What do bunnies have to do with Easter?

Have you ever questioned where the story of the Easter Bunny comes from? I mean really, do the Easter Bunny and eggs really have anything to do with Jesus' resurrection? The response is no. The tradition of the Easter Bunny goes back to the 13th century and came from pre-Christian Germany. The pagan people of that time idolized a variety of gods and goddesses. The goddess of spring and fertility was known as Eostra, which is where the name Easter comes from. As you may know, spring is the season of new birth. As a result of this, Eostra's representation was the rabbit. The rabbit indicates new life since rabbits are well recognized for their elevated rate of breeding. Over time, this image of Eostra brought about other legends and in the 1500s, the first tale of the Easter Bunny was recorded. Now since you know where the bunny originates from you are possibly wondering about the origin of the eggs. Eggs have been a symbolic representation of fertility for generations and were likely integrated in early pagan celebrations of spring. As Christianity became more popular in Europe and in Germany, old pagan ceremonies began to mesh with new Christian celebrations. Today, we know that Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection. Over the years the Easter Bunny myth developed still further and grew to become what we know it as today. Similar to the myth of Santa Clause, German families would say to their little ones that if they were good the Easter Bunny would appear and bring eggs that they could trade for candy and various treats. The tradition developed of making nests for the eggs and these nests at some point morphed into the splendid colorful Easter baskets that we have today. The legend of the Easter Bunny first found its way to the United States in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania. These days, this Easter custom is a prevalent element of our traditions as are heaps of other norms which come from the roots of our immigrant forefathers. If you would like to play at the Easter Bunny this year, order a gift such as our Chocolate Easter Basket for people you love. Baskets By Rita offers quite a few Easter baskets to consider and is offering 10% off all Easter gift baskets for the entire month of March. This Chocolate Easter basket is oh so cute and affordable. It's simply ducky! The Easter box is filled with a chocolate Easter bunny, chocolate eggs, a stuffed yellow ducky, Peeps, white chocolate chip cookies, plastic egg filled with chocolates, Hershey milk chocolate bar, Godiva white chocolate bar, chocolate pecan Turtles, and single chocolate truffles. http://www.basketsbyrita.com