How did the Easter Bunnie get started?
360755
The idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.\n\nOnly good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.\n\nA hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.\n\nMYTHOLOGY: \n\nRecently, a neopagan legend has sprung up concerning the Easter Bunny. Though it is usually circulated as a Pagan tradition, it does not appear before 1990; it is presented by a fictitious character, Mrs. Sharp, created by an author of inspirational aphorisms. (Sarah Ban Breathnach, 'Nostalgic Suggestions for Re-Creating the Family Celebrations and Seasonal Pastimes of the Victorian Home'). It reached a far wider audience when in 2002 a version of the story, The Coming of Eostre, was published in Cricket magazine.\n\nAccording to the story, Eostre found a wounded bird in the snow. To help the little bird survive the winter, she transformed it into a rabbit, but the transformation was incomplete and the rabbit retained the ability to lay eggs. In thanks for its life being saved, the rabbit took the eggs and decorated them and left them as gifts for Eostre.[2]\n\nThis story is deemed fakelore by critics, who point out that it has never appeared in any historical account of pagan celebrations, nor in any attempt to reconstruct the same by folklorists such as Grimm. There is also no historical evidence linking Ostara to the hare or rabbit.
457544
When Jesus was crucified, his blood turned to chocolate. This chocolate was so powerful and sweet-smelling that it attracted millions of cute and cuddly bunnies, which promptly drank all the yummy chocolate up.
714832
"Easter" is a variation of the name "Astarte" - a fertility goddess of some ancient civilization (Babylonian?  Assyrian?  Other?).  What better symbol of fertility than bunnies and eggs (I don't know why we dye them and hide them)?
337977
Eggs are associated with Easter for a very simple reason - the egg is seen as the symbol of life (a young chick, duckling etc will grow from it). Then, it also represents Jesus's grave. So when we break the eggs we are remembering what Jesus did when he resurrected and came to life from the dead and got out from his grave (so breaking the egg is similar to Jesus opening his grave).\n\nThe Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. (more about this one at the website below:)
234560
I've know about the pagan link between the Easter Bunny and fertility and such for a while.  Here's some other websites I've found:\nhttp://www.easterbunnys.net/easterbunnyhistory.htm\nhttp://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm\nhttp://www.chiff.com/a/easter-bunny.htm\n\nPretty much, it seems we get the word Easter from the German holiday that used to take place at about the same time of year.  Easter falls close to Passover - the story of Jesus on the cross takes place in the new testament immediately following the last supper, which was a Passover feast.\n\nBasically, the early Christians borrowed symbols from pagan religions for all of their holidays.  Many Christmas traditions stem from these rituals as well.
335062
I don't believe in the Easter Bunny. That's because I used to BE the Easter Bunny. In my youth, I took a seasonal job playing the Easter Bunny at a store. I had to wear a giant, furry rabbit suit that smelled like the worst body odor on Earth. Some of the little kids liked the big Easter Bunny, but other children were frightened, to the point that they would occasionally wet themselves. A kid piddled on my lap. It was unbelievably hot in the bunny suit, and I was sweating like a monster. Dye from some of the bunny fur seeped into my skin, temporarily discoloring it. It's one of those jobs that's interesting to add to a resume, but I don't think I'd ever do it again.
1152788
Where it started.  In England
174412
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention   The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre   The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.\n\n The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America   It was widely ignored y other Christians until shortly after the Civil War   In fact, Easter itself was not wide y celebrated in America until after that tim \n\nThe Easter Eg\n\n As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christi n holiday of Easter   The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuri s old when Easter was first celebrated by Christian\n\n From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures   Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf o , if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flower\n\n Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real East r eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate cand
11351
The Chicken came first. :)
155907
The name Easter, used in many lands, is not found in the Bible. The book Medieval Holidays and Festivals tells us that “the holiday is named after the pagan Goddess of the Dawn and of Spring, Eostre.” And who was this goddess? “Eostre it was who, according to the legend, opened the portals of Valhalla to receive Baldur, called the White God, because of his purity and also the Sun God, because his brow supplied light to mankind,” answers The American Book of Days. It adds: “There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them. As the festival of Eostre was in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, whose gospel they preached.”\n\nThis adoption explains how in certain lands the Easter customs, such as Easter eggs, the Easter rabbit, and hot cross buns, came about. Concerning the custom of making hot cross buns, “with their shiny brown tops marked by a . . . cross,” the book Easter and Its Customs states: “The cross was a pagan symbol long before it acquired everlasting significance from the events of the first Good Friday, and bread and cakes were sometimes marked with it in pre-Christian times.”\n\nNowhere in Scripture do we find mention of these things, nor is there any evidence that the early disciples of Jesus gave them any credence. As the book Curiosities of Popular Customs says: “It was the invariable policy of the early Church to give a Christian significance to such of the extant pagan ceremonies as could not be rooted out. In the case of Easter the conversion was peculiarly easy.
538875
The true meaning of Easter has nothing to do with Jesus. Some Christians decided that's when they were going to have one of their festivals because they thought that stealing Pagan dates, etc. would encourage more Pagans to convert to Christianity. Easter, or Eostre, is a Pagan godess of fertility. That's what the eggs and bunnies are all about.
338206
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.\n\nThe idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.\n\nOnly good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.\n\nA hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.
1030708
Some good ideas already posted. I like to start dogs very early. A good hunting companion is well mannered. You must teach your pup to obey simple commands . Sit ! Stay ! Come ! Load up ! The way I do this is use small pieces of hot dogs and when the pup does what you want, reward him. With any hunting dog, it is very important for the dog to come to you when called. \n Contrary to what many believe, man is not the only thing that hunts for fun. Beagles love, really love to chase rabbits. You may wan to come home and the dog may want to hunt for another hour or so.\n You must also teach the dog not to chase other animals. If it starts to chase deer, or cats, or fox then it will be impossible to run rabbits with it. \n   Have fun !
607720
Definitely the Easter bunny.
388483
I think that when everything happened with Jesus it was the first thing they thought of and out of the world. Because a bunny doesn't lay eggs so a bunny has to put them in baskets for little kids.
267743
The cartoon character was a big snow monster, or something like that.  "I like bunny rabbits George.  I like to hug them, and pet them, and squeeze them."\n\nThis cartoon character was modeled after the movie character though.
475760
It is thought that the hunt for eggs came first, with no association to the rabbit. Eggs were traditionally given out at the start of Spring in Egypt and Persia. Then, as children searched for the eggs, they flushed out rabbits and hence began the stories of the rabbits leaving the eggs.\n\nContinued at http://001egreetings.com/1F/D/AB/index.shtml