Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1930-04-17
Bre'r Rabbit
Long Friend
Of Children

Z bit handles all of the business in
cident to the delivery of Easter eggs to
the children. He builds nests, cOlOrs
eggs and does all of the general work
necessary to youthful happiness. OF
course, you may believe the Easter
rabbit a modern institution. We think
his popularity is of comparatively re-
cent promotion but-say, listen-Bre'r
Rabbit was in the egg trade centuries
before Joel Chandler Harris ever made
Georgia famous, says William Her
schell, writing in the Indianapolis
News
Want TO know about Bre'r Rabbit as
an Easter institution? Well, tradition
reports that this versatile little egg
distributor was in business before the
Christian era He has surrounded
himself with many legends that date
back into the pagan era, long before
the birth of Christ. yet Easter eggs
are supposed to symbolic the Resur-
rection and the rebirth of nature.
AS one ranges back through history
and tradition the connection of the
rabbit with Easter becomes more mys-
ferrous. Here Is one story, there is an
other. They seem at cOunterpOint,
and one may toy with the different
legends as he chooses. Sue Brady,
deliver into mythology, says:
Why the Easter Bunny?
"Into the beauty Of Easter symbol
ism the Easter rabbit and the load Of
sbrightly-cOlOred eggs which he car
ries for good children hops as sort
0f quantity comic relief. Why, ask
the curious, should sleek, fat bunny
and cOlOred eggs be connected with
q festival which celebrates the resur-
rectiOn Of Jesus Christ? There seems
at first glance to be no possible rela-
: ton between this picturesque whimsy
and the great spiritual significance
OF the day.
"Yet, all over the world the Easter
rabbit and the eggs which he brings
are, to the children at least, as i'm
pOrtant to the celebration as masses
and anthems and church chimes.
I'm Germany wee Hans and
Gretchen hold him In almost as great
lveneratiOn as they do Kris Kringle,
for, like the jolly Christmas saint, he
only visits good children. In Russia
grOwnups as well as children greet
each other on Easter Sunday and for
seven days thereafter with an ex-
change of cOlOred eggs. In Italy on
Easter eve, piOus families carry great
lc frrn of tn hr 81 -
blessing. Easter morning these bowls
surrounded by decorations adorn the
center Of the table. During the week
any visitor who may drop in eats an
egg with the hostess.
Egg Hunts Popular.
"In England and the United States
egg hunts are popular. One of the
major national events of the year
to the children In Washington, is the
egg rolling on the grounds Of the
White House under the watchful eyes
of the President and the First Lady Of
the Land.
"a dusty scroll preserved in the
Tower Of London contains the
household accounts of Edward l
of England. One entry made short
ly before Easter is for eighteen
pence (thirty-six cents) to buy
400 eggs for the Easter ceIebra-
ton in the royal household. Outside
of the purely economic interest to the
student of comparative prices, this
Item indicates to a certain extent the
age of our modern custom.
'But none Of these explain the why
OF the custom. AS a matter of fact,
the origin of the rabbit and the eggs
Is very difficult to trace. Most festi-
val customs have some specific per-
son or event to which they can be at
StrTbuted. Not SO the rabbit. The proc
ess by which he attached himself to
Easter and gained lasting affection
in the hearts Of millions Of children
is obscure and the only explanations
which can be offered for him are
pretty far-fetched."
William S. Walsh, nationally known
authority on mythology, was asked
to give his version of the origin Of the
Easter rabbit. He made this report:
and the hare springs from the hare's
connection with the moon. Easter,
since its date depends on the moon.
IS In a sense, a lunar holiday. Now
from very ancient times the hare has
been a symbol for the moon. There are
many reasons for this. A few only
need be given. The hare Is nocturnal
animal nd comes out at night to
feed. The female carries her young for
a month, thus representing the lunar
cycle.
Hare and the Moon.
Both hare and moon were thought
70 have the power of changing their
sex. The new moon was masculine,
the waning moon feminine. But q
more important reason for the identi-
ficatiOn of the hare with the moon
hay In the fact that its young are born
with their eyes open. unlike rabbits,
which are born blind.
''The name of the hare In Egyptian
was 'un,' meaning open Now. the
moon was the open-eyed watcher Of
1.-THE skies at night and the hare born