Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Easter Bunny

Starting point is 00:00:00 Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios and is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and premium members. If you'd like to listen ad-free and access weekly bonus episodes, extra long stories and our entire back catalogue, you can try out premium free for 7 days by following the link in the episode notes. Now, a quick word from the beginning. Remember, doing something is everything. Rent the Peloton Bike or Bike Plus today at onepeloton.ca slash bike slash rentals. All access membership separate. Terms apply. This episode is brought to you by Secret. Secret deodorant gives you 72 hours of clinically proven odor protection, free of aluminum, parabens, dyes, talc,

Starting point is 00:01:09 and baking soda. It's made with pH balancing minerals and crafted with skin conditioning oils. So whether you're going for a run or just running late, do what life throws your way and smell like you didn't. Find Secret at your nearest Walmart or Shopper's Drug Mart today. and smell like you didn't, find secret at your nearest Walmart or shoppers drug mart today.

Starting point is 00:01:29 Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas. Thank you so much for tuning in. The holiday of Easter is one celebrated in various ways by people around the world. For many, although not all, there are some whimsical traditions that have evolved alongside more religious ones. One of those is the presence of the iconic Easter Bunny. This jolly character is associated with numerous themes and traditions, and it also seems to bring eggs. But where did this funny rabbit first come from? And what was its journey to becoming a hollow chocolate treat found inside millions of festive baskets each spring? As it turns out, there are many theories on this topic, and they go back hundreds, even

Starting point is 00:02:47 thousands of years. We won't find any simple answers tonight, but we're ready to take you hopping down the twisting paths of history in search of some possibilities. This Sleepy History was written by Alicia Steffen and I'll be reading it to you. Before we hear our story I want to tell you about Get Sleepy Premium. It's our supporters subscription where you can enjoy over 700 full-length stories and meditations, including dozens of extra long episodes and series stitches, and everything is completely ad-free. Plus, every single Thursday we release an exclusive bonus episode for

Starting point is 00:03:41 our premium subscribers, like tomorrow when TK will be telling the story of a relaxing afternoon fishing in a stream in the great smoky mountains. So if you'd like to enjoy the best sleep of your life, give Get Sleepy Premium a try. The first 7 days are free and you can cancel any time. For more information on all of our plans, visit getsleepy.com slash support or just follow the link in the show notes. Thank you all so much. Now, as you relax into bed, feel free to take a few deep breaths at your own pace. With each breath, sense your body sinking a little deeper into the mattress. Let any troubles, worries,

Starting point is 00:04:53 disruptive thoughts just fall away and enjoy this quiet moment free from any responsibilities and free of burden. There is no pressure whatsoever. No pressure to get things done. Neither is there any pressure to fall asleep. Just allow your conscience to be free, just let them drift on by. Enjoy the familiarity and comfort of this moment, the softness of your supportive bed, the stillness of the space around you, and particularly if you're a regular listener, the sound of my voice by your side. And as your mind gradually accepts that it has no responsibilities right now, you can allow your imagination to guide you through our fascinating story. We're ready to enter the world of chocolates, rabbits, and folklore and learn all about the

Starting point is 00:06:58 Easter Bunny. This is where our story begins. As people prepare to celebrate the holiday of Easter across the globe, many parents are Parents are planning some special touches for the youngest members of the family. In numerous countries, perhaps the most prominent hallmark of the Easter holiday is its informal mascot, the Easter Bunny. This famous rabbit makes an appearance in countless ways. It's featured in television programs and movies. It appears at events in a big fairy costume. Most of all, it features prominently in the sweet gifts that appear in many Easter baskets. To give you an idea of the scope, nowadays over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are created each year. Some are solid through and through. Some are filled with caramel.

Starting point is 00:08:58 Others are hollow, going for size rather than density. going for size rather than density. Exactly how these bunnies first became associated with eggs is something of a mystery, although there are many theories. You might wonder which came first, the bunny or the egg? The truth is, nobody really knows, but our quest for an answer will take us on a fascinating trip through history, myth, and folklore. Before embarking upon a search for the, and bunnies fairly interchangeably. But there are actually biological differences between hares and rabbits. Hairs tend to be larger, with longer ears and bigger feet than their counterparts.

Starting point is 00:10:29 They also live differently, keeping above-ground nests in pairs or by themselves. Meanwhile, rabbits live in underground warrens in larger groups. Nonetheless, these two members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha have been treated nearly the same in myth and folklore. nearly the same in myth and folklore. Some of the first evidence of that legacy can be found as far back as 6th century China. Although mythology about hairs probably existed even earlier. This is the place where we can begin to trace the fascinating mystery of a very important symbol called the three hairs. In your mind's eye, picture three of these furry animals running in a tight circle nose to tail. They are in profile, and their ears extending into the center of that circle are forming

Starting point is 00:12:04 a triangle. Even though each individual hair appears to have its own proper pair of ears, the animals are arranged such that each of the three shares an ear with the hair next to it, each of the three shares an ear with the hair next to it, which creates that triangle. This makes a neat optical illusion, three ears total, even though each hair appears to have too. The oldest place where this symbol has survived is a Buddhist holy site called the Denghuang Caves, which date to the Sui dynasty in the 6th century. If you are wondering why a Buddhist site features in a discussion of the Easter bunny,

