I don't get it.
Jill's comment got me thinking - what in the world does the Easter Bunny have to do with Easter?
I've got nothing wrong with small furry farm animals carrying religious undertones (Hey, it works at the Nativity Scene, right?). But where does an egg-hiding rabbit fit into God's vast eternal plan?
First of all, didn't we all pay attention in Biology, folks? Rabbits don't lay eggs! They're mammals. Now, I'm sure my 9-year old child-genius nephew will tell me that he saw on Animal Planet that some mammal in Tiberia can lay eggs. But that still doesn't explain what a bunny rabbit has to do with Christ on the cross!
Secondly, the Easter Bunny freaks me out! Seriously! At least Santa Claus is a person! You can go to the mall and talk to Santa Claus. Ever tried talking to that 7-foot roided-out rabbit? It just stares back at you with that creepy smile and those huge teeth. You feel like those over sized ears are going to reach out and grab you!!
I don't blame kids for flipping out at the mall (I was one of them!). It almost makes you want to put some Valium in their eggs to help them calm down!
I know dying eggs and doing the Easter Egg Hunts are a fun part of this weekend - I just want to try and make sense of it all because eventually Tate is going ask me what the deal is and all I'll know to say is, "Stop talking and eat your dinner!"
Oh, in case you haven't already heard, Christ is risen!
6 comments:
Oh come now Wade. You think the Easter Bunny is the scariest of childhood mascots? Have you forgotten the Tooth Fairy? She collects teeth for goodness sakes! Human TEETH man! Not to mention that she sneaks into your room at night while you are sleeping......shudder. And Santa? A grizzly old fat man who wants your kid to sit in his lap? ;)
No seriously - I think the Easter Bunny is a fun tradition. We all enjoy it here at our house. Here is how I explain it to my kids - a bunny is a sign of spring which is a time of birth and rebirth as are eggs. Which leads us into a discussion of Christ and how he died on the cross for us and was risen etc. We tie it all in. They have fun with their Easter goodies but they know what the real meaning of the day is. Same with Santa. Sure they love getting goodies but if you were to ask them what happens at Christmas they'll tell you that's when baby Jesus was born. Soooo long story short - if I feel like they understand the true meaning of Christmas and Easter I'm ok with them enjoying Santa and the Bunny too. And hey - I have to admit that our Santa and Bunny pictures over the year absolutely crack us up. Maybe we are just mean that way. ;)
-Jill
And yes! Christ is RISEN!!!!!!!
Have a wonderful and blessed first Easter with little Tate!
Hey Wade -
If you REALLY want to get Easter tired-head, check out Resurrection Eggs - it's a good idea, but I had trouble so thoroughly incorporating a Bunny That Lays Eggs with Our Lord And Savior. The Old Rugged Cross... in a PLASTIC EGG? The mind reels.
Hey Jill,
I could handle the Tooth Fairy because she left money - and I never had to pose for a picture while sitting in her lap!
Kids are pulling quite a racket for teeth these days. My niece just got $5 for one of hers. It's a good thing I wasn't offered $5 for my teeth when I was her age otherwise I would have been knocking them all out with a hammer!
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Hey Swan,
Thanks for the link - I wonder if they have Resurrection Footballs as well!
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Hey D,
Well, that pretty much blows my theory that Hallmark created the Easter Bunny as a marketing ploy out of the water!
Thanks for the explaination. But if you don't mind, when Tate starts asking Easter Bunny questions I'm just gonna put him on the phone with you, um-k?
Thanks all for stopping by!
W
$5!!!! Are you kidding?! We have 3 almost four kids and they all have mouths full of teeth. Well not Callie yet but she will. We'd be broke! We leave cool things like a silver dollar coin or 50c pieces. if they are really lucky they get a $2 bill. they think it's cool to get things they usually don't see.
PS - The Easter Bunny doesn't LAY eggs silly! It just brings them in a basket! ;)
Hey Jill,
When I was growing up I thought a silver dollar was so cool because, just like you said, you usually didn't see one very often.
But you're right - 5$ is pretty steep!
So if the Easter Bunny didn't lay the eggs itself (which we already established is biologically impossible for obvious reasons), then where did it get them from?
See, since I think like a 5-year old most of the time, these types of questions occur to me!
You have to appreciate how difficult it is for little kids to recognize that a egg-carrying rabbit is not neccessarily an egg-laying rabbit - this is tremendously confusing for them!
Sure, when you're an adult, you make an assumption that the Easter Bunny has some kind of pre-arranged agreement with the hen for its supply of eggs.
But you don't stop to consider that if you're a 5-year old with a mouth full of Peeps. All you're thinking is, "What if I bust open this egg and a baby rabbit falls out?"
(And if that were to happen - try explaining the religious undertone of that to your kids!!!)
That's why we should limit our holiday mascots to include only fat guys, flying deer and little elves that live at the North Pole - that makes much more sense!
True, true. My 5 year old and I were at the pet store the other day and he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that some fish lay eggs and some just pop out the babies. Goodness knows what he must think about the egg carrying rabbit! Of course this is also the same boy who asked me the other day if pork was made out of chicken. LOL
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