The Easter Bunny 復(fù)活節(jié)兔子

The bountiful Easter bunnies have become the most favorite Easter symbol. It's universal and secular in its appeal. And, most important of all, it relates to Easter historically.

However, one fact has got to be made clear. It is the hare, and not the rabbit, that should be treated as the true symbol of Easter. Though both of them belong to the 'Lagomorpha' family and have most of things in common, there are some differences.

If you go by the history, since the ancient times the hare has been a symbol for the moon. Not the rabbit. And the legend says, the hare never closes its eyes, not even for a single blink!

The reason for having such a belief may be rooted in the fact that hares, not rabbits, are born with eyes open. Rabbits are born blind.

The ancient Egyptians related hares to the moon. Egyptian name for hare was 'un', meaning 'open'. And they were beloved to be watching the full moon opened eyes throughout the night.

And this fertility factor may hold the key in making rabbit more familiar as Easter symbol in America, as against the traditional hare. Rabbits beat hares by being more prolific. The German immigrants, who brought in most of the Teutonic Easter traditions here, made rabbits so popular among the non-German kids.

The German children used to have rabbit's nests filled with decorated eggs. They also used to build nests. They looked so attractive that even the non-German kids demanded such gifts on the Easter.

依據(jù)歐洲古老的傳說，野兔是一種終日不閉眼的動物，它們能在黑夜里觀看四周其它的動物。因此，野兔代表著那黑夜中一輪皎潔的明月。

再加上計算復(fù)活節(jié)是以春天月圓為基準(zhǔn)，于是就將春天繁殖力強(qiáng)的野兔視為復(fù)活節(jié)的象征。

The Lovely Lily of Easter 復(fù)活節(jié)百合

Who doesn't love to have the nice white lily as part of the Easter gift? In fact, the lovely white trumpet lily has been enjoying a great favor in being included as a principal item for church decoration for quite some time. A perfect gift of nature to beautify our Easter. Isn't it?

But its acceptance in America, as such, dates back around the 1800s. It came in with the rise in the Easter observances by the Protestants in America. And, strange, it took some more time to find a widespread acceptance. For, the early Americans those days were not used to seeing a lily waiting to be picked up for the Easter decor.

The native American lilies, for example, the garden or, Madonna lily, bloom in the early summer. Though it could be forced to bloom earlier using the hothouse conditions, the hassles associated did not allow it to be accepted widely. And custom did not find a widespread growth until a lily was imported.

In the 1880s, while in Bermuda, Ms Thomas P Sargent became familiar with a beautiful lily that blooms naturally in springtime. She just fell for this lovely white 'Bermuda' lily. She brought its bulbs in back home in Philadelphia.

There, a nursery man, called William Harris, fostered its popularity among other florists. Following this it did not take long for the flower to win the hearts of million to be the main flower of the Easter floral arrangements.

百合花在復(fù)活節(jié)前后開放，近代被用作復(fù)活節(jié)的標(biāo)志。花的球莖在地下腐爛后孕育出新的生命，比喻死亡后復(fù)活。

Part 3 Easter Traditions 復(fù)活節(jié)傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗

Hot Cross Buns

At the feast of Eostre, the Saxon fertility Goddess, an ox was sacrificed. The ox's horns became a symbol for the feast. They were carved into the ritual bread. Thus originated "hot cross buns". The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means "sacred ox."

Later, the symbol of a symmetrical cross was used to decorate the buns; the cross represented the moon, the heavenly body associated with the Goddess, and its four quarters.

Easter Rabbit and Eggs

The symbols of the Norse Goddess Ostara were the hare and the egg. Both represented fertility. From these, we have inherited the customs and symbols of the Easter egg and Easter rabbit. Dyed eggs also formed part of the rituals of the ancient, pre-Christian Babylonian mystery religions. Eggs "were sacred to many ancient civilizations and formed an integral part of religious ceremonies in Egypt and the Orient. Dyed eggs were hung in Egyptian temples, and the egg was regarded as the emblem of regenerative life proceeding from the mouth of the great Egyptian god. We have talked about this in the last part.

