Easter Bunny - Easter Rabbit Gift - Hare and Hedgehog - Spinach - Best

This episode is about the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide.  The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy, and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus or the Christkind, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays. The custom was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus (About Easter Eggs) in 1682 referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter eggs for the children.
The hare was a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times, it was widely believed (as by Pliny, Plutarch, Philostratus, and Aelian) that the hare was a hermaphrodite.  The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring in illuminated manuscripts and Northern European paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child.  It may also have been associated with the Holy Trinity, as in the three hares motif.   Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.

Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. Female hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first.  This phenomenon is known as superfetation.  Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the saying, "to breed like rabbits" or "to breed like bunnies"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.
The Bible makes no mention of a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers decorated eggs to well-behaved children on Easter Sunday; nevertheless, the Easter bunny has become a prominent symbol of Christianity’s most important holiday.  The exact origins of this mythical mammal are unclear, but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life.
Eggs.
In addition, Orthodox churches have a custom of abstaining from eggs during the fast of Lent.  The only way to keep them from being wasted was to boil or roast them, and begin eating them to break the fast.  As a special dish, they would probably have been decorated as part of the celebrations.  Later, German Protestants retained the custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, though they did not continue the tradition of fasting.  Eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes, and some over time added the custom of decorating the eggs.  Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red, the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long-dead time of winter.  The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs for Easter, known as pysanky, dates to ancient, pre-Christian times. Similar variants of this form of artwork are seen amongst other eastern and central European cultures.
Easter is a religious holiday, but some of its customs, such as Easter eggs, are likely linked to pagan traditions.  The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring.  From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection.  Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources.  One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.
According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.  The idea of an egg-giving hare went to the U.S. in the 18th century.  Protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws").  Hase means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare.  According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.  Eventually, the custom spread across the U.S. and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Additionally, children often left out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping.
Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular egg-related traditions. In the U.S., the White House Easter Egg Roll, a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn, is an annual event held the Monday after Easter.  The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.  The event has no religious significance, although some people have considered egg rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus’ tomb being rolled away, leading to his resurrection.
Association with Ēostre
In his 1835 Deutsche Mythology, Jacob Grimm states "The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me, but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara".  This proposed association was repeated by other authors including Charles Isaac Elton and Charles J Billson.  In 1961 Christina Hole wrote 'The hare was the sacred beast of Eastre (or Eostre), a Saxon goddess of Spring and of the dawn'.  The belief that Ēostre had a hare companion who became the Easter Bunny was popularized when it was presented as fact in the BBC documentary Shadow of the Hare (1993).
The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore however states "... there is no shred of evidence" that hares were sacred to Ēostre, noting that Bede does not associate her with any animal.
Transformed bird?
Sarah Ben Breathnach in Mrs Sharp's Traditions (1990) provides an origin story for the Easter Bunny: "According to legend, Eostre's favorite animal was a large handsome bird, which in a fit of anger she turned into a hare." Another version of this story, in which Ēostre transforms the bird into a hare in an act of mercy, was written by Jean-Andrew Dickmann and appeared in Cricket magazine.  Both Breathnach and Dickmann present their respective 'transformed bird' stories as if they were legend, though no earlier version of either has been attested
Easter Bunny
Did You Know?
The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds. It was built out of choclate and marshmallow and supported by an internal steel frame.
Easter Candy
Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, after Halloween. Among the most popular sweet treats associated with this day are chocolate eggs, which date back to early 19th century Europe.  Eggs have long been associated with Easter as a symbol of new life and Jesus’ resurrection.  Another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became associated with Easter in the 1930s (although the jelly bean’s origins reportedly date all the way back to a Biblical-era concoction called a Turkish Delight).  According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year for Easter, enough to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide.  For the past decade, the top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy has been the marshmallow Peep, a sugary, pastel-colored confection.  Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer Just Born (founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born in 1923) began selling Peeps in the 1950s.  The original Peeps were handmade, marshmallow-flavored yellow chicks, but other shapes and flavors were later introduced, including chocolate mousse bunnies.
Easter Parade
In New York City, the Easter Parade tradition dates back to the mid-1800s, when the upper crust of society would attend Easter services at various Fifth Avenue churches then stroll outside afterward, showing off their new spring outfits and hats.  Average citizens started showing up along Fifth Avenue to check out the action.  The tradition reached its peak by the mid-20th century, and in 1948, the popular film Easter Parade was released, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland and featuring the music of Irving Berlin.  The title song includes the lyrics: “In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it/You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.”
The Easter Parade tradition lives on in Manhattan, with Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street being shut down during the day to traffic.  Participants often sport elaborately decorated bonnets and hats. The event has no religious significance, but sources note that Easter processions have been a part of Christianity since its earliest days.  Today, other cities across America also have their own parades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols

