Talk:Easter Bunny/Archive 1

Mythology Makeover

 * It seems people do create mythology, but in this case once again, those who do not like Pagan mythology attack it by trying to make it seem false. The claim that the wounded bird version is only dated to 1990 is incredulous, as my family has told the story "of the chicken turned to a hare by the goddess Ishtar for many decades."  Note the name was slightly different from the Goddess listed in this account, as I am sure it morphs to reflect differing cultures through the millennia. It is the nature of oral traditions that the names will vary from culture to culture. These stories were told to me in the late 1960s, and early 1970s, in Kansas long before the internet, and in the infancy of MILNET and ARPNET, so I must ask say the Mythology portion of the Easter Bunny page needs to be updated, and the Christian propaganda removed.


 * First off, whomever wrote the above, please sign your comments with four tildes. Okay, I added the pagan myth fact not bc I think the article was weighted with "Christian propaganda", Easter is after all a Christian liturgical holdiday in its modern incarnation. However, it suprised me that such a common piece of knowledge was missing entirely. I tried to make the section NPOV, plus a citation for the legend. As far as the particular goddess involved goes, Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon root word to Easter; but fertility goddesses are pretty syncretic in ancient pagan traditions, so I think it pretty much covers Ishtar too. VanTucky 21:29, 8 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I would like to point out that there is hardly any historical evidence that there ever was an Anglo-Saxon Goddess called Eostre. The Anglo-Saxon root word for Easter is actually Eostremonath, the name for April (roughly). The Venerable Bede speculated, many years later, that this name derived from a Goddess but she is otherwise unattested. Lkewise there is not evidence of any connection to Ishtar, no evidence of a connection to hares, rabbits or anything of the sort. Tales told in the 20th century do not constitute historical evidence for the early middle ages. Dmottram (talk) 11:57, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Have a heart please

 * Couldn't you guys have been a little less explicit regarding the Easter Bunny's "fictional" nature (much like you did Santa Claus)? My nine-year-old daughter read your entry and realized the Easter Bunny was "a fraud".  While I applaud the veracity, I denounce your directness.

Not real? since when! Opuscalgary 04:50, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

"Have a heart?" This is an ENCYCLOPEDIA. Facts are to be represented here.

I agree with the mother above. No wikipedia should not be censored and its perfectly okay to have naughty articles in the article about the penis for example. But word the easter bunny, tooth fairy and santa articles carfuly. Say they are part of folklore, or mythic, but don't use the word fake or fictious. The first two words say the same thing but kids might not know what mythic means. We don't have to lie but we can have some tact. And to those who object, do you suppose some adult might think that a bunny actually comes and hides eggs in your yard if you didn't use the word fictious? --Jon in California 11 August 2007
 * That's besides the point. You say that Wikipedia should not censor itself, then you argue that it should censor itself in this case.  What about a sheltered teenager?  There's always an exception.  Klosterdev (talk) 02:44, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Already 8 and still thinks the bunny exists. It's better to have the encyclopedia do the dirty work than have an evil aunt drop the bomb instead. Either way, adults end up looking like liers and lose the trust of their children. It's a natural part of growing up. 19:43, 18 February 2008 (UTC) Still believes in Santa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.228.52.221 (talk)

Lots of children are very excited about easter bunny bringing the chocolates but they do not know the real meaning of christmas. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.153.215.52 (talk) 07:49, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Dubious
Regarding "In France,the eggs are not laid by rabbits, but dropped from the sky by "les cloches de Pâques", flying church bells coming back from Rome where they spent Easter.", I suspect they are comming back from Lent in Rome, not Easter. I don't know though.―BenFrantzDale 05:18, 31 January 2006 (UTC)


 * The bells are in Rome from the evening of Holy Thursday till Easter Sunday, not for the whole lent. They fly to Rome after the Gloria sung in the Holy Thursday mass. --Peter 16:20, 28 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Given the response above, I'm removing the inline dispute tag from the article (which isn't proper protocol). Please feel free to correct the article and provide a reference if you feel the information is incorrect. Cleanr 23:30, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Amateur artwork allowed?
Is there a rule against amateur artwork being allowed on Wikipedia? Was under the impression self-created artwork was OK to use... Anthony Dean 03:42, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, if you're the creator of original artwork, it should be free to use if you're publishing it under GDFL. 惑乱 分からん 18:39, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Is there anyone else...
who thinks this page needs a picture? I think a picture of someone in an easter bunny costume would be suitable. Clamster5 13:54, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

I think soooooooooooooooooooooooo!~!!~@#~$%*) --Noahwoo 03:11, 14 Đecember 2006 (UTC)

Spoiler warning
I just removed this "spoiler warning" from the article for the second time:

I've explained on User talk:Dss971 why a spoiler warning is inappropriate for this page. -- Jim Douglas (talk) (contribs)  16:39, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Exactly. That spoiler warning is counterproductive. Junulo —Preceding comment was added at 21:17, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

POV
The Mythology section is definately in need of POV wrangling. It is making assertions of fact on one side only with no supporting documentation to back it up. Slavlin 18:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the Easter Bunny is prone to attract crackpot New Age theories. The articles about Eostre and Ostara looks okay, but this is rather messy... 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (&lt; \) (2 /) /)/ * 17:58, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Easter "B"unny?
Should the "b" be capitalized? Is it a proper name? Maybe him/her/it will come by and tell us today. Jason McHuff 09:27, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

Sentence Structure
"In the United States, the Bunny supposedly hides decorated hard-boiled eggs, plastic eggs filled with candy or money, and children hunt for them."

