Dear Ask Anything,
Why does the Easter Bunny carry eggs? Rabbits don’t lay eggs!
-Ridiculous Reproduction
Dear Ridiculous,
Rabbits don’t lay eggs? Thanks a lot, Ridiculous. Over the course of the past six months, I’ve found out Santa Claus doesn’t exist and now this. If someone tells me that Christopher Columbus doesn’t give out chocolate replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria on Columbus Day, I’m going to have an aneurysm.
I got to thinking about why Easter, a Christian holiday, is also associated with rabbits and eggs. And then one of the countless allegories that were pounded into me as a young boy in Sunday school hit me.
As the story goes, a young woman traveling to market with a basket of eggs met a Christian. After the Christian tells her of the death and resurrection of Christ, the woman is skeptical of his story. Immediately upon saying this, the eggs that she is carrying turned red as a sign that Christ returned after being crucified.
There are many ways the story can be taken. First, eggs are a symbol of life and rebirth, or representations of Christ. This could be why eggs are a symbol of the holiday. The eggs turning red is also where we got the idea of painting eggs. The ones in the story might’ve been red, but I remember coloring mine orange with green polka dots.
Come to think of it, I miss the days of Sunday school. Maybe it was the Kool-Aid and cookies, but I haven’t decorated Easter eggs in a long time.
That answers your question Ridiculous. Unfortunately, now I have one – where did the rabbit come from?
While pondering this question, I sat on my futon watching Looney Tunes. One of my favorite characters, Bugs Bunny, is known for his trickery and cleverness. In one particular clip, he pretended to be a maestro and made his nemesis – an opera singer – hold a note for a long time. The singer’s face turned blue, his tuxedo became tattered, and eventually the entire stage fell down upon him.
After laughing for a couple of seconds I realized I could assume rabbits are clever by nature. Taking this into account, I figure the Easter Bunny would want to spread joy throughout the world to little children everywhere as easily as possible. So this Easter, Ridiculous, don’t take the bunny for granted.
Ask Anything is a weekly question and advice column. Maja Petersen and Rob Peterson are alternating columnists.