb to everlasting life."

The ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA p. 859, Art., "EASTER" says,
"The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival."

The ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, 1987, p. 37, "Egg":
"In traditional folk religion the egg is a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and rebirth. It is used in magical rituals to promote fertility and restore virility; to look into the future; to bring good weather; to encourage the growth of crops and protect both cattle and children against misfortune, especially the dreaded evil eye. All over the world it represents life and creation, fertility and resurrection ... Later [customs concerning eggs] were linked with Easter. The church did not oppose this, though many egg customs were pre-Christian in origin, because the egg provided a fresh and powerful symbol of the Resurrection and the transformation of death into life"

The giving of eggs during the spring equinox is also a very ancient custom.

The World Encyclopedia, 2005:
"The exchange of Easter eggs is a pre-Christian rite."

So how could a symbol of pagan fertility rites become entrenched in the church's celebration of Easter?

The Catholic Church enticed pagans to convert to Christianity by disguising the celebrations with Christian themes and allowing the people to keep some of their pagan traditions.

Read the quote from Pope Pius below.
Pope Pius V approved this blessing to be used for the eggs: "Bless, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this Thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to Thy faithful servants, eaten in thankfulness to Thee, on account of the Resurrection of Our Lord."

In ancient Babylon it was believed that the goddess Astarte hatched from a giant egg that had landed in the Euphrates River.

The idea of a mystic egg spread throughout the world originating in Babylon. James G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, Vol. 12, 3rd Edition (1907-15, reissued 1935-36 and 1955); Maria Leach, editor, Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, Vol. 1 (1949).

As previously stated, eggs have been used in various cultures and religions to represent the different aspects of fertility and new life. The philosophical or cosmic egg is another nearly universal symbol. Alchemically, the egg is a symbol of the cosmos, as it is in a multitude of folk legends. In Hindu cosmology, it is the source of the universe. The egg as a container of the universe is found in many ancient religions. The egg symbolizes birth and potential. It contains within a miniature sun, and it features prominently in solar mythology. The gods Vishnu, Phanes, and Mithras, are all "egg born" solar deities. Another solar entity, the rooster, is also born of an egg. - from an article found at: www.altreligion.about.com

Wiccans (witches) color eggs still to this day in honor of Ostara (Easter).
"Ostara is a time of fertility and rebirth, and few things symbolize this as well as the egg. By coloring them with bright pinks, blues and yellows, we're welcoming the colors of spring back into our lives, and saying farewell to winter."
- Pattie Wigington from 'Your Guide to Paganism/Wicca'.

Easter

Easter

All over the world people celebrate Easter by coloring eggs, hiding baskets, and waiting for the Easter bunny. And of course the professing church remembers the Resurrection of Christ on this day.

But is there anything wrong with this holiday?

Let's begin by asking a simple question - What does the name “Easter” mean?

The name “Easter” is actually derived from the name of a pagan goddess of Teutonic (German or Northern European), or possibly Anglo-Saxon, origin.
She was known as Eostre, Eastre, Ostern, and many other names, and was believed to be the Great Mother goddess of fertility and sunrise.
Her festival was celebrated at the time of the spring equinox. While some may argue that no such goddess existed, their claims have no support. The Venerable Bede, a highly notable historian, as well as others, including Jacob Grimm (of the Brothers Grimm fame) attested to her certainty. People did worship this goddess and various cults and festivals sprung up in her name.

There have been many goddesses of spring throughout time. Here are just a few examples.

Ashtoreth of ancient Israel Ishtar of Assyria Isis from Egypt and beyond Astarte of ancient Greece Kali from India Ostara from the Norse Aphrodite from Cyprus as well as many others.

If you mention any of this to Christians, most will tell you that it’s not wrong if we use the name of a goddess or symbols of fertility in celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. Most will say something like this: “Well I don’t worship easter, I think about Jesus on that day.” While that may be true to many people, we have to realize that it’s not what‘s right in our eyes, but what’s right in the Lord‘s eyes. He does know our hearts, but He also has a standard that He wants us to walk in - His Word. I do believe that He is merciful to us when we don’t always realize the truth, but most of the time we are without excuse and simply want to follow our own flesh rather than the Spirit of the Lord. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can see how absurd it is to say that "God doesn’t care whether or not I use pagan things to worship Him because I love Him and that’s all that matters". If we truly love Him, then we will obey His commandments and abstain from traditions and practices that are contrary to the Scriptures.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." 1 John 5:3

Let’s see what the Lord says in His Word.

“And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.” Exodus 23:13

“And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.” Deuteronomy 12:3-4

“For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.” Hosea 2:17

“’It shall be in that day’, says the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.’” Zechariah 13:2

*Notice that the Lord identifies the names of idols with the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit.

It would seem that God doesn’t want the names of pagan idols to even be mentioned from our mouths in accordance with worship of Him. It's a very serious thing to God and He specifically does not want us to worship Him using those kinds of things!