This seems to imply either that hard-boiled eggs are plastic and filled with candy, or that the Easter Bunny hides money without eggs. Perhaps "or" should be before "plastic" or something. 71.192.64.235 23:43, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Proposed move of Easter article
Hi. I've started a discussion regarding moving Easter (disambiguation) to Easter (after having moved Easter to Easter (Christian festival) (or something similar). Discussion to please take place at Talk:Easter_%28disambiguation%29, NOT here. Many thanks! --Rebroad 10:31, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Sentence cut out
"Some families participate in the roles of this myth without believing in it literally as a form of play or tradition." - I removed this sentence from the introductory section. It is redundant after what is said earlier about mythology and tradition, unless the sentence specifically aims at torturing the small ones who happen to read the article (I guess it is isn't). --Korovioff 15:20, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism?
From the origins section:"this also occurs in the human race with the common "Chav" being able to get "up the duff" again whilst already pregnant, usually from 2 seperate unknown male aquaintances ." I hardly think this is proper for an encyclopedic entry or even correct for that matter. Vandalism? --85.83.127.1 12:09, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

Origins
Sorry if this repeats earlier debates, but the entire Origin section is full of original research and/or synthesis. Is there any way to reference, not to mention organize, this material? Williamroy3 00:01, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Local traditions
In Finland, especially among Finland-Swedish families, there is a tradition of parents hiding easter eggs and other treats either in the house or in the garden, and children perform a treasure hunt for the treats.

In Romania and Hungary, the children, together with their parents, decorate the Easter eggs on Thursday or Saturday. The Easter Bunny delivers presents to the children on the night between Saturday and Sunday. In some families, the presents are delivered on the night between Friday and Saturday.

In Brazil, the Easter Bunny brings chocolate eggs to the children. It is also customary to give chocolate eggs as gifts to friends and relatives.


 * Anyone have a source for any of this stuff? I have removed it since it was unverifiable.  I tried and found nothing.  Bur nt sau ce  20:47, 4 October 2007 (UTC)


 * People who live in these countries have added the corresponding local traditions (I know that this isn't according to the Wikipedia policies.). For example, if I am living in a country where is a special local tradition which isn't documented anywhere, do you think I must create a site about it before adding it on the Wikipedia, even if it is correct? If you really feel the urge to verify this stuff, you could talk to people that live in those countries. Xammer 11:57, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Issues with the article
As the article stands now, it is not factually consistant with other Wikipedia articles on Easter temrs. For example, look at the article for Eostre and note that it contains more precise language about the origins of the term and it's purported relationship to pagan godesses. The Easter Bunny article is peppered with various neopagan beliefs about these terms which are not rooted in fact. It would be awkward for me to simply rip out all the shaky assertions. I could use some help with this and welcome suggestions on how best to go about replacing neopagan revisionist history with actual facts. Thanks.LiPollis (talk) 02:30, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Origin of Easter bunny
The origin of Easter bunny is not unknown ! It is Alsace in France. Presumably the protestant regions of Alsace. See German wiki http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterhase (22.3.2008 13:46) and my discussion on the french talk page lièvre de pâques and for an actual written source the regional german newspaper (Die Rheinpfalz, Nr. 70, Samstag 22. märz 2008, Unterhaardter Rundschau). I will change that in the Easter bunny article. Christophe Neff (talk) 12:51, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Additional statement: perhaps one should also check the Rheinpfalz source – because one never knows if they simply copied the information from german wikipedia without testing it critically – but as I wrote yesterday in the French talk page of Lièvre de pâques  – it sounds logically and plausible – with respect to historical geography of Alsace. Christophe Neff (talk) 14:31, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I have tried to include the information that easter bunny tradition comes from Alsace but this information was reverted more than one time by user User:Ohnoitsjamie. He did’nt accept my sources. The tradition of easter bunny comes formerly from protestant Alsace. The first description of the easter bunny tradition has been accorded to Georg Franck von Frankenau in 1682, who descriped it in Alsace. It was more or less unknown in Germany before the beginning of the 19 th century- because until this date the easter eggs were brought by foxes, ciconia and Cuckoo and even Rooster. You can check this in German Wikipedia or in a good ethnological compendium ! Christophe Neff (talk) 15:59, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * As noted on my talk page and in my edit summaries, (1) other wikis are not to be used as sources and (2) you're not following WP:REFERENCE guidelines. OhNo itsJamie Talk 16:38, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * in citing the Die Rheinpfalz, Nr. 70, Samstag 22. märz 2008, Unterhaardter Rundschau I am exactly following the WP:REFERENCE guidelines. Strange to see that other statements in the article are accepted without any reference- or a reference is accepted even if this reference has nothing to do with the Easter Bunny as the Grimm reference. ! Christophe Neff (talk) 16:59, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Last time I checked, this: . is not the correct way to make a reference. OhNo itsJamie Talk 17:04, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Newspaper articles may use the name of the newspaper and the date of publication after the sentence (The Guardian, December 17, 2005).from WP:REFERENCEis exactly what I have done (ok I have written source - but with a little bit of good faith) - its more than clear that you will not accept it ! Christophe Neff (talk) 17:12, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * "The Easter Bunny is a mythological rabbit who brings gifts and candy to children on the Easter holiday, most likely based on pre-Christian customs honoring the fertility goddess Eostre" - the second part of the sentence can not be referenced by a verifiabel source or reference - this is more or less nonsense - caused on a misunderstanding (or bad translation) of the Grimms. Christophe Neff (talk) 16:20, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * a last contribution from my part to the discussion – I fully agree with User:Lisapollison that the article actually is peppered with neopagan revisionist history and the article is far away from reality or the historical reality Christophe Neff (talk) 17:07, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Possible Roots in older Jewish Faith
Many ancient Jewish holidays have been morphed into Christian holidays. Purim is the celebration that occurs at the same time as Easter. Purim is also know is the Feast of Ester, the Jewish princess that saved her people in ancient Iran. The name Easter is a simple addition of the letter 'a' the Ester. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tcc42 (talk • contribs) 15:23, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Interesting. if you can find some scholarly sources that assert this, please add to the article.LiPollis (talk) 23:33, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I thought the roots of Easter were in Pesoch (Passover) rather than Purim. Jesus' Last Supper was supposedly a seder, wasn't it? I wish I had time to investigate and contribute citations, but I don't. :-( a random passer-by. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.214.17.5 (talk) 21:54, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Be mindful of not deleting references when you update the article
Today I went back thru older versions of the article and found 3 citations that should not have been deleted. Please, when rewriting articles with a heavy hand, make sure you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak. I can see how this happened here during a major rewrite that cut out a lot of nonsense but still, if the cites are valid and support remaining facts, please relocate them appropriately. Having to go and find them again via google or looking in books is unecessary re-invention of the wheel! Thanks!LiPollis (talk) 23:33, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Chocolate bunnies
I am far and away from an expert here, but I thought I'd ask... Where is there mention of chocolate bunnies? I remember those things being right up there with eggs and "marshmallow chics" growing up. Is there somewhere that talks about them, if not who else would think they be worth a line or two? --AeronPrometheus (talk) 08:38, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

