The Dickinson press., 1897-07-31
THE EGG AND THE HARE,
Two Different Symbols Connected Wit

1V9 Different Symbols Connected With
the Easter Anniversary.
Of late years thero has been q
marked and growing tendency on
the part of Easter artists and con.
fectioners to substitute tho rabbit or
hare for tho old familiar Easter egg
as q symbol of the joyous Easter an
niversary. In tho we'll remembered
mot long ago" tho egg held abso.
Lutte and undisputed sway as the
universal emblem Of the resurrec.
ton. Then the egg "ripened" and
the fuzzy little chick added its Gun.
ming presence to confectioners' win.
dow decorations. So far the connec.
ton between tho symbol and the
event was so easily understood that
comment or questioning would have
been entirely supertluous, but with
the advent Of tho bunny tribe the
complexity becomes too embarrass.
ing for silence, and ono is anxious
to have an answer to the question,
Why3 Tho timid, dainty little long
cared rabbit is certainly cute and at.
tractive, but what has it to do with
Easter2 No ono questions its beauty
or effectiveness, but wherein lies it's
appropriateness
In seeking an answer to this rea.
sonable inquiry ono finds an easy
clew in tho work of Chinese, Japa-
nesa and Hindoo artists, who all
agree in associating the haro with
the moon. In tho minds of these
authorities the "man in the moon, I"
with whom one is SO well acquaint-
ed, is not man at all, but hare,
and tits found in studying tho N.Y.
thology Of these countries that the
hare and the moon are identical in
their symbology, the, Chinese rep
resenting tho moon as a hare pound
ing rico in mortar. After estab.
fishing the connection between the
hare and tho moon the rest is easy,
for Easter is really festival of the
moon, its date being fixed by tho
council of Nice in 351 A. D. as the
first Sunday after the first full moon
following the vernal equinox.
So the moon being clearly related
to- Easter, and the hare being related
to the moon, the hare is clearly en-.
titled to participate in the Easter
cheer.
Or course this only opens the door
to flood of eager questions whose
answers are only to be found in
dusty, musty tones of NEUROLOGICAL
lore, and the search is too involved
and tiresomo to be interesting. Just
why the hare should have been
adopted as the symbol Of tho moon
is not easy to determine satisfacto-
rily, as history on this point is
shrouded in the clouds of antiquity
and complicated by conflicting tes.
tlmony. One account has it that
Buddha once desired to feed a hun
cry fellow creature and to do this
took the form of q hare. In this
form he was transferred to the
moon, where he still remains.
Equally reliable is tho account Of
Indra's being at one time in fam
ishing condition, when the hare, be.
ing an extremely sympathetic crea-
ture, was naturally hea1throken at
such distress. Unable to relieve tho
great mans hunger in any other
way the hare threw himself into tho
fire and thus saved Indra from star.
walton. Out of gratitude for this
sacrifice Indra translated tho animal
to the moon.
Many more recent bases for link
ing the hare to the moon could be
found, as the fact of its carrying its
young lunar month, being noe
turnal in its habits, its young being
born with their eyes open, and the
moon being called tho "open eyed"
and a superstition that the haro
changed it's sex annually, the moons
sex being changed from masculine
during its waxing period, when it
was called tho "lord of light and
considered as the sign of new lifo,
and feminine during the waning
period.-New York Tribune. :.
In q City Theater.
WHAT'S tho difference between q
sacred concert and other concerts?"
"Why, sacred concert is always
given on Sunday. Chicago Record.
What Follows.