> Origins of Easter
>
> "Easter" comes from Eostre (also Eastre, and Ostara), an Anglo-Saxon Goddess of
> Spring (closely related to the Babylonian Goddess of Spring Ishtar) whose celebration
> Eostremonat was in April, during the same time period as the Jewish Passover, or
> Pasch.
>
> Eostre's sacred animal, or "familiar" was a rabbit (aka bunny). Feeling guilty about
> arriving late one spring, the Goddess saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had
> been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her
> lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly (in some versions,
> it was because she wished to amuse a group of young children), Eostre turned him into
> a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he
> could evade his hunters.
>
> In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay
> eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but only on one day out of each
> year.
>
> Eventually the hare managed to anger the goddess Eostre, and she cast him into the
> skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare) forever positioned
> under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He was allowed to return to
> Earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the
> Eostre festivals that were held each spring. The tradition of the Easter Bunny and
> his eggs had begun.
>
> Easter grass also stems from this lore, being that children would build a nest of
> grass for Eostre's bunny to lay his eggs in for them to collect. Sometimes the bunny
> would lay his eggs in hidden places, and children had to hunt for them.
>
> Eggs were viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is
> believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians,
> Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals. The coloring of eggs
> was an established art, being dyed, painted, or otherwise decorated.
>
> The Catholic's First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of to celebrate the
> rising of their savior Jesus as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal
> Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox, so that it would
> coincide with the Jewish Passover (Pasch) and the pagan Eostremonat. For those people
> to continue celebrating their favorite holidays would help facilitate their
> conversion to Christianity.
>
> The Eostre traditions were celebrations of renewed life over death during the spring,
> which the Christians pointed out is not unlike the Christian celebration of Jesus'
> resurection.
>
> Modern use of the Easter basket can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when Catholics
> would give up eating eggs for lent. To keep eggs that were laid during this time
> period, they were boiled and stored. Celebrating the end of Lent, Catholics around
> Europe would hold Mass and feast on large meals, usually brought to the church in
> baskets to be blessed by the Priest, almost always including these eggs which were by
> the end of Lent, plentiful. Eventually this morphed into the modern smorgasbord of
> candy and treats nestled in the grass for the Eostre Bunny and carried in a basket.
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It is when they cursified the bunny. (nt)
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