Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-04-10
THE EGG AND THE HARE.
Two Different Symbols Of the Easter
Anniversary.


OF late years there has been a mark
ed and growing tendency on the part
Of Easter artists and confectionerS to
substitute the rabbit or hare for the
old familiar Easter egg as symbol of
the joyous Easter anniversary. In the
well remembered mot long ago. the
egg held absolute and undisputed sway
as the universal emblem of the reSur-
rection. Then the egg "ripened," and
the fuzzy little chick added its cunning
presence to confectioners' window dec
Orations. So far the connection be-
tween the symbol and the event WIS
so easily understood that comment or
questioning would have been entirely
superfluOus. but with the advent of the
bunny" tribe the completely becomes
too embarrassing for silence. and one
is anxious to have an answer to the
question, Why? The timid. dainty lit
tie long cared rabbit is certainly cute
and attractive, but what has it to do
with Easter? No one questions its
beauty or effectiveness, but wherein
lies It's appropriateness?
In seeking an answer to this reason
able inquiry one finds an easy clew in
| the work of Chinese, Japanese and
Hindoo artists, who all agree in asSO-
ciating the hare with the moon. In
the minds OF these authorities the
| man in the moon," with whom one is
| so well acquainted, is not a man at all.
| but hare. and it is found in studying
| the mythology of these countries that
| the hare and the moon are identical in
their symbology, the Chinese repre-
| sentinC the moon as hare pounding
| rice in a mortar. After establishing
| the connection between the hare and
| the moon the rest is easy, for Easter
date being fixed by the council of
| Nice In sol A. ID. 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 entitled
to participate in the Easter cheer.
OF course this only opens the door
to a food of eager questions whose an.
swers are only to be found in dusty
mus.y 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 sym
Dol of the moon is not easy to deter
mine satisfactorily, as history on this
point is shrouded In the clouds of an
tiquity and complicated by conflicting
1 ho
Buddha once desired to feed a hungry
fellow creature and to do this tool
the form of hare. In this form h'
was transferred to the moon, where b,
still remains.
Equally reliable is the account o
Indra's being at one time in a famish
ing condition, when the hare. being al
extremely sympathetic creature, wa
naturally heartbroken at such distress
Unable to relieve the great mans hun
ger in any other way, the hare threw
| himself into the fire and thus save,
Indra from starvation. Out of graf
tude for this sacrifice Indra trans
ferred the animal to the moon.
Many more recent bases for linkin
the hare to the moon could be fount
as the factbf it's carrying it's young
lunar month, being nocturnal in it
habits. its young being born with thei
eyes open and the moon being Gale
the "open eyed and a superstitio
that the hare changed it's sex annual!
the moons sex being changed frol
masculine during its waxing period
when 1t was called the lord of light
and considered as the sign of new lift
and feminine during the waning p.
Rod.
Many other myths connect the har
with the moon and thus indirectl
with Easter. but the delving into sue
realms makes one long for somethin
tangible. definite, exact and historica
something like the present. Twin
l. power of the left hind foot of 4 grav
| yard rabbit killed at midnight in I'll
dark of the moon by cross eyed CO
l.. ored gentleman to bring unceasin