HorseGirl070605
I want the page on The Easter Bunny deleated because you shouldn't believe everything you read or watch and sometimes the most real things are the things we can't see. Sincerely, HorseGirl070605


 * So what if kids can read about the Easter Bunny - they can look up all kinds of sick and disgusting things on the internet as well. Wongm (talk) 07:17, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Citations for verification? Seriously?
Is it completely necessary to include a banner at the top of an article on the Easter Bunny stating it needs addidional citations for verification? I understand the context, but don't put the banner. It almost looks like hyperbole. ~Jonathan (talk) 16:26, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

It surely is necessary because the article has at various times contained a number of speculative and tendentious assertions.

While I find it not unbelievable that it originated with German Protestants who wanted to give their children decorated eggs without the custom of Lenten fasting, I'd like to see some reference a bit closer to the scene than something describing Irish customs. And as for assertions linking hares with Eostre... SteveH (talk) 18:25, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Chocolate Easter Bunnies and Egg
I dont know about the rest of the world but in Australia and New Zealand we do not have coloured eggs. Rather we eat chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs. This should have some mention in the article possibly in the Eggs sub-section.--Chodgy07 (talk) 07:05, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Vandalism
I have never seen such a high percentage of vandalism in edits on any page before. Its seems like 99% of edits to this page are vandlism. It really needs to be semi-protected very badly. --EveryDayJoe45 (talk) 01:44, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Revison urgently needed
The whole opening part presently is unacceptable. Maybe there is a custom like this somewhere in the world; but basically the Easter Hare (being German I go for the original stuff) is neither an "an anthropomorphic rabbit" nor "very similar to Santa Claus". It is a very haremorphic hare which in folklore has grown some human traits (as it is usual with all animals in fables).

As for the origins it definitely cannot be "traced to the German fertility goddess Ēostre" which never existed (cf Eostre - how about reading a link before linking???). There is, however, a vast tradition of Christian hare-symbolism since St. Jerome (around 400) which has been scholarly discussed for ages and was connected to baptism, Easter and resurrection and which was the historic base for the south-west German/Alsatian folk custom of the Easter Hare. As it stands the opening paragraph is crappy. --Kipala (talk) 22:22, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Another problem with the Eostre connection
Aside from what others have brought up... Even if Eostre was an actual Anglo-Saxon Spring Goddess, the hare wouldn't have been associated with her. Hares and rabbits have always been associated with the Moon, and Moon Goddesses, not Sun Goddesses like Eostre. Perceval23 (talk) 09:18, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

