Chocolate eggs and rabbits?

incorporating pagan rituals and symbols was an easy way to convert people to Christianity. That is the short answer.

The long answer is: the origin of the celebration — and the origin of the Easter Bunny — can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate. Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth; eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to History.com, Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection. However, this association came much later when Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion in Germany in the 15th century and merged with already ingrained pagan beliefs.
The first Easter Bunny legend was documented in the 1500s. By 1680, the first story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden was published. These legends were brought to the United States in the 1700s, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country, according to the Center for Children's Literature and Culture. The tradition of making nests for the rabbit to lay its eggs in soon followed. Eventually, nests became decorated baskets and colorful eggs were swapped for candy, treats and other small gifts.

http://news.discovery.com/history/what-does-easter-bunny-come-have-to-do-easter-120406.htm

 

Thanks for the post Dainerra; love reading about history.

 

the same goes for Christmas trees, Halloween, and many other "Christian" traditions around the holidays

 

http://www.history.com/topics/christmas a very interesting read

 

now I'm hankering for chocolate eggs - the candy kind

 

Years ago, when my son was a school boy, he was spending Easter in Canada, ski-ing with his school. When he had packed his case, I slipped in a chocolate Easter egg for Easter Sunday. He was stopped by Canadian customs and asked what the package was. he told them it was a chocolate egg, being very surprised that they didn't recognise it. They carefully unwrapped it, at arms length and then tapped on the egg until it shattered. Luckily it was an empty egg, as many would have had chocolates/toffees inside. They let him through remarking that chocolate Easter eggs were new to them. We were all amazed!