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Hoppy Easter
 When
the Easter Bunny comes hoppin' down his favorite trail this year,
you can be sure that he comes from an ancient and magical family.
Thousands of years ago, the rabbit was honored in Egypt because it
was believed that the critters started the new life that always
flourished in springtime. The Egyptians probably believed this
because of the rabbits' astonishing ability to multiply and create
new life themselves.
A close relative of the bunny, the Easter Hare became a favorite of
children in 16th century Germany. The children built nests of
flowers and hay and left them in their gardens. On Easter morning
the excited children rushed outside to find that the hare had hopped
by and filled the nest with colored eggs. When German immigrants
came to the New World in the 19th century, they brought the good
news of the hoppity hare along with them. Since there were so many
more rabbits than hares in America, the bringer of beautiful eggs
became known as the Easter Rabbit and, later, as the Easter Bunny
(which had more of a warm and fuzzy sound).
From time to time, unimaginative people have questioned the ability
of the busy bunny to produce all those Easter eggs. Anyone who
ponders deeply on this question will figure out the answer — the
bunny has a special arrangement with the chickens.
That's right, the chickens are in on it. Long disturbed by the
rather routine look of their eggs — white and brown, white and brown
— the chickens were delighted when the bunny offered to decorate
their eggs with a rainbow of colors. Colored eggs unruffled the
feathers and raised the self-esteem of the chickens. They doubled
their egg production during the crucial pre-spring period so they
could supply the bunny with all the eggs he needed. Free of charge!
On the night before Easter, the head bunny and all of his helpers
(you didn't think he did this all by himself, did you?) gather with
great excitement in the Great Hall of the Rabbits. Moving at an
incredible speed and working themselves into a veritable Saturday
night fever, the bunnies work together to dye all the eggs, weave a
variety of Easter baskets and create the strangely colored Easter
grass.
Some of the eggs turn out to be made of chocolate and even
marshmallow. No one really knows how the bunny accomplishes this
amazing transformation, but just about everyone is glad that he
does.
Courtesy of
Hallmark.
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