The history and symbolism of Easter
WHAT IS EASTER?
Easter is considered the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Christ.
It is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after his crucifixion. Easter is the fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah who would be persecuted, die for his people’s sins, and rise on the third day. (Isaiah 53). Remembering the resurrection of Jesus at Easter is a way for those of the Christian faith to renew daily hope that they have victory over sin.
WHEN DID EASTER START?
The early Christians began remembering the Resurrection every Sunday following its occurrence. In A.D. 325, the Council of Nicaea set aside a special day just to celebrate the Resurrection. The problem with an official day was deciding whether the Resurrection should be celebrated on a weekday or always on a Sunday.
Many felt that the date should continue to be based on the timing of the Resurrection during Passover.
Once Jewish leaders determined the date of Passover each year, Christian leaders could set the date for Easter by figuring three days after Passover.
Following this schedule would have meant that Easter would be a different day of the week each year, only falling on a Sunday once in awhile.
Others believed since the Lord rose on a Sunday and this day had been set aside as the Lord’s Day, this was the only possible day to celebrate His resurrection.
Finally the Council decided Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Since the date of the vernal equinox changed from year to year, calculating the proper date can be difficult. This is still the method used to determine Easter today, which is why some years Easter is celebrated earlier than other years.
ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF EASTER BUNNY
Since Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, you would think there wouldn’t be room for paganism. However Easter is one of the holidays most intertwined with pagan symbolism and ritual.
For Christians, the first image to come to mind when they think about Easter might be the cross or the empty tomb. For a good number of the general public however, a blitz of media images and merchandise on store shelves makes it more likely that the Easter Bunny comes to mind. So how did a rabbit distributing eggs become a part of Easter?
There are several reasons for the rabbit, or hare, to be associated with Easter, all of which come through pagan celebrations or beliefs.
The most obvious is the hare’s fertility and signifies the celebration of new life. The Christian meaning of new life through Christ and a general emphasis on new life are different, but the two gradually merged. Any animals - like the hare - that produced many offspring were easy to include.
The hare is also an ancient symbol for the moon. The date of Easter depends on the moon. This may have helped the hare to be absorbed into Easter celebrations.
The hare or rabbit’s burrow helped the animal’s adoption as part of Easter celebrations. Believers saw the rabbit coming out of its underground home as a symbol for Jesus coming out of the tomb. Perhaps this was another case of taking a preexisting symbol and giving it Christian meaning.
The Easter hare came to America with German immigrants, and the hare’s role passed to the common American rabbit. Originally children made nests for the rabbit in hats, bonnets, or fancy paper boxes, rather than the baskets of today. Once the children finished their nests, they put them in a secluded spot to keep from frightening the shy rabbit. The appealing nests full of coloured eggs probably helped the customs to spread.
Back in Southern Germany, the first pastry and candy Easter bunnies became popular at the beginning of the 19th century.
This custom went around the world and children still eat candy rabbits and eggs – particularly chocolate ones – at Easter.