Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs to people. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide, similar to the "naughty or nice" list made by Santa Claus. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children. As such, the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa and Christmas by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday. The custom was mentioned in a German text from 1572, which translated reads: “Do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you; should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest” and in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus in 1682, referring to a German folk belief of an Easter Hare laying eggs hidden in garden and bushes for children to find in egg hunt.

Easter

Easter, also called Pasch or Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian celebration and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the Bible's New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Rabbit

Rabbits, or bunnies, are small mammals in the family Leporidae, which is in the order Lagomorpha. They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form of livestock, and a pet, having a widespread effect on ecologies and cultures. The most widespread rabbit genera are Oryctolagus and Sylvilagus. The former, Oryctolagus, includes the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, which is the ancestor of the hundreds of breeds of domestic rabbit and has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica. The latter, Sylvilagus, includes over 13 wild rabbit species, among them the cottontails and tapetis. Wild rabbits not included in Oryctolagus and Sylvilagus include several species of limited distribution, including the pygmy rabbit, volcano rabbit, and Sumatran striped rabbit.

Easter Bunny

Proper noun

1. A symbolic rabbit sometimes depicted delivering Easter eggs to children.