Rabbits at Easter
A smiling child in an adorable outfit clutches a cute baby bunny in her arms. What's wrong with this picture? Contrary to Eastertime hype, rabbits and small children are not a good match.  The natural exuberance, rambunctiousness and decibel-level of even the gentlest toddler are stressful for the sensitive rabbit.  It is the rare child who will enjoy and appreciate the rabbit's subtle and sensitive nature.
Another misconception is that rabbits are passive and cuddly.  They are ground-loving creatures who feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. Children like a companion they can hold, carry, and cuddle, just as they do their favorite stuffed animal.  It is unreasonable to expect a child to be able to take full responsibility for the care of a rabbit, or to make a 10-year commitment to anything!  All too often, the child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up neglected or abandoned.
Some people think rabbits are a "low-maintenance" pet. In fact, they require almost as much work as a dog.  If they are going to be a house rabbit, they must be housetrained. The house must be bunny-proofed, or Thumper will chew electrical cords, rugs, books, and furniture.  They must be spayed or neutered, or they will mark your house with feces and urine.  They must live indoors, as members of the family.  Rabbits kept in hutches outdoors have an average lifespan of about 4-5 years; house rabbits can live 8 to 10 years.  Predators abound, not only in rural areas but in urban and suburban locations as well.  Outdoor rabbits become bored and depressed from isolation.  To consign these sensitive, intelligent, social animals to life in a hutch is to miss all the joy of sharing your life with a rabbit.  Unless he's part of your daily routine, you will not have the opportunity to really get to know his subtle personality.
Clearly, rabbits are not for everyone! Are you a gentle adult who lives in a quiet household?  Are you eager to get to know rabbits on their own terms - to spend time down at their level, on the floor; to allow the rabbit to initiate gestures of friendship and trust?  If you think you are one of those rare individuals who would enjoy sharing life with a rabbit, please visit your local animal shelter or rabbit-rescue group.  As rabbits have increased in popularity, they are suffering the same fate as our other companion animals - abandonment.  You can also check your local veterinary clinic and "Pets" classifieds of your newspaper. It's a sad fact that no matter where you live, you are within 10 miles of a rabbit who needs a home.  The effort made to find that special bunny means you are saving a life.
So if little Susie is pleading for a bunny for Easter, do a rabbit a favor, and buy her a toy rabbit that she can snuggle to her heart's content.  Let's make Easter a joyful time for our long-eared friends
http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/easter.html

Easter Bunny
by Mary Brandolino
In memory of all the bunnies we couldn't save.
I remember Easter Sunday
It was colorful and fun
The new life that I'd begun
In my new cage.
I was just a little thing
When they brought me from the store
And they put me on the floor
In my cage.
They would take me out to play
Love and pet me all the time
Then at day's end I would climb
In my cage.
But as days and weeks went by
I saw less of them it seemed
Of their loving touch I dreamed
In my cage.
In the night outside their house
I felt sad and so neglected
Often scared and unprotected
In my cage.
In the dry or rainy weather
Sometimes hotter sometimes colder
I just sat there growing older
In my cage.
The cat and dog raced by me
Playing with each other only
While I sat there feeling lonely
In my cage.
Upon the fresh green grass
Children skipped and laughed all day
I could only watch them play
From my cage.
They used to take me out
And let me scamper in the sun
I no longer get to run
In my cage.
Once a cute and cuddly bunny
Like a little ball of cotton
Now I'm grown up and forgotten
In my cage.
I don't know what went wrong
At the home I did inhabit
I just grew to be a rabbit
In my cage.
But they've brought me to the pound
I was once loved and enjoyed
Now I wait to be destroyed
In my cage.
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-7/brandolino-poem.html
 
Easter is a season that has popularized the purchase of rabbits as surprise "Easter bunnies" for young people Easter morning. Please remember to learn about how to care for a rabbit prior to purchase and that rabbits are a 5-10 year commitment.
Impulse buys without thorough research are unfair to both the rabbit as well as the family.  The best surprise you can give on Easter morning is an ARBA membership!  Join the global leader in rabbit care, education, and excellence. Included with membership is our "ARBA Guide to Raising Better Rabbits and Cavies", a comprehensive guide to caring for every type of domestic rabbit.  In addition to the Guidebook, members receive 6 issues of the acclaimed, full color Domestic Rabbits Magazine with articles and images to help you better understand and care for your rabbits.
Your $20 adult membership, or a $12 youth membership is far less than what you would pay to purchase similar publications at a retail store. The gift of ARBA membership allows families to make informed decisions and insures an enriching experience for all. You can join through our secure online store or call us. Join today!
https://www.arba.net/about.htm

The Grimm's Fairy-tale about the Hare and the Hedgehog.

The plant of the week is: Spinach

The word of the Week is: Best