Easter
Many of the ancient customs of Eostre survived the assimilation into Christianity. Eggs are an ancient symbol of rebirth and fertility in many traditions: the golden yolk representing the Sun God, the shell representing the round white belly of the moon and the White Goddess of spring. At the Vernal Equinox, eggs were used in talismans and were also ritually eaten. The acceptance of eggs as part of the Christian Easter probably began in the Ukraine, which did not become officially Christianized until 988 C.E. The beautiful Ukrainian amulets, called "psanky," are still made today: hen's eggs elaborately decorated with old pagan symbols, such as triangles, eight-pointed stars, and spirals.
Bunnies, be they rabbits or hares, are obvious fertility symbols due to their notorious ability to proliferate. They are representative of the moon, femininity, and erotic passion, and are sacred to goddesses Artemis and Aphrodite, and to the Celtic Queen Boudicca. The phrase "mad as a march hare" probably refers to the erratic behavior of male hares during mating season. However, legend has hares identified with transgenderism and same-sex eroticism on several counts: that males both sire and give birth to young; that Moses condemned the eating of hares because doing so led to homosexuality; that hares grow an additional anus every year; and that men can become pregnant by anal intercourse and give birth to hares. The ancient Greeks and Romans, along with the French and Chinese, have all used the term "hare" to refer to queer men.
Because rabbits and hares live in two worlds, both underground and above, they are associated with the resurrection Goddesses and Gods who return from the underworld in Spring, Inanna, Persephone, and Attis among them. That they live in two worlds also connects them to the Vesica Piscis, and its associations with fertility, gender variance, and early Christianity.
Rabbits are an alchemical symbol for tin. To the English tin miners of Cornwall and Devon, who also lived by burrowing tunnels into the earth, rabbits were considered lucky... feet included. Tin is a primary ingredient of bronze, and tinsmiths - called "tinkers" - were considered forces to be reckoned with: hence the dreaded curse of "a tinker's damn." On the rooftops of several churches in Devon are "tinner's rabbits" - three tin rabbits joined at the ear - bearing a remarkable resemblance to the Triple Goddess. These roof ornaments are quite similar to the highly collectable antique rabbit kitchen molds, also made of tin, and used in making... you got it! Chocolate Easter bunnies.
