Easter
Bunny
It
is thought that the idea of the Easter Bunny was
developed by German Protestants, who wanted to
retain or re-introduce the Catholic custom of
eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want
to introduce their children to the Catholic rite
of fasting, which was the reason for the abundant
availability of eggs at Easter time (they were
forbidden to Catholics during the fast, thus eggs
layed during the fast were stored until the feast).
The
idea of an egg laying rabbit came to the United
States in the 1700s. German immigrants in the
Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about
the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter
Haws") or Easter Bunny. Only the good children
received gifts of coloured eggs in the nests that
they had made in their caps and bonnets before
Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them
when they were not looking.
In
the United States, the Easter Bunny purportedly
leaves baskets of treats (including Easter eggs
and assorted chocolates) on Easter morning for
good children. This is a common practice even
in non-Christian households, as Easter has started
to become a more non-sectarian festival, like
Halloween or Valentine's Day.
source:
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
