While Easter baskets are often given after a church service on a Sunday celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus after His crucifixion, the origin for the giving and receiving eggs and baskets has a more pagan overtone.

Farm based cultures celebrated the Spring Equinox which for them meant a time of growth and renewal.  The day and night were becoming “equal” in time, minutes and hours. there was a sense of rebirth as the snow was melting and the harsh winters were soon to end and the beautiful, warmer season of Spring was around the corner. Celebration and sacrifices of thanks were in abundance.

FIRST CROPS

Baskets were a part of the celebration from the time of the Ancient Middle East.  When the worshippers of the older cultures would give thanks at the Temple they would come bearing gifts and these gifts would be in baskets, filled with seeds and the seedlings of their first crops.  This was done to give thanks for the crops that were and to pray for continued growth.

The reason the date of Easter changes every year is that the celebration is based on the lunar calendar and not the days of the week.  Easter is the first Sunday immediately following the first time in the Equinox that there was a full moon.

Our modern celebration of Easter was a mix of various cultures. For instance, the baskets were a part of the Ancient Middle East as discussed above. The green fake grass that lines the baskets were a Dutch tradition where children would build nests for the eggs like birds would build for their own eggs. They would change the color of the grass so that when the Easter Bunny came with their eggs, they would put the colored eggs in the nest color that matched the eggs.

EASTER BUNNY

In fact the term Easter Bunny is actually a form of the Dutch word “Osterhase” – the bunny that would bring the eggs.  The anticipation of the Osterhase was similar to the anticipation of Santa during Christmas.  Each holiday taking a pagan ritual and bringing it into the Christian tradition and then adding a tradition of treats that children would eagerly anticipate as they went to bed on the holiday Eve.

Even the symbol of the Bunny itself celebrated fertility.  As bunnies are known to be prolific procreators.  The egg, the grass, the seeds, all aspects of the basket tradition celebrate the season of growth and renewal.

Today Easter baskets vary widely from small plastic ones to large bamboo creations. The ingredients include chocolate in bright wrappers, chocolate bunnies, and various chocolate bars.   No matter the ingredients, there always seems to be room for chocolate.  Plastic eggs are common as well and they are frequently various colors and hollow so that parents can fill them with small gifts such as plastic rings or noisemakers.

The bottom of the baskets are lined with grass, and in the Dutch tradition the grass can be

• green
• yellow
• purple

The baskets themselves are becoming colorful as well.  There is no end to the variety of colors and contents of Easter baskets. Small candies can also be included as well as small toys, little Matchbox cars, or small dolls for the young girls. Literally any thing that fits in the basket and makes a child smile is an appropriate item to include in an Easter Basket.

A more modern twist on Easter Baskets is the Personalized Easter Baskets. These baskets come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Some are traditional baskets, others shaped in the shape of a bunny or other Spring symbol.  There are even baskets for all  their favorite sports teams and even some for their favorite cartoon or television characters.  Best of all these baskets can be personalized with the name of the recipient.

Imagine who special a child brought up in the Easter tradition would feel with a basket with their name on it. They go to bed the night before perhaps after stories of Easter in years past, and they know when they wake up there will be treats waiting for them from the Easter Bunny who visits homes much like Santa Claus while they sleep.  Not only will they find the treats they anticipated but they will arrive in gorgeous baskets bearing their name or nickname.

From cups to stickers to reading books, children are always amazed and awed at seeing their own names on gifts.  What better way to personalize Easter for your child then their name on the basket from the Easter Bunny.

However you celebrate and whatever you choose to have the Easter Bunny bring to your home, remember the spirit of the holiday. Whether you celebrate the religious aspect of celebrating Christ’s resurrection or the secular version of celebrating the renewal of the Earth and the gratitude for crops and growth, spend a moment with your children reflecting on the spirit of the season.