Anthropomorphic?
I've never viewed the Easter Bunny as "fully" anthropomorphic in the same way as say, Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit's usually depicted; or Bugs Bunny. Surely the introductary statement is POV and misleading? --Kurtle (talk) 15:45, 19 March 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree (and changed it)--FlammingoHey 03:37, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Origins
The Origin section beginning with the sentence "The Easter Bunny is not an Easter symbol" would be better stated as "The Easter Bunny (has not always been) or (did not begin as) an Easter symbol. It is obviously an Easter symbol today, making this sentence incorrect even when taken in context. Hdavetv (talk) 02:55, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

image gallery tag
Questioning tag because 1) only 4 pics and 2) thematic because is Easter in article context. Seems OTT & could be removed imo. Manytexts (talk) 02:53, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Suggestions for Additions

 * I'd be interested in seeing information on the rise of the commercialization of the Easter Bunny. It seems like the icon and holiday is becoming more like Christmas - with the distribution of gifts - Themepark

Easter bells - les cloches de Pâques
On the Thursday before Easter, the bells in all the churches stop ringing. It is because of the sad days that follow (Good Friday) till Easter day when at twelve o'clock they ring again and we are all happy because of Christ ressurection. It is said to the children that the bells went all the way to Rome to see the Pope and they come back on Easter day. On their way home, they bring back some easter eggs, and they drop them on their way to their church. And yes, we, as children, imagine them with wings... Wonderful memories.!!!! because, the eggs fall down in the garden and get stuck in branches in trees or on bushes, in nests or baskets... if you check google with the french words, you will get some recipies as well as some other informations.... You might use the translation machine http://catholique-nanterre.cef.fr/faq/fetes_paques_traditions.htm http://www.prologue.qc.ca/bibli/conte-legende/cloche.htm http://vivrelafoi.cef.fr/tps_fete/p_clochespaques.php

Redirection?
should redirecting from "ishtar bunny" be allowed here :)

Pisicem Eporas
This film exists, the screenplay was already written. It WILL be released in 2008-2010. Production started Oct 25,2006.

Is Peanuts an acceptable example of the easter bunny in popular culture?
I think not. It is also unsourced user:Jamestown James.

Money Egg
The money egg is a common tradition that in which the easter bunny leaves a small amount of money for the "finders" of any house hold to find and keep. The amount of money depends on how pure of soul the finder is.

Easter Bunny is pagan from The 16th Century?
I’m being accused of having a point of view Imp forcing onto the article. Or not sourcing my words.

The thing is, I am not guilty of Either.

Folks, leaving in that remark allows people who come here to support the idea that Christians stole the Easter Bunny from Pagans is real History. But there is no evidence for it, and it even contradicts the Wikipedia article itself. How can the Hare be a Pagan Symbol that remained in Christianity if the Hare was never associated with Easter till the 1500’s? It can’t be both.

Either the Easter Bunny was a pre-Christian Fertility symbol that survived Christianisation and was incorporated early on at the close of the Pagan era, or else it’s a creation of the 16th Century. There is simply no feasible way to say German Protestants were the first to connect an old Pagan Symbol to Easter.

We know that Christians prior to the Reformation did not associate Easter with hares or Rabbits, and we know the first recorded instance of the Ostern Hare is from the 1600’s.

So how is this connected to Paganism?

How is this not a neutral Point of View? SKWills (talk) 01:30, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The user removed references without explanation; this is something he must know.-- The Master   of Mayhem  09:14, 27 April 2011 (UTC)

Allegedly, people would eat rabbit on Easter, sort of like the Thanksgiving Turkey, and the whole thing is a conspiracy of greeting card manifacturers.Ericl (talk) 16:38, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

As I have read in a flyer for an exhebition in a German chocolate museum, the Easter Bunny did not appear before the 19th century and was popularized by chocolate manufacturers and children's picture books of that time. That sounds very reasonable, maybe someone has a source for that -- 188.193.35.96 (talk) 21:47, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Catholic Encyclopedia.
I removed the link to the Catholic Encyclopedia 1907 and reference to the Rabbit as pagan Symbol. It was based on the Old History Of Religion model, and has been discredited since the 1950's. The current Catholic Encyclopedia makes no such claim.

Why do we need outdated information in Wikipedia?

Worse, it adds to the stupid "Easter is Pagan" nonsense we hear endlessly every year.

The Easter Bunny is clearly a German Protestant creation. Why link it at all to Pagan fertility symbols when the Lutherans from the 1500's wouldn't have when they made the Ostern Hare? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.24.236.160 (talk) 03:24, 13 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Please provide a reference for that.
 * It is a widespread pov, that claim is a fact. Add another view, contemporary or later, to give an overview. Please don't remove facts. I'm extremely sceptical that an incontrovertible determination has been made, there are just very good guesses supported by scholarly interpretation.
 * The content makes no such claim, 'hares are pagan': they have an important place in a diverse range of cultures, religions, and mythologies.
 * Please provide a reference for that. cygnis insignis 09:36, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

SO what your saying is that the Easter Bunny evolved form a pagan fertility symbol. Doesn’t that seem odd, given the rest of the articles claim that its from the Rhineland and the first real recorded use of the Easter Bunny is in the 1500’s?

Are we to believe that Germany in the 1500’s jihad a huge Pagan contingent worshipping pagan fertility rights, and the Protestants took their Symbol? Or was the Easter Bunny a long forgotten pagan Symbol that the protestants over 1000 years later decided to revive?

