Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-04-12
THE HARE ANDTHE EASTER EGG
Some Interesting Folklore on the Emblem
attic Symbols Of the Easter Season.

attic Symbols Of the Easter Season.
An inquiry made by one OF the
STANDARD readers as to the manner in
which the hare aud rabbit became
associated with the easter-egg has led
to considerable investigation of the
subject, the result of which we con.
dense from many sources of informa-
ton.
1t may be surprise to many people
that the colored egg, which seems go
necessary part of Easter celebration,
is older than Christianity. 1t seems
to have been very generally accepted
as An emblem of the latent powers Of
nature which await only favorable con-
dititions to awaken into life. 1t is
adapted to the opening of the spring
festivals, when Mature awakens from
the sleep of Winter and Earth puts on
her holiday attire.
The Parsees of India distribute eggs
at their spring festival, and have thus
followed custom which dates back
so far that it 10 lost in the mists of Q
prehistoric age.
Intimately connected with the col
ored eggs is the wonderful hare, or
rabbit, and those who have attempted
to find the beginning of the hare or
the egg story have gone far back OF
written history to find the globose
forms of beauty glimmering IN, and
big ears sticking up through, the shad-
ows of antiquity. Bunny is found
in this emblematic character all over
the world-in Africa and Asia as we'll
as in Europe and America, The
American Indians, who are presumed
to know nothing OF Easter, hold their
feast of the Great Hare, and in the
sixth century after Christ, before the
inhabitants of what is now England
had been Christianized, the hare or
rabbit is said to have been sacred to
Ostara, the goddess of Dawn and OF
Spring. Among the nations of South
Africa story is told which connects
the rabbit with Easter. The spots on
the moon, it will be noted, form per-
feet image of a rabbit. As that orb
dies and rises again every thirty days,
it sent the rabbit with message TO
the children of men, which was, Say
to man that even as 1 die and rise
again, so shall he die and come forth
at the great resurrection" But the
rabbit wilfully perverted the message
to one of death-"As l die so wilt
thou die"-and the moon struck the
rabbit with knife splitting its upper
lip-a mark it still bears.
In Asia, the tradition goes, that
Buddha was once terribly hungry and
wandered about to find something to
eat, but found nothing. A rabbit saw
the hungry god and felt SO sorry that
he offered himself as voluntary sac.
ritioe to appease his hunger. The
Chinese deity, not to be outdone in
generosity, instead OF making a feast
OF bunny placed him in post of
honor on the moon, where he shows
his full proportions to the best adj
vantage at the Moon Festival, which
corresponds with our Easter.
A German legend connecting the
egg and animal, in that country's
Easter observances, runs Ike this: A
brooding hen was driven from her
nest and killed by a wolf; whereupon
a hare out of pity for the mother.bird,
sought the nest and cuddled up about
the eggs until the warmth of his body
bought forth the nestlings. In this,
is observed simile of the condition
of the world on the Saviour's coming
Through sin the world was dead, and
by His divine ministration was awak-
ened to resurrection and life. Thus
does it happen that in every German
family the form OF bunny appears
on pastry and confectionery just as
the colors appear upon the eggs in.
tended to verify the beautiful story of
salvation.
In Germany it is the custom to hide
Easter eggs in improbable places and
give the children on Easter morn an
opportunity for an egg-hunt, some
what after the custom of a search for
the bounties of Santa Claus on Christ
mas morning. In both cases, q little
pardonable deception is used. The
young folks are led to believe that old
Kriss Krinkle actually descends the
chimney with pack to fill boys and
girls stockings, as we'll as that bunny
enters the out.of-the-way places to lay
the frescoed eggs which embellish with
rainbow tints the joys Of Easter.