It’s Not About the Bunny

Today is Easter (or “Resurrection Sunday” as some Christians prefer calling it). According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, Easter is “the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox.”

Some Christians avoid using the term Easter because it’s believed to have originated from the name of a goddess associated with spring. However, Easter is mentioned in the King James Bible. Acts 12:4 (KJV) says, “And when he [Herod] had apprehended him [Peter], he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Other translations use “Passover” instead of Easter.

Just like with Christmas, Easter has pagan practices associated with it. Probably the most famous of which is children receiving candy from a character known as the Easter Bunny. This tradition originated among German Lutherans. It was brought to America in the 18th century by immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area.

My parents taught my sister and me to believe in the Easter Bunny when we were little. One night before Easter, Tanya placed a carrot on the living room table to see if it would be eaten. The next morning, she noticed the carrot had teeth marks in it. Tanya believed this proved the Easter Bunny was real. While my parents may have done that for fun, propagating this mythical character takes away from the true meaning of the holiday.

Believing in a bunny won’t remit anybody’s sins. Easter is about honoring the risen Savior.

“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” - Romans 6:4

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