Wednesday 27 March 2024

Easter eggs and rabbits

 

Easter eggs and rabbits . . . or hares?


Why does Easter fall on a different date every year? Easter is a moveable feast because it is decided by the lunisolar calendar, which aligns the moon’s phases with the sun’s position in the sky. All clear? Jolly good!😉

The date of Easter Sunday is dependent on the first full moon after the spring equinox, which this year, 2024, was on Wednesday 20th March. The first full moon after this date is Monday 25th March and the first Sunday after that is 31st March. 

However, if the first full moon after the vernal equinox were to fall on a Sunday, Easter Sunday would be celebrated on the following Sunday. The Jewish holiday of Passover also follows the lunisolar calendar, but Islam follows a purely lunar calendar, so that holidays like Ramadan occur at different times and seasons of the year.

Eggs are a symbol of renewal and Easter in the Christian church celebrates the resurrection of Christ. That connection is quite clear, but why rabbits? Traditionally, it was hares that were associated with the resurrection, but over time they were displaced by rabbits.

                                                Hare on a mug

When farming was not as intensive and mechanised as it now is, ground nesting birds like lapwings were more common and numerous. When hares seemed to ‘disappear’ into their forms in the fields, people coming upon eggs laid by lapwings and the like, would think the hare had laid the eggs and so the association between hares, later rabbits, and eggs was made.

The brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is one of the largest hares, but it is not native to Britain. Like the rabbit and the edible dormouse (Glis glis) it was introduced by the Romans as a source of food. The Romans ruled Britain for more than 350 years and had a lasting influence on life on this island.

Britain’s only native hare is the Mountain hare (Lepus timidus) which is also known as the blue hare, the white hare and the snow hare, among other names. It has been in existence for at least 130,000 years. The Irish hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) is a subspecies and is found only in Ireland. It is 30,000 years old.

The Mountain hare is greyish-brown, called blue, and can be seen in Scotland and the North of England. In winter, its coat turns white to allow it to camouflage itself in the snow. It is most noticeable in spring, when any snow may have melted but its coat colour has not reverted. Irish hares do not usually turn white in winter but retain their reddish-brown coats.

Hares are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981.

Hare coursing remains a popular ‘sport’, one for which greyhounds, lurchers and other gaze hounds are used. The Hunting Act of 2004 made it illegal to hunt hares with dogs, followed by the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 making it a criminal offence to use a dog to search for a hare. Police officers can stop and search vehicles if they suspect the act has been breached. 

Hare on the other side of a mug 

It is also illegal to trespass on land with the intention of coursing hares, attend or assist a hare coursing event, or allow your land to be used for hare coursing. Despite all the legislation and the threat of the imposition of fines and prison sentences, illegal hare coursing continues across the country.

There are superstitions attached to hares, as to most living things. The hare is considered a creature of magic and mystery, the Celts associating both it and the rabbit with the full moon, night and the supernatural. It was believed to be a messenger of misfortune. Sailors and fishermen would not mention it by name and would not set sail if they saw one for fear of bad luck, for a hare was thought to cause storms. If a farmer saw a drove of hares in March, he would be sure his farm would not prosper that year. Conversely, others believed they would have good luck if they saw a hare.


                                                Moon gazing hare

William Cowper (1731 – 1880) was an English poet and writer of many hymns for the Church of England. He suffered great depression and many nervous breakdowns, but found solace through adopting three leverets, all males, that he called Puss, Bess and Tiney. His letter to ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ in 1784 gives an account of his experience as a keeper of pet hares.

37 comments:

  1. Gosh Janice - alot of info I did not know about. But I did wonder why Easter fell on different times of the year - often it was later in April, around my Mums birthday but this year - the end of March. So now I know!
    Here in New Zealand the rabbit is considered a pest. I think they are cute but only the fabric or ornamental (or chocolate) ones. Our neighbor took out a large hedge & the entire rabbit population living in the hedge relocated themselves to our property - gosh what alot of damage they do!!! So the only cute ones are the ones that aren't out running around as far as I am concerned !!

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    1. Any introduced animal is a threat to the native wildlife. I can understand the frustration and fury they cause.

