Eostra之神：復活節兔子原型
There's 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 real rabbits certainly don't lay eggs。
聖經裏沒有這樣一個關於長耳朵，軟軟尾巴復活節兔子的生物。也沒有一篇文章是關於小朋友們畫復活蛋或者尋找放滿糖果的復活節籃子的故事。而且真的兔子都不會生蛋。
So why are these traditions so ingrained in Easter Sunday? And what do they have to do with the resurrection of Jesus?Well, nothing。
那麼爲什麼復活節會有這樣根深蒂固的傳統呢？他們又爲何一定會與耶穌的復活聯繫起來呢？其實，真的沒聯繫。
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。
小兔子，復活蛋，復活節禮物，草帽裏嫩黃色毛茸茸的小雞都來源於清教。它們與復活節的慶祝相聯繫起來，而與天主教們慶祝耶穌死後復活沒有關聯。
According to University of Florida's Center for Children's 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 animal’s high reproduction rate。
根據弗羅裏達大學兒童文學與文化中心研究表明，復活節慶祝還有復活節兔子能夠被追溯到13世紀的德國，當時還沒有出現基督教，人們還只是信奉幾個神與女神。日耳曼的Eostra之神是掌管春天以及繁殖的神，人們在春分的時候爲她舉辦盛宴祭拜她。因爲兔子的高繁殖率，便成爲了Eostra之神的標誌。
Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth; eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to , 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。
春天也象徵着生命和新生；蛋是一個古老的生育的象徵。根據，復活節彩蛋代表了耶穌的復活。15世紀時，天主教成爲了德國主流的宗教，清教思想也根深蒂固的紮根於此，此後很久，復活節彩蛋才與耶穌復活相聯繫起來。
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 Florida's Center for Children。
佛羅里達大學兒童中心研究指出：第一個復活節兔子的傳說被記錄與16世紀。到1608年，第一個關於小兔子下了蛋並且藏在了花園了的故事才被出版。18世紀當德國的移民在賓夕法尼亞的荷蘭城定居之後，這些傳說才被帶到美國。
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。
爲兔子建造下蛋的巢穴這個習慣隨之而來。最終，這些巢穴變成了裝飾籃子，而彩蛋也被替換爲糖果、點心和其它小禮物。
