The Easter Bunny

"A Young Hare" by Albrecht Dürer, 1502.  Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

First of all, why a rabbit?  Most likely the animal selected to represent Easter was a hare, not a rabbit.  Hares are generally larger than rabbits, have longer ears, and black markings on their fur.  While rabbits have been domesticated and kept as pets, hares have not been.  But the major difference in regard to Easter is that hares do not bear their young in burrows like rabbits.  Rabbits must use underground warrens because their young are born hairless and blind.  Baby hares are born with fur and eyes open, and can function on their own quickly.  So they are born in forms, shallow depressions or flattened nests of grass.  Some birds lay their eggs in the grass, and that may account for the confusion as to who laid the eggs.

European Hare.

Hares are an ancient symbol among many cultures, from China to Peru.  They represent fertility (for obvious reasons) and especially the rising fertility of the earth in the spring.  The Vernal Equinox was considered an especially fecund time since it was thought that the male and female energies were balanced.  Both hares and rabbits can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with the first litter, and mature sexually at an early age, the perfect symbol of fruitfulness.

Hares are/were sacred to many cultures and often associated with lunar deities. Hares are often depicted in "moon gazing" poses.  In China, the hare was thought to be gazing up at his ancestors in the moon.  The goddess Eostre (there are various spellings) was a Saxon deity in the second century, and later was very popular with Germanic peoples.  They told their children about the Osterhas (hase means "hare" in German, and not "rabbit"), who brought gifts of colored eggs to good children.

"Ostara" as depicted by artist Johannes Gehrts in 1884.  She flies through the air
surrounded by angels as the Germanic people below gaze up at her.  Notice the
hare flying behind her, middle right of image.  Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Christian church was very clever in its proselytizing, and finding that while people were willing to accept another name for their gods, they were much more reluctant to give up their rituals.  So pagan practices were incorporated into Christian festivals.

Folklorists have been trying to tease the meaning out of the Easter bunny/eggs/celebration and it makes for interesting reading, although there is no consensus of opinion as to their origins.  In the next few days we'll look at Easter Eggs, Easter rituals, and other related topics.

***************

Images courtesy of Wikipedia.

******************************

"Mad as a March Hare"

The March Hare from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by
Lewis Carroll.  Illustration by Sir John Tenniel.  The Hare
wears straw on its head, a sign of madness in Victorian times.

The saying "mad as a march hare" is an old one, and refers to the "madness" exhibited by hares as their breeding season commences, which in Europe is February or March.  Their season actually lasts until September or so, but apparently the first signs of their mating behavior struck an impression.  The saying has been expanded to refer to anyone who exhibits excitable or unpredictable behavior.

This "mad" behavior in hares includes "boxing", leaping over each other, jumping vertically (we call that "bunny bowling" at our house) and other rather frivolous behavior.  It was thought that the "boxing" with their forelegs was a sign of males competing for supremacy (the old testosterone flaring up), but scientists now know that it's the females repelling the males unwanted attentions.

A European hare.

The saying was a common one in Carroll's time.  An early poem referred to it that was written around 1500 - Blowbol's Test (author unknown) - which was first printed by W. C. Hazlitt in 1864 in his book Remains of Early Popular Poetry of England:

Thanne they begyn to swere and to stare, 

And be as braynles as a Marshe hare

(Then they begin to swerve and to stare,

And be as brainless as a March hare)

In 1528 John Skelton in his Replycacion wrote "Aiii, I saye, thou madde Marche Hare".  The book Magnyfycence in 1529 has "As mery as a marche hare".  The phrase also appears in John Heywood's collection of proverbs which was published in 1546.

The phrase has been in continuous use since the 16th century, but Carroll made it even more popular by naming one of his main characters the "March Hare".  This character is wacky, and always behaves as if it is tea time.  Subsequent interpretations of the Wonderland story always features a crazy rabbit - be it movies, cartoons, anime, or new books.

Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare from Tim Burton's film version of
Alice in Wonderland.

There is a similar tradition about the "myth of the moon gazing hare", which is the pagan belief that seeing a moon gazing hare will bring abundance, growth, and good fortune.  In pagan times the hare was sacred to the goddess Eostre and eventually evolved into the Easter bunny, yet another translation of pagan beliefs.

One can be "mad as a hatter" as well.  Mercury salts once were used in curing pelts from which hats were made.  Hatters and mill workers often inhaled the fumes and suffered from mercury poisoning, which resulted in neurological damage including vision and speech problems.  This phrase was also common in Carroll's time, occurring in print in 1937 in Thomas Chandler Haliburton's The Clockmaker.

The Mad Hatter by Sir John Tenniel.

There are several alternate theories as to the origin of the phrase, including pertaining to an "adder" - whose venom is poisonous.  "Atter" was the Anglo-Saxon word for adder.  Therefore "mad hatter" has been said to mean as angry as an adder.  It's unclear what Carroll believed, however in Through the Looking Glass, the March Hare and the Mad Hatter were friends.

This March has certainly been mad, from crazy weather to natural disasters.  If I see a hare with a hat on I'm running as far away as I possibly can!

***************

All images courtesy of Wikipedia.

*******************************