Quote:
Originally Posted by ACharmXo
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Still unsure of where the whole idea for the bunny came from...
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The Easter Bunny was found in literature as early as 1682
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny
But it all comes down to sex:
"The hare was a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times, it was widely believed (as by
Pliny,
Plutarch,
Philostratus, and
Aelian) that the hare was a
hermaphrodite.
[4][5][6] The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of
virginity led to an association with the
Virgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring in
illuminated manuscripts and
Northern European paintings of the Virgin and
Christ Child. It may also have been associated with the
Holy Trinity, as in the
three hares motif.
[4][7] Eggs, like rabbits and
hares, are
fertility symbols
[8] of
antiquity. Since
birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the
Vernal Equinox.
Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. Female hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first.
[9][10] This phenomenon is known as
superfetation.
Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the saying, "to breed like rabbits" or "to breed like bunnies"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter
folklore."