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  • Today's Question is: "What is the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs?"

  • In this video I'll answer that question from a historical and biblical perspective.

  • Afterwards, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

  • ---It is commonly thought that the word Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who

  • was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe.

  • The only problem with this theory is that it has no basis in history.

  • The existence of a goddess named Eastre or a spring festival in her honor is based on

  • pure conjecture.

  • The same is true of the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggsno one knows for sure

  • how these things became a part of Easter observances.

  • The most we can say is that the word Easter is probably related to the word east (ost

  • in German) and that the Saxons had a month they called eosturmononath.

  • ---The legend of the Easter bunny bringing eggs appears to have been brought to the United

  • States by settlers from Germany.

  • The German tradition of the Easter bunny (or Oschter Haws) migrated to America in the 1700s,

  • accompanying German immigrants, many of whom settled in Pennsylvania.

  • Over the past 200 years, the Easter bunny has become the most commercially recognized

  • symbol of Easter in the United States.

  • Other countries use other animals as the symbol of Easter, such as the cuckoo in Switzerland.

  • ---In legend, the Easter bunny, also called the Easter hare and the spring bunny, brings

  • baskets filled with colored eggs, candy, and sometimes toys to the homes of children on

  • the night before Easter, in much the same way as Santa Claus is said to deliver presents

  • on Christmas Eve.

  • The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere

  • in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning, giving

  • rise to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt.

  • Obviously, none of this comes from the Bible.

  • ---Should Christian parents allow their children to participate in traditional activities that

  • refer to the Easter bunny?

  • This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with.

  • There is nothing essentially evil about the Easter bunny.

  • What is important is our focus.

  • If our focus is on Christ and not the Easter bunny, our children will understand that,

  • like Santa Claus, the Easter bunny is merely a symbol.

  • Easter should be a time to reflect upon and celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

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  • And check out the details section below this video, there is one book I recommend, along

  • with several related articles.

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Today's Question is: "What is the origin of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs?"

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