ORIGINS:
The origin of the Easter bunny dates back to the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon festivals when the rabbit was the symbol of fertility and was associated with the goddess Easter, to whom the month of April and the honour of the Easter festivals were dedicated. spring among the peoples of northern Europe. It is also assumed that the choice of the rabbit is due to its prolific capacity for procreation, of great symbolic value in a season of festivals dedicated to the fertility of the earth after winter, is a time between the pagan celebrations of OSTARA (which gives the early spring) and BELTANE.
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Its use dates back to ancient peoples of northern Europe, who saw the hare as a symbol: its strong hind legs allow it to always move upwards with ease, while its weak front legs make it difficult for it to descend. Since before Christ, the rabbit was a symbol of fertility and gonadal immaturity associated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte, to whom the month of April was also dedicated. Alluding to this goddess, in some Central European countries the Easter festival is called "Easter". Already in 1835, Jacob Grimm affirmed the possible relationship with Ostara, a proposal that was repeatedly taken up by other authors, including Charles Isaac who states that Easter was "originally the spring festival to honour the Teutonic goddess of light and spring, who was known in Anglo-Saxon as Easter» (Ostara = Old English, Eostre, now made into the Modern English word EASTER)
The rabbit as a symbol of fertility and renewal in the German region became a tradition around the Osterhase. Within this tradition, there was a German legend in which a poor woman, unable to offer sweets to her children, hid in the garden with decorated eggs. The children, seeing a rabbit, believed that it had laid eggs. Since then, the children built a nest that was in the garden waiting for the eggs of the Easter bunny, which fills at night.
Another possible origin of the Easter bunny would be Saxony, where the goddess Eostre was honoured in spring. The hare is the emblematic animal of the goddess and remains associated with Easter. Similarly, in Celtic and Scandinavian traditions, the hare was the symbol of the mother goddess.
And finally, there is the Christian legend that the first being to see Jesus rise from the dead was a frightened bunny that was locked in the cave with him. He witnessed how Jesus got up and folded the sheet that had him wrapped (here arises another mystery that is the Turin Shroud or also called the Holy Shroud of Turin) in that an angel moved the stone that covered the cave and Jesus walked out. The bunny carries the eggs announcing life and its cycle, from which we never actually die. Being a little animal and unable to speak, it occurred to him that if he had painted his eggs, everyone would understand this message. Be that as it may, and believe in what you believe, we only send you the best energies so that you can spend this moment with your loved ones. Life is short, embrace it with all your strength.
HAPPY EASTER! PS: remember that we support the #CRUELTYFREE movement and nothing better than being represented with a bunny.
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