Rabbits, eggs, and the Lord’s day
Rabbits and eggs are in great abundance this time of year. And anyone who knows anything about the history of Easter knows why. They are symbols of fertility. The spring equinox has always been celebrated as the time that the earth is in full recovery from winter. The earth has come back from the dead, as it were. The pagans, who saw the earth as an entity to be worshiped, turned the equinox into an opportunity for revelry — and, typically, debauchery. (Children, if you don’t know what “fertility” and “debauchery” mean, ask your parents.) The Catholic church incorporated local pagan worship traditions as it spread throughout Europe many centuries ago. Thus, the celebration of the rebirth of the earth became the celebration of the risen Lord. (The Greek word in Acts 12:4 rendered “Easter” by the King James Version translators is the same word rendered “Passover” every other time it occurs.)
Personally, I like rabbits. And I absolutely love eggs.