Howl’O! It’s Gino!! And I am ready to gab.
Spring has arrived and all the plants, animals and insects are waking up from a long winter’s nap. All of the renewed activities of wildlife give my brothers and me more reasons to run and bark.
From time to time we see hares hip hopping down the trail and on April 5th the well known Easter Bunny is expected to arrive with a basket full of colored eggs.
So when did the Easter Bunny hop into our lives? And have you ever seen a rabbit laying an egg?
History.com states the exact origination of the Easter bunny is not clear and we agree.
Several sources indicate the Easter bunny arrived in the US in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The children who behaved well received from Osterhase (or Oschter Haws) colored eggs in their bonnets or cap which were used as nests and placed in their gardens or yards. (“hase” translated is hare)
Upon further research we were taken down the rabbit hole finding various legends and stories about “his” origination from pagan traditions.
In much of the folk-lore and legends about rabbit and hare, they are not always distinguished.
Did you know? Hares can live independently within about one hour of birth as they are born completely furred and able to see. Rabbits are born hairless (naked), blind and helpless. The male rabbit is called a buck and the female a doe. A baby rabbit is a kitten.
Rabbits are social animals and live in colonies. Hares typically live a hermit’s life except to mate. The baby hare is termed leveret. Rabbits and hares don’t have much in common except for the fact that neither is hatched from an egg.
Both hares and rabbits are symbols of fertility and birth. And so is the egg a symbol for fertility and rebirth.
Since much of pre-Christian Germanic history was passed orally and then later written, the variation in the stories we found is understandable.
One story is the word Easter was derived from the Eastre or Oestre – the Teutonic goddess of dawn and spring. Eastre was also known as Ostara in Germany – the fertility goddess.
The legend is the goddess Ostara made a pet of a bird she found that could no longer fly. She later transformed the bird into a snow hare and gifted him the ability to lay eggs once a year in honor of his form as a bird. The laid eggs were every color of the rainbow.
One day the goddess became angry with the hare and cast him into the sky as the constellation Lepus (the hare), located under Orion (The Hunter). Ostara allowed him to return to earth once every year. “His” mission was to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festival held each spring.
Another version is that Eostre making a spectacle of her abilities turned a bird into a rabbit. Since Eostre had broken a cardinal virtue of first do no harm she lost her powers and could not reverse the spell. The result ? … a rabbit on earth that laid eggs.
Another story of Norse origin was that the goddess Eostre was walking in the woods when she came upon a bird whose wing was injured so badly it would never fly again.
Eostre who was connected spiritually to all of nature felt the pain the little bird experienced. She saved the spirit of the bird and transformed the bird body into a vibrant beautiful hare. To give gratitude to Eostre, the hare laid the most exquisite egg as an offering to her.
It seems the egg laying hare or rabbit appeared as early as the 13th century. The word “bunny” was adopted as a pet name for a rabbit around the 17th century. The Easter Bunny originated and has clearly evolved since ancient times.
No matter how you celebrate Easter or how the Easter Bunny originated – delight in the gift of a new day!
Consider taking your dog on a long romp and embrace each moment the way we canines do. Let go of things that trouble you and begin every day as a new adventure. Show excitement and gratitude when your loved one returns from taking out the trash or re-enters the room with something you ask them to retrieve. Explore new paths that intrigue you and enjoy fully.
We learned in Old Europe eggs were decorated and given as offerings blessing the receiver abundance and prosperity for the coming year. We offer you a decorated egg today for the coming year!!
Romp In Joy!!!
Love,
Gino
Whether you are traveling with your pet this Easter or staying home, please remember:
Easter baskets full of stuffed toys, chocolate and marshmallow bunnies and eggs…. oh my! Dangerous unhealthy temptations multiplied for us four legged friends.
Plastic “grass” and ribbon can create a choking hazard or major damage to the intestine which could create a life threatening situation.
Many people feed their dogs from the table and on Easter ham is usually on the menu. Most vets do not recommend feeding ham to your dogs or cats since it is high in fat and salt.
The potentially life threatening concerns are pancreatitis from the richness of the ham and for large breed dogs, bloat which may result from excess water consumption from the salt causing the stomach to fill up with gas and twist in on itself.
And please no bones.
Also please research how to care for a rabbit before deciding to give these prey animals to your loved one as a show of affection. Be committed 100% to understanding their needs and be honest about your capability to provide this animal a good home. Several months after Easter shelters typically have an increase in rabbits surrendered.