Author: Егермейстер (---.rochester.rr.com)
Date: 04-09-04 18:06
Байка такая, что пасхальный заяц пришел из языческого культа Астреи, в честь которой Пасха называется Easter. Утверждается, что в начале весны в Египте и Персии существовал ритуал дарения яиц. В Египте заяц якобы ассоциировался с Луной (богиней Луны была, напомню, Исида). Его принято было изображать с открытыми глазами, смотрящим на Луну. А пасху якобы праздновали в 1-е воскресенье после полнолуния. В результате, этого Эстерхази, яйценосного зайца Исиды, привезли с собой в Америку немецкие поселенцы в 18-м веке. Сообщается также, что пасха в Америке стала широко праздноваться только после Гражданской войны середины 19-го в.
http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm
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.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art19136.asp
It is thought that the hunt for eggs came first, with no association to the rabbit. As children searched for the eggs, they flushed out rabbits and thus began the stories of the rabbits leaving the eggs. Eggs were traditionally given out at the start of Spring in Egypt and Persia.
Historically, the rabbit, hare, and eggs in folklore have their basis as pagan fertility symbols, signifying Spring and new life, and the worship of the goddess Eostre or Eastre (usually shown with the rabbit as her symbolic animal). To entertain a child, the goddess turned her favorite bird into a hare, which immediately laid colorful eggs. When the Christians moved into the pagan's territories, they decided that the custom of coloring eggs was not harmful and adapted it to their own festivities.
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following a full moon, so the moon was used to figure out the date of Easter every year, and the hare (not the rabbit) was the symbol of the Egyptian moon. The hare was always been portrayed with its eyes open, watching the moon. In fact, the Egyptian word for hare is "un" which means open. Hares are born with their eyes open, rabbits are born with them closed.
When German settlers arrived in America, they brought with them the legend of "Oschter Haws", the white Easter Hare. Children behaved themselves, believing that, if they were good, Oschter Haws would lay colorful eggs (symbols of rebirth) for them in a nest the children had provided (usually their hat or bonnet, placed in the barn). By the 19th Century, the Easter Hare became the Easter Rabbit. American families would later adapt the nest tradition, using baskets, chocolate, and money. Easter itself was not widely celebrated until after the Civil War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny
The idea of an egg laying rabbit came to the United States in the 1700s. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws") or Easter Bunny.
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