I know that the eggs from hares were thought to be the 'seed of life' but why do we hide eggs? I was told it was because Jesus told them to 'hide the eggs'. Is this true? Why do people give children baskets full of candy? What does this have to do with Easter?
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It's an old German custom brought to the USA by immigrants. They have the Easter Hare (not a rabbit) - more like a jack rabbit. The European hare doesn't burrow like a rabbit but lives in the open. It makes a sort of nest on the ground to raise its young. These forms look a bit like a bird's nest so a country myth, or joke or tease, started that hares lay eggs - you could tease children or city folk by sending them out to search for hare's eggs.. So it's not religious, though lots of people have made up stories about how it came into being, none of any historical value. The eggs are connected to Christianity, or Judaism. Jews use eggs for their Passover meal and Passover is at the root of Easter. Christians used to give up eating eggs for Lent, the 6 weeks before Easter so they became a special Easter food.
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