All this does is add “evidence” for those who want to say Ester is a Pagan holiday stolen by Christians. it’s the same Pseudo-History you find everywhere else online.

Check the reference yourself. The Catholic Encyclopaedia you link to is from 1907, its not modern.

It just makes no sense though. Its not logical to think that Christians took a Pagan Symbol, but didn’t actually take it till the 1500’s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SKWills (talk • contribs) 19:31, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

1: How do you sign this?

2: Here is a link.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4171032,00.html

And another.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/john_mark_reynolds/2010/04/on_pagan_easter.html


 * Just a quick comment: This last article link is perfectly irrelevant to the topic and is certainly not a scholarly contribution. Nobody is suggesting that the entire "celebratory cause" of Easter is pagan. Of course the "reason for the season", as the good Christian who wrote said article points out, is the whole "Jesus Reloaded" idea (or "Jeebus Revolutions", if you will). That does not make the name of the holiday any less pre-Christian, nor the hare or the associated notions of springtime fertility, nor even the fact that there had already been some form of spring-time festival around the same season in place long before the Judeo-Christian holiday superseded it (which, incidently, the gent in the article freely acknowledges). Trigaranus (talk) 06:05, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

The whole "Pagan symbol" nonsense is just contradictory rot. While looking for this I found another site that has now merged the two. The Easter Bunny is still pagan but they admit it wasn't incorporated in until the 1500's. Rather than drop the original idea that its Pagan, they kept it and just modified the story form Christan's stealing the Easter Bunny from pagans in the 300's, to them stealing it in the 1500's.

But the Easter Bunny has no Pagan Roots.

Why include this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by SKWills (talk • contribs) 19:43, 13 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I've been meaning to dig deeper into this for some time now to assess the situation, but it seems that you may need some reminding that "pagan relics" are commonplace in modern Germanic language-speaking regions; i.e. in the Anglosphere, one encounters "Yule", "Easter", names like "Ingrid" and "Alfred", and so on. Further, something appearing on the record at a late date does not somehow negate it as having not existed prior to its appearance on the record. Finally, and most importantly, please use only reliable (in other words, for this subject matter, academic) works as references and, for the love of Wikipedia, stick to them. Thank you. bloodofox: (talk) 01:42, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Ladies and gents, you’re asking me to prove a negative.

I’m not saying Hares were never used in Pre-Christian paganism as a Symbol, I’m saying there is no real evidence linking the Ostern Hare to Pre-Christian Paganism. How on earth can I prove there is no evidence by presenting positive evidence?

Even the examples listed here such as names like Yule or Alfred make no impact. We’re discussing the origin of the Easter Bunny. The difference is, Alfred has always been part of the German Language as a name, and so has Yule. We have a clear History of them being used consistently from pre-Christian times t the present. Meanwhile, we have no such History for the Ostern Hare.

Medieval Catholics did not associate Pascha with hares. There was no Ostern Hare in 1300 AD. The Catholic Church ( and also the orthodox, but we are discussing Germany here) simply never had this custom.

If the Ostern hare is a surviving pagan Remnant, how is its survival explained? What Is its transmission History from Pre-Christian fertility Rites to Lutherans in the Rhineland?

As it didn’t enter Protestant custom from the Catholic Church, from whence did it enter?

Ambient Culture? What evidence is there?

As Hares exist in nature, it should also be noted that the use of a Hare as a Symbol should be expected from many Cultures that are not related to each other. Its not like every instance of an Eagle being used as a Cultural Symbol means one culture got the idea from another. It means both are acquainted with Eagles. The same is true of Fish, bears, or Cats, or Dogs, or Snakes, or Lizards, or Crows.

So, why should we assume Hares would have to come to Christianity from Pagans rather than from nature and observation?

Also, while the 1907 Catholic Encyclopaedia says Hares were associated with Paganism, another interesting problem emerges. We have no proof even of this. Can anyone show any Mythology from the Teutonic or Celtic or Norse or Germanic or Anglo-Saxon cultures that actually uses he Hare as described? Because its usually connected to the goddess Eostre, but Eostre we know nothing about and have no real Mythology on either. So what evidence do we have that Pagans actually used this symbol? Any actual Mythology?

SKWills (talk) 18:36, 14 April 2011 (UTC)


