The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-08-19
THE EGG AND THE HARE.
Two Different Symbols Connected With
the Easter Anniversary.


OF late years there has been a
marked and growing tendency on
the part of Easter artists and con-
fectioners to substitute the rabbit or
hare for the old familiar Easter egg
as symbol of the joyous Easter an
niversary In the well remembered
mot long ago" the 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 cum
ming presence to confectioners' win
dow decorations. So far the connec-
ton between the symbol and the
event was SO easily understood that
comment or questioning would have
been entirely superduous, but with
the advent of the bunny tribe the
completely becomes too embarrass-
ing for silence, and one is anxious
to have an answer to the question,
Why3 The timid, dainty little long
cared rabbit is certainly cute and at
tractive, but what has it to do with
EASTER No one questions its beauty
or effectiveness, but wherein lies its
appropriateness
In seeking an answer to this rea-
sonable inquiry one finds an easy
clew in the work of Chinese, Japa-
nese and Hindoo artists, who all
agree in associating the hare with
the moon. In the minds Of these
authorities the imam in the moon, -
with whom one is SO we'll acquaint-
ed, is not man at all, but hare,
and it is found in studying the my
thology of these countries that the
hare and the moon are identical in
their symbology, the Chinese rep
resenting the moon as hare pound
ing rice in mortar. After estab-
fishing the connection between the
hare and the moon the rest is easy,
for Easter is really festival of the
moon, it's date being fixed by the
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.
Of course this only opens the door
to food of eager questions whose
answers are only to be found in
dusty, musty tones Of NEUROLOGICAL
lore, and the search is too involved
and tiresome to be interesting. Just
why the hare should have been
adopted as the symbol of the moon
is not easy to determine satisfaoto-
rily, as history on this point is
shrouded in the clouds of antiquity
and complicated by conflicting tes-
timony. One account has it that
Buddha once desired to feed a hun
cry fellow creature and to do this
took the form Of a hare. In this
form he was transferred to the
moon, where he still remains.
Equally reliable is the account of
Indra's being at one time in fam
ishing condition, when the hare, be-
ing an extremely sympathetic crea-
ture, was naturally hea1tbroken at
such distress. Unable to relieve the
great mans hunger in any other
way the hare threw himself into the
fire and thus saved Indra from star
walton. Out of gratitude for this
sacrifice Indra translated the animal
to the moon.
Many more recent bases for link
ing the hare to the moon could be
found, as the fact of it's carrying it's
young a lunar month, being noe
turnal in its habits, its young being
born with their eyes open, and the
moon being called the "open eyed, "
and a superstition that the hare
its sex annually, the moons
sex being changed from masculine
during it's waxing period, when it
was called the ''lord of light and
considered as the sign of new life,
and feminine during the waning
period. New York Tribune