Tag Archive for symbols

Easter and Chocolate Bunnies

So, your non-Christian friends, in front of your children, are teasing you about how the chocolate bunnies, chicks, and eggs in your kids’ Easter baskets can’t have anything to do with Christ.  It’s time to explain the symbolism to them. 

In ancient times the rabbit (bunny) symbolized abundant new life, as do baby chicks.  And the egg, an ancient symbol of Spring, opens, releasing the chick, reminding us of Christ’s coming forth from the tomb.  Other indicators of new life are the flowers and baby animals often pictured in Easter settings.  Point out the beauty of God’s creation in the form of these Easter symbols, in the birds in the sky, in a newborn in your friends’ family, in the love given by grandparents, and in your garden, which, like Jesus, died but will be brimming with new life in Spring.  Focus the kids’ attention on the gift the Father gave us and that Jesus came to save for all eternity, the gift that must be honored and cherished in all its forms—life.

Bunnies, Chicks, Hats, & Colored Eggs as Easter Symbols

We all know that the lamb represents the Lamb of God (Jesus), the cross His victory over death, and candles His being the Light of the World.  From there we tend to scratch our heads over items that seem to be purely commercial.  Actually, they are all rooted in Easter symbolism and tradition.

For example, in ancient times the rabbit (bunny) symbolized abundant new life, as do baby chicks.  And the egg, an ancient symbol of spring, opens, thus releasing the chick, reminding us of Christ’s coming forth from the tomb.  Other indicators of new life are the flowers and baby animals often pictured in Easter settings.  Even the custom of wearing Easter hats and new clothes has a traditional basis—putting off the old life and donning the new life Jesus offers through His death and resurrection, much like the baptismal garment.

Then there are those seemingly oddball foods.  Next time you eat a hot cross bun, think of the cross on top, and when eating a pretzel (an Easter food in some areas), consider the shape, which is like arms crossed in prayer.

The symbol closest to my own heart, though, is the butterfly, whose whole life represents the life Jesus.  It begins as a caterpillar (Christ’s life on Earth), becomes a cocoon (His crucifixion and burial), then bursts out as a beautiful butterfly (just as Christ rose from death into glory).

The ancients had it right.  On Easter, one would greet another with, “He is risen!”  The other would look in awe at the world around him and answer, “He is risen, indeed!”

Have a blessed Easter season.