 * May I quickly recap with you: Is the alternative explanation that you (or rather one articles produced by you) propose that the hare / bunny was introduced into early protestant Easter customs because the children wanted to know "where all the eggs were suddenly coming from"?
 * When I came across this debate, I went through the following motions:
 * no mythology whatsoever concerning Eostre has been preserved in the written tradition -- this is universally true for almost every Germanic deity whose myths were not recorded by Snorri or Saxo, and therefore for most of the Anglo-Saxon pantheon
 * hares are virtually absent from the gospels, certainly from the story on the passion-resurrection of Jesus -- which is why I would be surprised to find them in the centre of a new, essentially evangelical, custom
 * the only scholarly pre-humanist tradition on hares I know of (Physiologus) is limited to the supposed fact that hares cannot run fast downhill (a popular misconception dating back to classical Antiquity); on the up side, and surprisingly so, the hare was not vilified for being too sexually prolific
 * hares feature prominently in folklore, but for all I know they are absent from eastern Easter customs (?)
 * popular antiquities / folklore are a residue of customs from times immemorial; this is not to imply that a folk custom is per se ancient, but merely that it can be; as a classic example, take the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, or the various instances of pagan deities half-remembered in popular belief until well into modern times (e.g. in my region the Wüetisheer)
 * folk customs have a way of escaping literary notice for a long time, especially those that were never considered too detrimental to Christian morals; nobody is asking you to "prove a negative", but you should not assume something to be a proven negative in turn, either: the absence of references to Easter bunnies before ca. 1500 is only that, and cannot be construed as a positive indication for the absence of the custom -- this is not to claim the opposite of what you say, but simply to qualify it. The Reformation is a watershed for information, as there are only very few customs attested before 1500 at all, which of course cannot imply that there weren't any.
 * I think the burden of proof is fairly balanced in this instance. I would be very curious to read more recent folklorists on the topic (e.g. Alois Doering) or to find early protestant references to the hare. So far, the academical mainstream still seems to favour the non-Christian hypothesis. (And a hypothesis it is.) Trigaranus (talk) 19:43, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Hmm... add to that St Ambrose. Apparently he used some form rabbit allegory. This should be checkable somewhere online... Trigaranus (talk) 20:09, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

So not only an we not remove the claim that hares wee pagan Symbols, something we have no actual evidence for, but I cant even add one sentence explaining we don’t have evidence hat links Pagan customs to Protestant ones form the 1500’s?

Why is it so wrong to put into the article the fact that we don't have any evidence to back up a link between the Easter Bunny and Pre-Christian Pagan culture? SKWills (talk) 18:10, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Almost everything on this page is apologia, and not even a very laudable attempt. However, before I get into the main gist of the argument, I will preface it with this. I do not think anyone in recent memeory said 'Let's combine pagan teachings with Christian teachings'. However, it is a verifiable historical fact that many non-Christian cultures kept their original customs even after converting to christianity in some form. Thewre are many customs that people today think of as Christian that are in fact tied to pre-existing beliefs. In this case, it seems as though not even the slightest attempt has been made at research before stating that the claims of the non-Christian, origins of the easter bunny are false. The main reason I say this is that there is a large body of evidence that shows that Easter itself is of non-Christian origin. Just for brevity's sake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eostre

Following that, it is not at all unlikely that the bunny, too, would have non-christian origins, as follows. I'm going to list just a few quotes here, and these are from known authors and researchers.

“The hare, the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt, a symbol that was kept later in Europe…Its place has been taken by the Easter rabbit” - Encyclopedia Britannica, 1991 ed., Vol. 4, p. 333

“The Easter bunny is not a true Christian symbol” - John Bradner, Symbols of Church Seasons and Days, p. 52

“Although adopted in a number of Christian cultures, the Easter bunny has never received any specific Christian interpretation” - Mirsea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 558.

“In Germany and Austria little nests containing eggs, pastry and candy are placed in hidden spots, and the children believe that the Easter bunny, so popular in this country, too, had laid the eggs and brought the candy” - Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, pp. 235

I quote this one because it is very clear this researcher knows of the German path of the easter bunny. It is also clear, as you read on, that he didn't just track it back that far and then give up. “The Easter bunny had its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore… The Easter bunny has never had religious symbolism bestowed on its festive usage… However, the bunny has acquired a cherished role in the celebration of Easter as the legendary producer of Easter eggs for children in many countries” - Francis X. Weiser, Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, pp. 236

There is also the matter of what historians knew at the time when the easter bunny was being imported into the United States. "The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility." (Karl Joseph Simrock, Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie, p. 551.) He wrote this over a period of time from 1853 to 1855.

This here, is the crux of the matter. Calling the easter bunny 'pagan', in a derogatory way, makes it seem as if there is some sort of evilness behind it, which seems to be what people are taking exception to. However, the fact still remains that the easter bunny is of pre-Christian origin. At the very least since there is ample proof for the non-Christian origin, and none for a Christian origin, there should be a section as there is in the article for Easter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter#Controversies - 99.152.197.82 (talk) 01:57, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

Spring Rabbit??? REALLY?
WOW, I knew wikipedia was going down hill but this one even confuses me.

This article is about the Easter bunny. If some town wants to create its own fictional creature it can do so. I am 34 years old. I have lived in the US my whole life, I have never heard of a spring bunny and if I did, I wouldn't call it an Easter bunny. My suggestion is make a separate article for the new fictional creature. You can put a reference to the new fictional creature in the "See Also" section. If you don't understand why this is stupid. consider this; Lets say you made a movie called the big cat. and I made a similar movie called The large cat. Lets say someone wrote a wiki article about your movie "The Big Cat" would the lead say "sometimes called the Large cat"?... No they are 2 different things, thus the different name. So write an article about your new Spring bunny.. but don't call an Easter bunny a spring bunny.. Mantion (talk) 23:35, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Easter Bunny or Easter Hare?
An aspect of the Easter Bunny entry that is lacking is the differentiation between hare and bunny rabbit. Historically a hare is the animal associated with the Goddess of Easter, and with fertility and Christianity; also, currently in Europe symbolic animal of Easter is the hare. In Holland, for example, the Easter Hare is the 'Paashaas.' Conor D Graham (talk) 21:55, 8 April 2012 (UTC)

