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Easter bunny

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In European traditions, the Easter bunny is known as the Easter hare. The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious #beliefs #ceremonies #institutions *roles down through the years. Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe. Archaeologists have #clarified #described #illustrated *interpreted this as a religious ritual, with hares representing rebirth. Julius Caesar mentioned that in Britain, hares were not eaten due to their religious #consequence #influence #relevance *significance . | In the classical Greek tradition, hares were #devoted #holy *sacred #spiritual to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Meanwhile, Aphrodite’s son Eros was often *depicted #exhibited #highlighted #illustrated carrying a hare as a symbol of unquenchable desire. The Virgin Mary is often shown with a white hare or rabbit, #portraying #proving #suggesting *symbolizing that she overcame sexual temptation. | But it is in the folk traditions of England and Germany that the figure of the hare is #correctly #respectively *specifically #variously connected to Easter. Written accounts from England #acknowledge #disclose *mention #specify the Easter hare, particularly in terms of traditional Easter hare hunts and the eating of hare meat at Easter. | The eating of the hare may have been *associated #combined #comparable #similar with various longstanding folk traditions of scaring away witches at Easter. Throughout northern Europe, folk traditions record a strong *belief #emphasis #evidence #feeling that witches would often take the form of a hare, usually for causing mischief such as stealing milk from neighbors’ cows.

Source: Thompson, T. (2022) ‘The ancient origins of the Easter bunny’, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 April. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ancient-origins-of-the-easter-bunny-180979915/ (Accessed: 26 April 2022).