An Easter celebration won’t be complete without the Easter bunny. If you’d think you know enough about your furry Easter buddy, er, bunny, check out some interesting facts that may make your heart leap in surprise!
1. The origins of the Easter and the Easter bunny
Jacob Grimm (of the famous Brothers Grimm) claimed that Eostre was strongly linked to Ostara, presumably a goddess of spring in ancient German mythology. The hare was the original animal for the Easter, not the bunny. Why the Easter hare entered the picture seemed like a puzzle, but according to a recent theory, the hare might have been a sacred animal to Ostara as it lay multi-colored eggs. It was also believed that the hare associated with the pagan goddess could lay eggs because it had been a bird in its past life.
Although hares and rabbits belong to the same family, these two are otherwise different species. Despite that, they’re often confused because they look almost exactly alike and besides, both of them are associated with fertility.
3. The Easter hare used to judge children whether they were naughty or nice
4. Early Christians used to coat Easter eggs with red paint,
as the color symbolized Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Nowadays of course, eggs are painted with different colors aside from red.
5. So how did the Easter bunny become popular among Americans?
6. Chocolate bunnies are wildly popular especially in the US. Americans shell out more than $2 billion just for the Easter candies, including candy Easter eggs, Jelly Beans and these chocolatey hoppers.
Most people like to eat the ears of the chocolate bunny, which is followed by the feet and then the tail.
Chocolate bunnies also originated in Germany, but they didn’t become hollow until World War II where cocoa beans were also rationed. Nowadays, Germany has produced over 86 million chocolate bunnies, with half of these being exported to other countries.
7. Pope Gregory I