Repetition
As it stands, the sections on "Origins" and "Eggs" repeat each other quite a bit in regards to the German origin of the rabbit. On a sidenote, there needs to be some consistency on how to type the name in German. Not knowing any German, I am not the person to decide this.217.12.20.48 (talk) 09:33, 22 March 2011 (UTC)Anonymous Coward, 22/3/2011, 10:30 AM

I'm a bit sick of seeing the "pagan" card played in terms of history. It's done because paganism has been largely discredited, but in cases like these is a diversion. The history of the Easter rabbit has nothing whatever to do with paganism, so the paganism card is irrelevent.

The rabbit constellation has been around since at least 4300 BCE, and is associated with Osiris in Egyptian mythology. That is a fact. The word "Osiris" gradually became corrupted into the word "Easter". That is a fact. The rabbit (or hare) of the rabbit constellation belongs to a myth wherin a bird is turned into a rabbit, and turns back into a bird a the vernal equinox and lays eggs. That is a fact. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gsmonks (talk • contribs) 05:52, 30 April 2011 (UTC)


 * My favorite part of this post is "The word "Osiris" gradually became corrupted into the word "Easter". That is a fact." &#58;bloodofox: (talk) 17:57, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

For crying out loud. Pre-schismatic Christian sources indicate that the "Easter Bunny" WAS DINNER in a number of regions of the Roman use. (Ever heard of a Thanksgiving turkey?) This article looks like a pagan tract. Be serious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.87.36.182 (talk) 09:06, 29 March 2012 (UTC)


 * This is a pagan thing. The Easter bunny and eggs have nothing to do with Christianity. It's a fertility symbol. Keep in mind that the Church adopted pagan holidays as their own to help convert people. Another example is the Christmas tree and Mistletoe. DavidRavenMoon (talk) 20:53, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

13th-century pagan Germany?
"Easter Bunny's origins are rooted in 13th-century pagan Germany"

Really? 13th-century pagan Germany?

(Yes, I looked at the original reference, the quote comes from there.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 23.25.193.161 (talk) 00:37, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

Any better sources?
I'm finding myself strangely frustrated - the most informative sources I find are, well, just not stuff we cite on Wikipedia.

Google Answers tells us a translation of that "De ovis paschalibus" cited in the article: "In Alsace and the neigboring regions those eggs are called rabbit-eggs because of the myth that is told to make the simple-minded and children believe that the Easter Rabbit was laying and hiding them in the grass of the gardens, so the children search them even more eagerly, for the delectation of the smiling adults."; it also says that "Although the rabbit, appearing in strikingly large numbers in springtime, was certainly a logical choice, it is interesting to know that spread of the tale of the Easter Rabbit was for quite a long time limited to Protestant regions in southern Germany. In other regions, different animals were responsible for the Easter eggs: Hen, cock, stork, cuckoo, fox and even the Easter lamb itself were among the other egg-bringers."

The translation of De ovis paschalibus (which I think I recognize, most amusingly, as the template for Lovecraft's De Vermis Mysteriis!) is also cited by a Blogspot entry, which also goes on that "In the medieval bestiary, the hare was a symbol of purity. Unlike the rabbits, who were 'at it like knives', hares were thought to reproduce asexually, changing gender in order to do so; a belief which started in ancient Egypt and carried through to eighteenth century Europe. A single hare in church art represented the Virgin Mary, and a trio of hares (sometimes seen as carved roof-bosses) were symbolic of the Holy Trinity." (Actually this last part is sourced in Three hares) /&#61;n (talk)Bloch's De Vermis Mysteriis, APRL. /&#61;n (talk) 01:53, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

If someone happens across better sourcing, please add this stuff. Thanks. Wnt (talk) 13:49, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

I must whole-heartedly agree! With FEW exceptions, the sources cites in this article are simply un-worthy of academia! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.39.20.191 (talk) 02:42, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

Hear, hear!
Altho I was thinking of that point in the 1980s when c. 1/3 of library catalogues moved to electronic form and librarians noticed users stopped using the old format. Think we might be in danger of doing the same? /&#61;n (talk) 01:53, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

Does the Easter Bunny really lay eggs?
I thought only chickens lay eggs. Do rabbits lay eggs? 129.180.159.118 (talk) 09:27, 14 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Most vertebrates (and arthropods) lay eggs. Rabbits, however, are placental mammals and do not lay eggs. Whether or not a fictional character "really" lays eggs is not a reasonable question. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 14:58, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Easter Wizard
I have just removed the section about the Swedish "Easter Wizard", which I deem to be a complete hoax. The user who added it has not made any other contributions to wikipedia. Påskkarlen does not translate into Easter wizard - karl simply means man while trollkarl means wizard (something like "sorcery-man"). The two purported sources that were added a week ago mention only the easter witches (påskkärring), which are indeed a thing but do not imply the existence of a male variant. You can also check the reddit thread http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/31ipf5/til_that_sweden_has_the_easter_wizard_and_not_the/ to see a bunch of Swedish users weighing in that they have never heard of this wizard. All webpages I could find through googling "easter wizard" referred to this wikipedia page, if they referred to anything at all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.225.0.251 (talk) 11:40, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Time Travelling Ukranians?
"The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs for Easter, known as pysanky, dates to ancient, pre-Christian times." - Really? Extraordinary prescience. Perhaps it was just the Ukrainian art of decorating eggs that predated Christianity. Stub Mandrel (talk) 19:45, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

