What does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter? – Exciting facts about Easter simply explained

What is actually celebrated on Easter? Why do people actually paint and hide eggs? And what does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter? Children are curious and such questions come up quickly at Easter. Often adults don’t know the answers so quickly. Here they are – explained simply and understandably.

Easter, that means spring, colorful eggs, chocolate eggs, Easter bouquets, Easter bunnies, daffodils and… oh yes, something with resurrection was there too, right? Although Easter is the highest Christian festival and firmly rooted in our culture, many people no longer take knowledge of the origins and meaning of Easter traditions for granted. So curious questions from children can quickly get you thinking: What was that again?

What does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter? is one of the most frequently asked questions about Easter. This and 9 others are explained below in a child-friendly way. By the way, here on Greatime you’ll find many more Easter ideas, including Tips for hiding Easter eggs, Easter sayings, Easter gifts and numerous Easter craft tips.

What does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter? – 10 FAQ about Easter enlightened

The following 10 questions have all been asked of me, often by children, but also by adults. The answers to them are formulated as easily understandable as possible, so that they can also be read to children.

1. What is celebrated at Easter?

Easter is a Christian festival, and Easter celebrates that Jesus rose from the dead. For Christians, this is a reason for great hope. For the miracle of the resurrection signifies God’s victory over suffering and death and the promise of salvation for believers.

It is also no coincidence that Easter is celebrated in spring. After all, in the spring, nature rises again, the hard time of winter is over. That is why Easter is a festival of hopeful new beginnings.

2. Where does the name Easter come from?

It is not known exactly. But it is believed that long ago people in Europe believed in a goddess called Ostara. In honor of this goddess, a festival was also celebrated in the spring. Later, the name “Easter” was possibly simply kept for the Christian festival that was now celebrated at this time.

3. Did Easter exist before Christianity?

Easter as we know it today is a Christian festival. But before that, there was an important Jewish festival called Passover, which was celebrated around the same time. On Passover, the Jews celebrate the liberation of their people from slavery in Egypt.

According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified on one of the days of Passover and 2 days later he rose again from the dead. In the Christian faith, Jesus died to free all people from their guilt. So both Passover and Easter are festivals of liberation.

Some Easter traditions date back to Passover, while others have been adopted from other spring festivals of other peoples.

4. What do eggs have to do with Easter?

Eggs symbolize new life, because cute chicks hatch from them when they are hatched. Eggs therefore also stand for a new beginning, just like spring, when the first little flowers sprout again. According to Christian understanding, the opening of an egg also reminds us of the opening of Jesus’ empty tomb.

The tradition of painting eggs colorfully in spring already existed in various cultures and it was adopted by Christians as an Easter custom in the Middle Ages.

5. What has the Easter Bunny to do with Easter?

At some point, the fable arose that Easter eggs were laid by a rabbit and hidden for children. This idea is first mentioned in a book from Heidelberg in 1682. So the Easter bunny is already at least over 300 years old.

How exactly the legend of the Easter Bunny originated is not known. But there are several assumptions why a hare was associated with Easter:

1. The hare stands in pre-Christian traditions for fertility and therefore also for the spring.
2. The so-called three hare picture shows 3 hares whose ears form a triangle, a symbol of the Trinity and thus for God.
3. According to a biblical passage, the hare that seeks refuge in a rock stands for the weak man who seeks refuge in Christ.

6. What does the Easter lamb have to do with Easter?

The lamb is also closely associated with Easter. In many parts of Europe, it is traditional to bake an Easter lamb, a kind of cake in the shape of a lamb. With the lamb it is easier to explain what it has to do with Easter than with the hare.

The lamb stands for Jesus Christ, who is also called the “Lamb of God”. It also refers to the Passover lambs sacrificed at the Jewish Passover festival. And since Jesus died on Passover, he is considered the ultimate Passover lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world.

7. Is Easter more important than Christmas?

In fact, Easter is the highest Christian feast in the church year. So from the church’s point of view, Easter is more important than Christmas. Nevertheless, Christmas is celebrated more in most families.

By the way, Good Friday is the highest holiday in the Protestant Church, whereas Easter Sunday is in the Catholic Church.

8. Does the Easter bunny bring the Easter eggs in all countries?

Almost in all of them. But in Australia, since the 1970s, there has also been the Easter Bilby, a cute marsupial native to Australia. Chocolate bilbies are also sold around Easter time in Australia.

The introduction of the Easter bilby was also intended to draw attention to this endangered species. The introduction of rabbits in Australia, on the other hand, led to a veritable rabbit plague.

9. Why is it called “Maundy Thursday”?

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. It commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples. The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means commandment. This is because at the Last Supper Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment.”

10. Why is it called “Good Friday”?

Good Friday is the day that Jesus is supposed to have died. So not a good day at all, right? But why is it called “Good Friday” then?

Some people suggest it was originally called “God Friday” which was mispronounced later. But most probably it was called “Good Friday” because “good” in former times could also mean”holy”. So “Good Friday” actually means “Holy Friday”.

All questions answered? Great! Then we can all start with the Easter preparations! At Greatime you will find numerous craft instructions for Easter crafting from the Easter chick to the Pompon sheep as Easter lamb.

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