Bunnies don't lay eggs. We all know that, so where did the idea of the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs come from? I found that I didn't actually know, so I looked it up.
It seems that eggs and rabbits are ancient fertility symbols, symbolic of the earth's fertility at the time of the Vernal Equinox.
The saying "mad as a March Hare" refers to the wild spring posturing of hares as the males fight over the females in their attempts to mate with them (sort of like Spring Break today).
The idea of Easter eggs laid by a rabbit apparently stems from the merging of what were once separate and distinct symbols.
The origins of the custom of dying eggs for Easter are a bit more murky. It is known that the Greeks dyed their "Easter" eggs red, symbolizing blood and the renewal of life in the spring. Green dye is also used, representing new spring plant growth. Other colors which signify good luck, renewal, and fertility came into use during different eras. Thus, eating colored eggs in the Spring suggests a form of sympathetic magic or prayer for increased fertility and, consequently, a bountiful harvest.
The concept of an egg-laying bunny was introduced into the United States in the 18th century by German immigrants; i.e., the Pennsylvania Dutch.
And there you have it, hippity-hop, comin' down the bunny trail.
When you mention Shakespeare, a lot of people will turn away in boredom. They're thinking "stuffy," "ancient," "not relevant." But hold on a minute. The fact is, Shakespeare had a funny, mischievous side. There's a place where bawdy Shakespearean quotes are collected and fondly referred to as "Shakesporn." For example,
Thou misshapen Dick!
~ Henry VI Part 3, 5. 5
That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man, If with his tongue he cannot win a woman.
~ The Two Gentleman of Verona - III, 1
Let me take you a button-hole lower.
~ Love’s Labour ’s Lost, 5.2
...this drivelling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.
~ Romeo and Juliet
Shakespearean quotes also make great (and literary) comebacks to pickup lines.
"I do desire we may be better strangers."
-As You Like It
"Get you gone, you dwarf; You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made; You bead, you acorn."
- A Midsummer Night's Dream
"How your fooling grows old, and people dislike it."
- Twelfth Night
"Away, thou issue of a mangy dog!"
- Timon of Athens, 4. 3
"All lovers swear more performance than they are able."
- Troilus and Cressida
"Froth and scum, thou liest!"
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
Hark, Twisted Linguistics doth play with Words Gone Wild and turn them ever so awkwardly into a faux Shakespearean sonnet.
many news medias
who won’t chose to
writing an letter
I perfer
book faire
lokk at it
a conyinuing story
Lo these many news medias speak, forsooth,
With forked tongue and sharpened tooth,
To those weird sisters who won't chose to
Lokk at that good news as a conyinuing story.
And so yon knave with eyes of an asp saith, "I perfer
Writing an letter like slings and arrows to the darkening
Book faire and let it lie with eye of newt like
A rose red dagger to my pricked and wounded heart."
What is tantric sex, please? P.
Today just seems like a Pink kind of day.
This recently discovered blog, Mr. Attitude, is hysterical. I'm trying to think of a worthy question to ask.
21 comments:
Thanks for the update on the egg thing. I always thought the chicken industry started the rumor to increase sales. No one will ever ask me how it started, until I've forgotten it.
pretty in pink Serena...Love that sweater..SPRING HAS SPRUNG.
Aw, thanks, Leelee. Truth is, Spring has so sprung that this sweater's too hot today. It's about to turn cold again, though -- 20s on Easter morning. Yuck!
I would have suspected the chicken industry, too, Steve.:)
I can't get past the Cadbury chocolates that look like egg yolks inside. See, there IS something that scares even the queen of the grue. LOL
Nice pink.
"Get you gone, you dwarf; You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made; You bead, you acorn."
That's a great brush off line, but hard to say after you been drinking!
Unfortunately I never get to use brush off lines..:(
I love those Cadbury eggs, Roxan. Geez, I'm going to weigh a ton after Easter by the time I get through decimating villages of Peeps and plowing my way through the Cadburys and Robin's Eggs. LOL.
I find it hard to believe you don't get hit on, MXI. Try a different bar; you have GOT to try using that line after you've had a few.:)
Tantra: Any of a comparatively recent class of Hindu or Buddhist religious literature written in Sanskrit and concerned with powerful ritual acts of body, speech, and mind.
So "Tantric Sex" obviously means they shave everywhere, paint a dot on their foreheads, burn incense, and listen to 1970's George Harrison tunes, while playing naked twister with lots of Icy hot smeared on their major muscle groups.
Jeez...don't you know ANYTHING?
Ok...my last comment may have been a tad over the top. Feel free to erase it.
I had heard about the reproduction aspect of the egg before, but never the bunny. You have cleared up 35 years of wonder. Thank you.
Thursday should be my return to full blogging. My sister is leaving town then. Have a great week until my return =D
LOL, JL4. Nothing's ever over the top around here. And hot damn, I got a question answered! I don't know about this tantric stuff; I never was much good at twister. I'm not so sure P. Diddy's all that agile, either. I guess I shouldn't knock it 'til I've tried it, though. I know I have some 70s music around here. And Icy Hot.:)
You're missed, Kan, but you don't get to see your sister all that often, so enjoy.
Naked twister is highly overrated, anyway. On the other hand, naked lawn darts is mighty hot.
That depends, TFG, on (1) how good your aim is and (2) how fast you can run.:)
We alway had the "Easter Bird" when I was growing up. The bunny came much later. We used to go around finding dead grass, twigs, leaves etc. and make a nest for the Easter Bird to put its eggs in...it made much more sense!
Lee, it's amazing the way traditions vary from country to country, culture to culture. I have never heard of the Easter Bird. Here, though, Easter eggs come in an Easter basket, which is filled with artificial grass -- symbolic of the nest.
Eostre is a teutonic goddess represented by a rabbit and rules over spring. Eggs have always been fertility symbols, and celebrating the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox...
Ah, how the christians were forced to incorporate pagan rituals in order to convert the masses...
There was a line in Taming of the Shrew about giving a man his head. I remember snickering about it in high school.
Many Christians are horrified to hear that all the Christian holidays have their roots in pagan festival days, but it's true.
LOL. I don't remember that line from 'Taming of the Shrew.' I'll have to reread it someday.:)
Mr. Attitude is HILARIOUS! I can't think of a question though. I wish I could
Ever heard of Kama Sutra? Know what chakras are? Tantric sex is basically the practice of specific sexual positions that involve the chakras, which prolong the act and heighten orgasm, eventually leading to spiritual transcendence, widely practiced in Asian countries.
http://www.tantra.com/mission/lacroix.html
There's also this in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra
Shoot. Now I forgot what else I was going to reply about.
I thought it was hilarious, too, CD.
But, Lesia -- 30 hours?! Is that even possible? Would anybody's chakras hold up that long?:)
Anybody who wants me to pay attention to anything in particular for 30 hours straight is going to be awfully disappointed.
Ain't that the truth!:)
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