Easter bunny idea introduced to UK from US?
Here in the UK, the Easter Bunny is now a set idea - Lindt chocolate bunnies in the shops etc. We hear about the Easter rabbit a lot from US tv, which of course we have a lot here. Reading about its origins in the US, it was brought from Germany, and a hare was translated into a rabbit. I understand it was never a tradition here in the UK, and that it went from Germany to the US and, like so many other things (Halloween, proms etc) we have recently adopted American celebrations here in the UK. What is the evidence for the adoption of the Easter Bunny in the UK? I know it is relatively recent, but I wonder how recently? I have a letter written in the 1940s where the writer (a British person) comments on this strange American tradition. So how recently has it become set in the UK? It's not traditional, that's for sure. 86.170.13.50 (talk) 20:49, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
 * When I was a kid in the 1960s the Easter Bunny was well established.Stub Mandrel (talk) 19:46, 4 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I was born in England in 1955 and don't remember the Easter Bunny from my childhood, though chocolate easter eggs were common. I don't remember easter egg hunts either. Like Halloween, I think it has become mainstream in Britain during the last 20 years. American children's culture does have a tendency to spread to the UK, especially when there's money to be made. The Walmart owned ASDA has been a leading player in that respect. --Ef80 (talk) 21:07, 8 April 2017 (UTC)

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions
This should not be mentioned in the same section as any association with Ostara. Her work is hardly scholarly, its goal is closer to self help than actually being informative of any kind of Germanic tradition. Besides, that work is focused Victorian traditions. Mshoward42 (talk) 14:47, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

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Easter Bunny Origins...
I'm surprised that this article contains so little about the ancient origins of the Easter Bunny. Firstly, is there not a Celtic pagan myth about the goddess of springtime Eoster, who freed a bird frozen to a branch by turning it into a hare. The hare did not forget that it was once a bird because it continued to lay eggs, but seeing as it no longer had any use for the eggs, it gave them away. Also, no reference to previous versions of the mother goddess / goddess of fertility, specifically: Ishtar, ancient Babylonion deity whose symbols included rabbits and eggs. The names Ishtar / Eoster and variants can be read as Easter in our current etymology... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.183.4 (talk) 19:06, 18 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Source? - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 04:07, 19 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Please read Ēostre. Especially the section about hares. Come to think of it, we definitely need a section about this Hislopian Babylon nonsense... &#58;bloodofox: (talk) 22:14, 19 February 2015 (UTC)


 * This is not an authentic legend, and the earliest reference that has been found to it is in 'Mrs. Sharp's Traditions' by Sarah Ben Breathnach, 1990. A version of the story was also printed later in Cricket magazine in 2002. Given how widely circulated the story now is, do we need to make mention of it here? Cavalorn (talk) 14:06, 10 March 2016 (UTC)

This Wiki page has been hijacked by Christians and provides quack theories and hermaphrodite bunnies and fails to mention the pagan influence. SO sad we have become prisoners to fake, Christian made up stuff.38.77.10.185 (talk) 00:02, 25 April 2017 (UTC)

One H. Krebs in the Notes section of the journal Folk-Lore (1883) reported the following on page 122: “Easter-Eggs and the Hare.—Some time ago the question was raised how it came that, according to South German still prevailing folk-lore, the Hare is believed by children to lay the Easter-eggs. I venture now to offer a probable answer to it. Originally the hare seems to have been a bird which the ancient Teutonic goddess Ostara (the Anglo-Saxon Eàstre or Eostre, as Bede calls her) transformed into a quadruped. For this reason the Hare, in grateful recollection of its former quality as bird and swift messenger of the Spring-Goddess, is able to lay eggs on her festival at Easter-time (r. Oberle’s Ueberreste germanischen Heidentums im Christentum, 8vo, Baden-Baden, 1883, p. 104.)” It can be found online at this link:    https://books.google.ca/books?id=uwgNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA121&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false  He was quoting from a German book by K. A. Oberle:  “Der Hase scheint vorerst ein Vogel gewesen zu sein, den die Göttin in ein vierfüssiges Tier verwandelte; darum kann er in dankbarer Erinnerung an seine frühere Eigenschaft als Vogel am Feste der Göttin Eier legen.”  That quote can be found online here, page 104:  https://archive.org/stream/berrestegermani01obergoog#page/n119/mode/2up  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.202.3.16 (talk) 14:04, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 March 2018
Add Easter Bilbly to other names of "Easter Bunny" inside the Herrpeabody (talk) 12:17, 21 March 2018 (UTC) .
 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done This designation already appears in the See also section.      Spintendo       16:25, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
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