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  2. Another great post. I love rabbits. They were the only pet we had as children (outside in a hutch lol) and now they come into the garden. I've given up growing much of anything due to them and the deer, but I find them lovely to just watch. In the summer they will come into the garden in the afternoon and just laze around. They don't seem shy of us at all!

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    1. Your visiting rabbits know where they're well off. I think they're fascinating, but then I'm not a farmer.

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  3. I bought my daughter and son-in-law a moon gazing hare for their garden. I thought the superstition behind it was sweet. There is something very appealing about that thin face and those long, long ears. I did not know that Ireland had its own hare, not seen anywhere else. You are ever educational to me. Thanks!

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    1. I love hares and feel so lucky to see them occasionally. I didn't see any when we lived in Ireland, though.

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  4. The glass and the bronze hare are very beautiful. Now I know the reason hares were thought to bring eggs, thank you.

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    1. It's a logical explanation, I suppose, though how anyone ever thought a mammal (apart from the platypus) could lay eggs, I don't know.

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  5. I sometimes see mountain hares, a wonderful sight, on high level walks in Aberdeenshire, but the population has sadly decreased significantly in recent years. This is thought to be due to grouse moor management practices including unregulated culling of the hares. That their winter camouflage is now out of sync with current snow levels also cannot help.

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    1. What a privilege to see mountain hares and a great shame that they are declining. Much is sacrificed to game shoots.

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  6. HaHa! Like yesterday's pigeons, hares, rabbits etc...
    Are 'ALL' very nice to eat, well, someone like myself
    has to contribute to the decline of the numbers, and,
    l've certainly done that over the years...! :).
    So..there you have it..."Hare to~day..gone tomorrow"...
    🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇 🐇

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  7. I learn such a lot from your posts. Many thanks. xx

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    1. Thank you, Joy. I learn a lot in the writing of them, too. x x x

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  8. When Passover and Easter coincide, we cannot eat chocolate rabbits etc because Passover food laws are very strict. However on the years when Passover and Easter are quite separate, I love indulging in Easter eggs etc :)

    But be warned. The cost of Easter chocolate goods is apparently going up and up, at least for this year.

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  9. Sorry, I forgot to add my name.
    Hels

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    1. Hollow chocolate delights are always much more expensive than bars of chocolate, but I had heard that chocolate generally is going to be much more expensive. Maybe that will encourage me not to eat it . . . maybe;-)

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  10. Gosh, that was a very informative blog post... thank you. I have learned a lot about hares and the next time I see one in the fields up n the hills I shall think of you!

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  11. We have already eaten more than our fair share of Easter eggs so this weekend, when it's really Easter we will have to do without 😂
    Lovely facts and images of hares.
    Alison in Wales x

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  12. It always amazes me that you can't get an Easter egg for love or money after Easter Sunday! x x x

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  13. You have provided a lot of interesting information here. I know that I have learned the reason for Easter's changing date, but it seems like I need a refresher course from time to time.

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    1. It remains to be seen how long I retain the details;-)

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  14. Thank you for this. Marvelous info and a great read.

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  15. Younger Son and family in Italy had edible dormice living in their kitchen. When we stay there in a chalet we can hear them in the attic too. They're called something like ghias in Italian.

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    1. My son and his family had them in their roof in Buckinghamshire. Apparently they were escapees a long time ago from a private collection and adapted very well across the county!

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  16. Another post full of fascinating facts, Janice. But we don't have bunnies bringing Easter eggs here in Belgium, we actually have the "Easter hare". However, rather confusingly, Roman Catholic tradition has it that the Easter eggs are delivered by the "Easter bells"! xxx

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    1. I read something the other day about the Easter bells. It sounded quite charming. I know the French have an Easter fish. x x x

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  17. The artistic depictions of hares you have included are lovely.

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    1. Thank you, Stephanie. It's actually a counter top saver.

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  18. Many thanks for sharing the information about Easter, rabbits and hares. I do like that moon gazing hare you've included here.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you, Jan. I just like hares - they fascinate me.

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  19. I enjoyed learning why rabbits are associated with Easter. Who would have known the reason! I just thought it was a bit of commercialism and consumerism! Little did I know. Happy Easter, Janice!

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  20. Thank you for sharing all the information about the hare and its association with Easter. My favourite of your photos is the first one with the hare in the meadow. So sweet.

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