Theres no story in the Bible about a long-eared， cotton-tailed creature known as the Easter Bunny. Neither is there a passage about young children painting eggs or hunting for baskets overflowing with scrumptious Easter goodies.And real rabbits certainly dont lay eggs.

So why are these traditions so ingrained in Easter Sunday？ And what do they have to do with the resurrection of Jesus？ Well， nothing.

Bunnies， eggs， Easter gifts and fluffy， yellow chicks in gardening hats all stem from pagan roots. They were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition of honoring the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

According to University of Floridas Center for Childrens Literature and Culture， the origin of the celebration — and the Easter bunny — can be traced back to 13th century， pre-Christian Germany， when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility， and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animals high reproduction rate.

Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth； eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to History.com， Easter eggs represent Jesus resurrection. However， this association came much later when Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion in Germany in the 15th century and merged with already ingrained pagan beliefs.

The first Easter bunny legends were documented in the 1500s. By 1680， the first story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden was published. These legends were brought to the United States in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country， according to the University of Floridas Center for Children.

The tradition of making nests for the rabbit to lay its eggs soon followed. Eventually， nests became decorated baskets and colorful eggs were swapped for candy， treats and other small gifts.

圣經(jīng)里并沒(méi)有這樣一個(gè)關(guān)于有著長(zhǎng)耳朵和軟軟尾巴的復(fù)活節(jié)兔子的生物。也沒(méi)有一篇文章是關(guān)于小朋友們畫(huà)復(fù)活蛋或者尋找放滿糖果的復(fù)活節(jié)籃子的故事。而且真的兔子當(dāng)然也不會(huì)生蛋。

那么為什么復(fù)活節(jié)會(huì)有這樣根深蒂固的傳統(tǒng)呢？他們又為何一定會(huì)與耶穌的復(fù)活聯(lián)系起來(lái)呢？其實(shí)，真的沒(méi)聯(lián)系。

小兔子，復(fù)活蛋，復(fù)活節(jié)禮物，草帽里嫩黃色毛茸茸的小雞都來(lái)源于清教。它們與復(fù)活節(jié)的慶祝活動(dòng)相聯(lián)系起來(lái)，而與天主教徒們慶祝耶穌死后復(fù)活并沒(méi)有關(guān)聯(lián)。

根據(jù)弗羅里達(dá)大學(xué)兒童文學(xué)與文化中心的研究表明，復(fù)活節(jié)慶祝活動(dòng)還有復(fù)活節(jié)兔子能夠被追溯到13世紀(jì)的德國(guó)，當(dāng)時(shí)還沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)基督教，人們還只是信奉幾個(gè)神與女神。日耳曼的Eostra之神是掌管春天以及繁殖的神，人們?cè)诖悍值臅r(shí)候?yàn)樗e辦盛宴祭拜她。因?yàn)橥米拥母叻敝陈剩愠蔀榱薊ostra之神的標(biāo)志。

春天也象征著生命和新生；蛋是一個(gè)古老的生育象征。根據(jù)History.com，復(fù)活節(jié)彩蛋代表了耶穌的復(fù)活。15世紀(jì)時(shí)，天主教成為了德國(guó)主流的宗教，清教思想也根深蒂固的扎根于此，此后很久，復(fù)活節(jié)彩蛋才與耶穌復(fù)活聯(lián)系起來(lái)。

佛羅里達(dá)大學(xué)兒童中心研究指出：第一個(gè)復(fù)活節(jié)兔子的傳說(shuō)被記錄于16世紀(jì)。到1680年，第一個(gè)關(guān)于小兔子下了蛋并且藏在花園里的故事才被出版。18世紀(jì)當(dāng)?shù)聡?guó)的移民在賓夕法尼亞的荷蘭城定居之后，這些傳說(shuō)才被帶到美國(guó)。

為兔子建造下蛋的巢穴這個(gè)習(xí)慣隨之而來(lái)。最終，這些巢穴變成了裝飾籃子，而彩蛋也被替換為糖果、點(diǎn)心和其它小禮物。