EASTER BUNNY, EASTER EGGS AND THE REAL ESSENCE OF EASTER

EASTER BUNNY, EASTER EGGS AND THE REAL ESSENCE OF EASTER

Santa Clause is for Christmas, while Easter Bunny is for Easter.  The first time I heard about the Easter bunny and eggs, I wonder what rabbits had to do with Easter, especially rabbits that lay “colored eggs”. So, what is the origin of the bunny, its eggs and the connection to Easter?!

Easter bunny and eggs have no roots from the bible; they were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition. In ancient times, the rabbit was believed to be the symbol of the goddess of spring; it designated fertility, rebirth of nature and was found everywhere during spring. Springtime coincides with the Easter celebration and with rabbits associated with this season, the Easter bunny was incorporated into modern Easter.

JESUS ON TRIAL

The tradition of Easter bunny was made popular by the Americans. It was introduced to America in the 1700s through arriving Germany immigrants who told their children to make ‘nests’ before Easter with their caps and bonnets and if they were good, the Easter bunny would will leave them colored eggs.

An African country like Nigeria has no springtime and rabbits are not seasonal animal around here (that is if we ever see them except in some bushy areas), does that mean we cannot celebrate Easter, what really is the essence of Easter? Easter is a Christian celebration; it marks the season of the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The bible tells us how in ancient times, the blood of animals was used as sacrifices to wash away sins, but then God got tired of the blood and in the book of John, chapter 3, verse 16, the bible says “for God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son the whoever believes in Him shall not die, but have an everlasting life. This son is to serve as a permanent atonement for sin, hence, there was no need for animal sacrifice in the New Testament and beyond, till date in our present time. The Lord Jesus Christ had His death spoken about by several prophets before Him and when He was around He said in the book of Mark, Chapter 3 and verse 31: the son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise on the third day. True to His words, He was crucified, He died and was buried, but on the third day, His tomb was empty, He had risen!

THE EMPTY TOMB WHERE CHRIST WAS BURIED.

His resurrection bought us victory over sin and Satan (the accuser). Now, we don’t have to kill any goat, sheep, ram, fish, chicken or anything for the forgiveness of sin, all we have to do is to ask the father for forgiveness, the blood has been provided. That is what we celebrate in Easter, the redemption and completion of the work of our salvation. Imagine if we had to buy animals for sin cleansing, we all would be vegetarians, because all the goats (for the locals), sheep (for the farmers), cows (for the rich), bulls (for the sophisticated), ram (for the religious), chickens (for babes), turkey (for the boys) and fish (for the poor) would have been sold out!!!!! And the temples would have been closed down by the government because of environmental population and disease outbreak. But, the Lord Jesus saved us from all these, He did a one-off payment; all we have to do is believe He died for us; ask for the forgiveness of our sins and Walla! our sins would be gone. Yep! That simple!

As we celebrate this Easter, let us have at the back of our mind, the whole essence of the season; let us take advantage of the blood and the victory that came with the resurrection. Let us not get carried away by the fancy bunnies and colored eggs, they will only last a few days, but the blood is forever.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

xoxo………