Rabbits from around the globe...

It has been brought to my attention by my good friend "P-Diddy" (not THE P-Diddy...but he knows who he is...big props to you dog), that in consideration of my blog title, I should devote a couple of posts to the famous rabbits of the world..."International Bunnies" :)...

This first one is dedicated to a childhood icon flying in straight from Germany...that master of sneakiness that glides in like a stealth bomber and places candy by little children's beds and then sneaks out undetected by the home alarms...stealth-bunny :)...He is also apparently very good at hiding eggs...(which I have never really understood that because i dont think bunnies have eggs :).)

This fluffy friend has been a sweet story that has been told to children for hundreds of years...but how sweet is he?

Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia) shares this about the our good friend the "Easter Bunny":

"This myth (the easter bunny myth) says that the Easter Bunny was an Egyptian goddess of fertility. The origin of this myth relies solely on an isolated comment by a first century monk. There has never been any other evidence of any kind to substantiate this claim. The probable origin of this claim is the similarity in the pronunciation of the Egyptian Goddess Eostre and the word easter. The actual origins of the Easter Bunny can be traced to Catholic German Protestants who wanted to re-introduce the custom of eating colored eggs on Easter."

Other internet sources say:

"Eostre supposedly opened the gates of Valhalla ( heaven ) to Baldur, the murdered Sun God who had brought light to humankind." (sad times!!)

"Thanks to their notorious mating habits, hares or rabbits were held to be sacred animals to Eostre, and although no archaeological evidence has yet been unearthed, it seems the goddess was at times depicted with a hare's head."

The egg was of course one of Eostre's symbols as well...(if you dont know why that is, you may need to consult a biology book :))....and apparently one of the traditions surrounding this myth was to set bonfires and tell the children that the easter bunny burned flowers to get the dye for her eggs.

Anyway, the point, ah yes there is of course a point to this rabbit hunt...

I am not married (i promise i am going somewhere with this...bear with me), and I do not have children, but I have several friends that do. I was home in TN a few weeks a go, and one of my dearest friends asked her daughter "Is Santa Claus real?"...and her three year old in the cutest way possible said "noooooo" (it was really cute i promise...if you know me, ask me about it and i can demontstrate)...then her mom said "What is Christmas really about?"...the sweet girls first response was presents lol (i was on a t.v. commercial once as a child and gave the same answer)...when my friend pressed harder her daughter told us about Jesus being born.

Jesus is also of course the real reason to celebrate Easter as well...his resurrection from the grave after his crucifixion.

I know that when I am married...and have children...I will have many decisions to make. I would like to handle it in the same way that my friend has. I am very proud of her for sharing the true meanings of Christmas and Easter with her three year old, and not presenting her with a facade, to only find out when she is six from her friends in kindergarten that the easter bunny isnt real...and then to come home crying in her bed because she found out that her "LIFE IS ALL A BIG LIE!!!"...okay, it may not be that dramatic...but you get the point :).

My thoughts today are to encourage everyone to do this as well. Our fluffy little figure...the rabbit in the current proverbial spotlight...really has absolutely nothing to do with the real reason that Easter should be celebrated. The "pyro-hare" is just an excuse for chocolate making companies and hallmark to make some cash :).