Easter Blog - Transfer from The Space

First things first, folks!!!

This past week, I have heard the question posed several times:

What the hell do the Easter Bunny and egg hunts have to do with the "REAL" meaning of Easter
(the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ)????

My first thought was that it must have had to do with traditional symbols of fertility and renewal/rebirth. In fact, when they mentioned it in the hair salon the first time, my first response was that the rabbits must have come in because of how much they like to have sex.

I wasn't joking, but I really had no clue just how close my answer was/is to the actual truth of the matter...without having read up on it....just based on what I know about religion and history, and what I felt when I walked outside...you know, that feeling you get the first day when your mind, body and soul all recognize that Springtime has come round again.





Much respect to artist Connie Tom.


Soooooo for those of you who have been asking about the connection between the flowers, the eggs, the bunny, and Jesus, here is this enlightening article.

How's the Easter Bunny connected to Easter?
Egg-delivering rabbit's origins traced back to 13th century

By Lauren Effron

Discovery Channel

updated 10:47 a.m. CT, Fri., April 2, 2010

There's no story in the Bible about a long-eared, cotton-tailed creature known as the Easter Bunny. Neither is there a passage about young children painting eggs or hunting for baskets overflowing with scrumptious Easter goodies.

And real rabbits certainly don't lay eggs.

So why are these traditions so ingrained in Easter Sunday? And what do they have to do with the resurrection of Jesus?

Well, nothing.

Bunnies, eggs, Easter gifts and fluffy, yellow chicks in gardening hats all stem from pagan roots. They were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition of honoring the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

According to University of Florida's Center for Children's Literature and Culture, the origin of the celebration — and the Easter bunny — can be traced back to 13th century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate.*

Read the rest of the article here. *emphasis added

I am not sure how many times the answer has to link back to "pagan religions" for people to realize that the way that we relate and connect to our planet, i.e. the changing seasons and the spiritual principles reflected in that physical reality is constantly growing and evolving...and in the way we do it today, it is somewhat lopsided and incomplete. It may be a bold statement to make (especially on Easter Sunday itself with the current meaning it holds for many Christians), but any celebration of an Easter Resurrection that doesn't acknowledge the rebirth and renewal of the planet and all living things on it...that doesn't celebrate divinely feminine principles of fertility and the lush sexuality in the air would be incomplete. There is a reason (outside of simple commercialism) that we hold fast to these so-called "pagan" traditions. In celebrating an Easter with primarily male connections alongside the feminine counterpart, we honor a certain balance that is evident all around us. Spring, the time when plants come alive, revealing their sexual organs again, seducing each other without saying a word, (all for our viewing and sniffing pleasure ) is something that affects all of us in evident, and not so evident ways.

Sooooo...enjoy your church services, and celebrate the idea of rebirth, renewal, and resurrection in a masculine form....and take the time to sniff a rose, lily, tulip or two, give away some chocolate, and appreciate the viral quality in a rabbit, for those parts definitely have their place as well.

Again, Happy Easter,

SNS aka Purple Rose