Monday 25 March 2013

Who is the Easter Bunny? Did you know...

It is the final day of the Larry the Liger promotion of The Easter Liger and it got me thinking: who is the Easter Bunny?  Where did he come from and who dreamt it up.  Even Larry the Liger wants to know in the latest story!  I was very aware before looking into it that however it started the confectionery and retail peeps have certainly cashed in on it!

Obviously, Easter is a religious festival but this blog is all about the Easter Bunny and no disrespect is intended in my writings!

Did you know that the Easter Bunny is very, very old.  Much like Father Christmas/Santa Claus/Christ-Kindel, and other festival deities, the Easter Bunny is said to have been hopping about since the 1200s!  I know, how old is that?!  It is first recorded in writings from Germany in the 1500s and is said to have been brought to America in the 1700s.

The Easter Bunny derived from the ancient use of rabbits and hares, as symbols of fertility and new life, to herald the start of spring.  I'm sure most know the expression 'breeding like rabbits'!  The chocolate eggs children adore today are again from an ancient symbol of fertility: the egg.  So the two were used together, with children said to have used their bonnets and caps as nests for the Easter Bunny to lay its eggs in.  Another Easter tradition was born: the Easter bonnet.

Easter baskets were used later and have formed the current traditions of Easter bonnets, baskets, confectionery eggs and egg hunts.  The first Easter eggs and bunnies were not made of chocolate but pastry and sugar and the Easter Bunny was used in much the same way as Father Christmas; good children would be left an egg by the Easter Bunny.

Originally the Easter Hare, over the years the revered hare has become the Easter Bunny and every child I know loves to believe in him just as they do Father Christmas and why shouldn't they?  He is real after all :) 

So if your child asks you if the Easter Bunny is real you can now tell him or her that the Easter Bunny has been hopping around for a very, very long time.  Oh and also remind them that they should always be good girls and boys, just like Larry the Liger.

 
Happy Easter everyone :)

 
 
Larry the Liger - The Easter Liger  available to download from Amazon:               
 
Please be aware an Easter Liger is not just for Easter ;)







 



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