Easter Sunrise Service

This custom can be traced back to the ancient Pagan custom of welcoming the sun God at the vernal equinox - when daytime is about to exceed the length of the nighttime. It was a time to "celebrate the return of life and reproduction to animal and plant life as well."

Easter Candles

These are sometimes lit in churches on the eve of Easter Sunday. Some commentators believe that these can be directly linked to the Pagan customs of lighting bonfires at this time of year to welcome the rebirth/resurrection of the sun God.

象征生命的蛋、火、水、兔等成了復(fù)活節(jié)的吉祥物。雞蛋和兔子在西方是新的生命和興旺發(fā)達(dá)的象征。雞蛋的本色象征太陽，把雞蛋染成紅色則象征生活幸福。在復(fù)活節(jié)中，父母要特地為孩子們準(zhǔn)備制成雞蛋、兔子形狀的巧克力糖。親友間要互贈彩蛋。

在萊茵河中游和黑森東部的一些城鎮(zhèn)，至今保留著"彩蛋樹"這一古老習(xí)俗。人們把成百的蛋殼涂上彩畫，串成一條鏈子，在復(fù)活節(jié)這天掛在松樹上，制成彩蛋樹，大人孩子圍著彩蛋樹唱歌、跳舞、慶祝復(fù)活節(jié)。而阿爾卑斯山的姑娘們則通過贈送紅雞蛋來表達(dá)自己的愛情。在復(fù)活節(jié)這天，姑娘如果向某一小伙子贈送三個紅雞蛋，表示姑娘向小伙子求愛。

火不僅給人類帶來了光明，也使大地獲得了新生。作為耶穌再生的象征，復(fù)活節(jié)的許多活動都與火相關(guān)。復(fù)活節(jié)這一天，人們在教堂前點燭以示圣化，并將圣燭迎進(jìn)千家萬戶。這一天，孩子們最快樂的事是把圣火送到各家。他們在教堂前用圣火點燃樹枝，然后奔跑著送到各家各戶，當(dāng)中充滿著歡快的節(jié)日氣氛。

在中世紀(jì)，所有的基督徒在復(fù)活節(jié)日出之時慶祝，因為依據(jù)古老的傳說，復(fù)活節(jié)時的太陽會在清晨歡喜地跳躍三次，來榮耀耶穌的復(fù)活，那時穿云而出的光芒就有如天使般的歡舞。

歐洲的民眾在復(fù)活節(jié)的清晨聚集在曠野或山頂觀看日出的光輝，在破曉之時鳴炮與響鐘，并有樂隊與圣詠團(tuán)以哈利路亞及贊美詩歌來慶祝象征耶穌升起的太陽，至今在奧地利阿爾卑斯山區(qū)仍保有這種清晨致敬的習(xí)俗。

斯拉夫民族也保有其古老的復(fù)活節(jié)習(xí)俗，教堂從早到晚都要以短暫的間隔持續(xù)敲鐘，來提醒信徒這是一年中最偉大的日子之一。

在羅馬尼亞，基督徒在上教堂前，會先在家里大掃除，穿新衣，沐浴，這樣做是為了表示一個新的開始。在40天的四旬期之后，各家的桌上都充滿了各樣美食，并以美美的彩蛋來陪襯，增加節(jié)慶的氣氛。最高興的莫過于小孩了，因為他們可以在草叢中尋找禮物和彩蛋！

羅馬尼亞的農(nóng)民，會穿著傳統(tǒng)的服飾，并點燃手中的蠟燭，在午夜時聚集在教堂周圍，裝嚴(yán)地喊著：“耶穌已從死里復(fù)活了！”在每個教堂的周圍，不論是山丘或平原，人們手持著蠟燭，并高聲唱著贊美詩。