Christenings, the Easter Bunny and a Pagan Goddess

During Lent, our thoughts turn to Spring, Easter and Christenings.

The Spring period around Easter is a very popular time for Christenings, symbolising as it does new beginnings, new life and re-birth. Spring is always a time of hope as we shake off the gloom and chill of Winter. Understandably, many parents see this as the perfect time to baptise their children - the first opportunity for family and friends to celebrate since the distant warming cheer of Christmas months before.

Whilst it may be an excuse for a well deserved party, this association between Christenings, Spring and Easter goes back centuries. Traditionally baptisms would take place during the Easter Vigil (a service held between sunset on Easter Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday) and nowadays it is common to witness a Christening ceremony on Easter Sunday at many church services. Most congregations welcome this addition to the service and some even see it as an opportunity to renew baptismal promises.

As the days grow longer, the first buds and blossom start to appear and we are once again surrounded by nesting birds. Birds' eggs have a very strong association with Easter and a resonance in Spring folklore throughout the world. In many cultures eggs are seen as symbols of new life after a harsh Winter, promising fertility and bounty in the coming year. With a dormant life inside waiting to be released, some churches see the egg as a symbol of the resurrection - the shell is seen as the confines of the tomb and when it cracks a new life is released. In some regions, especially in central Europe, eggs are blessed by the local priest at the Easter service, whilst in the West, most children are more interested in the eggs left by the Easter Bunny for the egg hunt. From egg rolling on the White House lawn, to egg dancing in Germany, egg painting in Romania and egg tapping in the UK, it is difficult to escape the close connection between eggs and Easter.

It is probably because of this connection with new life and re-birth that egg cups have been a traditional gift at Christenings, especially Easter Christenings, for many years. This tradition was adopted by the Victorians whose burgeoning middle class fuelled a growing market for silver gifts and trinkets. The silversmiths' catalogues from the time display a bewildering variety of silver egg cups in a plethora of shapes and styles. Usually individually cased and specifically designed as Christening gifts for children, these egg cups were often presented with a silver egg spoon as a gift set.

Whether it's eggs and egg cups, hot crossed buns, bunnies, bonnets or baptisms, the traditions and folklore associated with Easter go back thousands of years and are rooted in our pre-Christian past. The Easter Bunny is thought to be a descendant of the hare that in mythology was closely linked to the pagan goddess of Spring. Interestingly enough this goddess was called Eostre in Old English, but also Eastre in Old German and Saxon, and it is from her that we get the name Easter.

The adoption of ancient traditions and festivals into Christian culture was common as the early church sought to be adopted by pagan communities. In the same way that the early Christian church chose to celebrate Christmas close to the Winter Solstice, an important time for pagan ceremony, so the church also chose to calculate the date of Easter based on yet another pagan festival, the Vernal Equinox. Similarly, the Christening rite of baptism is an echo of the purity by water rituals found in not only Jewish but also Celtic, central European and Norse tradition.

So, as you munch your chocolate egg this Easter and celebrate the arrival of Spring with the Easter Bunny, pause and reflect, your actions are an echo from prehistory.