Every year when spring rolls around, stores begin to fill up with chocolate bunnies and colored eggs meaning Easter is around the corner.
Although these cute decorations and delicious treats are a fun aspect of Easter, for Christians like Atlantic Coast Church Pastor Jerry Fincher, this holiday has a bigger meaning.
“Christians believe that this is the day that we commemorate that Jesus Christ had died and that he rose from the dead on the first Sunday after the Crucifixion,” said Fincher.
Yet, the well-known symbols of Easter stray from the Christian religion. The bunnies and eggs associated with the holiday date further back than the Crucifixion.
Bible study teacher Sabrina Travis explained that the egg hunts and bunnies are more of a result of the evolution of a pagan holiday. These symbols of Easter stem from the pagan goddess, Eostre, whose symbol was a rabbit as a sign of fertility.
Landing in the United States in the early 1700’s, bunnies and eggs have made their way through tradition after tradition. Although not written in Scripture, these two Easter mascots have become symbols of new life for many.
This story was edited by Claire Mercier.
