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The Eostre Hares and Pagan Easter

By , About.com Guide

Hare with Grapes and a Pomegranate. Photograph by Bruce M. White.

Hare with Grapes and a Pomegranate. Photograph by Bruce M. White.

J. Paul Getty Museum
An Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre may have had hares as attendants. If so, the hares may have held her lights, since Eostre was the goddess of Dawn, like Eos (Greek) and Aurora (Latin). The month of April was, among the Anglo-Saxons, called Eostur-monath, and during Eostur-monath, a festival was held to Eostre. This festival has, at least in name, been taken over by the Christian spring festival Easter. If Eostre did indeed have hares as companions, the association of Easter and Easter bunnies is an ancient one.

This speculation is based on "The Hare in Myth and Reality: A Review Article," by John Andrew Boyle, in Folklore, Vol. 84, No. 4. (Winter, 1973), pp. 313-326.

An earlier article: "The Easter Hare," by Charles J. Billson (Folklore, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Dec., 1892), pp. 441-466) provides a tradition, albeit not ancient, those of us watching children devour chocolate bunnies may enjoy. Billson says in parts of Germany, hares are caught to be served as part of a public feast. He adds that children are told the hare lays the Easter eggs.

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