Every year around this time Christians all over the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by hiding coloured eggs for children to find and speak about the Easter Bunny but no where in the Bible does it mention Jesus doing such things, nor after his initial resurrection did he say "Hide coloured eggs in memory of me." I may be wrong but I don't think we honor the Easter Bunny as a witness to Jesus' crucifixion. So where do these ideas come from and why is it that most Christians don't question where these ideas originate? The latter part of that question still eludes me but I can answer the rest.
Let's start with the name itself. Easter derived from Ishtar who was the Phoenician and Assyrian Goddess of love and fertility. She was also called Astarte in some parts. Astarte was the sister of Baal in Middle Eastern myth. In Northern Europe she was known as Ostara to the Germanic people. The rabbit is also associated with fertility. You have to admit that no one does it like a rabbit.
There's an old Anglo-Saxon myth which describes how Ostara turned a bird into a rabbit to amuse the children. This rabbit would lay coloured eggs for them. When the Germanic people invaded Britain and settled in the 4th century they also brought with them their Gods, Goddesses and myths.
Let's take a look at the day Easter falls. Easter is a movable holiday and isn't fixed like Halloween or Christmas. Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the vernal equinox. This means that Easter will always be celebrated between March 22nd and April 25th. This rule was determined by the Emperor, Constantine, in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea.
Next month we'll take a look at how Christianity would ultimately influence what would later become Easter.