EASTER BUNNY

That a rabbit became a holiday symb0l can be traced to the origin of the word "Easter". According to the Venerable Bede, the English historian who lived from 672 to 735, the Goddess Eastre was worshiped through her earthly symbol, the Hare. The custom of the Easter hare came to America with the Germans who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. From Pennsylvania, they gradually spread out to Virginia, North & South Carolina, Tennessee, and New York, taking their customs with them. Most eighteenth-century Americans, however, were of austere religious denominations, such as Quaker, Presbyterian, & Purian. They virtually ignored such a seemingly frivolous symbol as a white rabbit. More than 100 years passed before this Easter tradition began to gain acceptance in America. In fact, it was not until after the Civil War, with it's legacy of death & destruction, that the nation as a whole began a widespread observance of Easter itself, led primarily by Presbyterians. They viewed the story of resurrection as a source of inspiration and renewed hope for the millions of bereaved Americans.