Starting point is 00:13:19 you have already pinpointed the delightful mystery of the three hairs symbol. This easily identifiable picture somehow spread across nations and continents, appearing in the iconography of many different religions in various contexts. For example, the same visual has been found on 9th century artifacts from Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan. It appears on Mongol metalwork and was pictured on a coin in Iran that dates to 1281. The three hairs can also be seen in Islamic reliquaries from Russia that were made during the same period. So, how did this happen? How did this happen? Most historians theorize that the symbol of the three hairs, beginning in China,

Starting point is 00:14:41 then spread throughout Asia and Europe via trade along the famous Silk Road. This may have happened due to the icon's frequent appearance on ceramics. Nobody is entirely sure. But the symbol travelled as far as northern Germany and England, where it became a common site in Christian churches. And that is a surprise twist in the story, considering that it seems to have started as a Buddhist icon. But the crossing of religions was not finished. The three hairs symbol has also been found in 17th and 18th century wooden synagogues in the Ashkenaz region in Germany as well as other places. These have been in both ornamental and ceremonial positions indicating that the three hairs served as more than decoration.

Starting point is 00:16:10 An old German riddle pays homage to the symbol with these words, three hairs sharing three ears, yet every one of them has two. too. How could such diverse nations and religions all adopt the same symbol? While it is not really known what the geometric trio represented for individuals of these cultures, it does seem likely that each religion infused it with its own meaning. Scholars suggest that in the oldest cultures, hairs were closely linked to the moon. linked to the moon. Many people have insisted that imaginative stargazers might see the image of a rabbit on its surface, and nobody can say for sure if that was the source of this connection. But the idea of a hare that gazes at the moon, or inhabits the moon, proliferated a very long time ago across the visual cultures of countries like China, Japan, and Korea. There is a Taoist story about a moon-dwelling rabbit who pounds together an elixir of life. Many miles away, North American and Central

Starting point is 00:17:59 American cultures similarly created tales that connected rabbits to the orb in the night sky. Throughout all of these independent traditions, there are certainly some common threads. Hairs and rabbits were honored creatures who were synonymous with celestial powers. Further, the cyclical juncture that the fascination with rabbits and their powers of multiplication began. Both Aristotle, whose writing dates to around 300 BCE, Stottle, whose writing dates to around 300 BCE, and Pliny the Elder, writing later in the first century CE, interested themselves with the rabbit's extraordinary fertility. And as the symbol of the three hairs spread across Europe, it seemed that Christians infused rabbits with meaning that was related to those reproductive powers. There were some great thinkers who suggested that rabbits had the power of immaculate conception, reproducing entirely on their own. As such, medieval and renaissance imagery in Europe

Starting point is 00:20:00 often represented them alongside the Virgin Mary. But rabbits are also found alongside Venus in some images indicating a link with the goddess of love. The Greeks played a part in this association as well. Rabbits were sacred to their own goddess of love, Aphrodite, and Eros was often depicted carrying a rabbit himself. It seems that there were competing reputations for hares and rabbits. On one hand, they were pristine and immaculate. On the other, they were associated with romance and regeneration. Perhaps due to the more angelic association with the Virgin Mary,

Starting point is 00:21:20 it seems the symbol of the three hairs began to be linked with the Holy Trinity. At least that's one theory. One area of Northern Europe with a large number of surviving examples was Devon in England, where the three hares were found in numerous churches. Devon happens to be an area that was rich in tin mining, and these icons came to be called tin as rabbits in the region. Some experts suggest that the name indicates patronage. Tin mining generated wealth, and the rabbits may have been used as a sign of monetary support for the church. However, the images also appear in the stained glass and floor tiles of churches that were not at all related to the mines.

Starting point is 00:22:30 Therefore, it seems like a weak link to the tenors. Another unanswered question is this. How did rabbits jump from being general religious imagery to having a starring role in Easter traditions? There are a few theories about this transition, and each has its compelling aspects. and each has its compelling aspects. One of the most popular theories was set in motion by a monk and scholar from the Middle Ages by the name of Bede. In 731 CE, he wrote of his theories connecting the Anglo-Saxon goddess, Ystra, to the Easter tradition. At the time, the month of April was called Easter month in England. Easter month in England. Positioned as it was in the calendar, it coincided with other festivals of the spring commonly observed by pagans. As such, the venerable B bead believed that the goddess Ystra had become assimilated into the Yster

Starting point is 00:24:07 tradition, and as it happens, the goddess Ystra was often symbolized as a hare. Recent archaeological research has confirmed that people were worshipping Easter in parts of England and Germany. Therefore, many modern-day scholars assume that the Easter bunny recalls those pre-Christian celebrations of Spring, the vernal equinox, and Easter herself. As tidy as this theory may be, there are some problems with it. there are some problems with it. To begin with, the writings by Bede are the main link to the now-popular theory about the connection of Ystra and her hair to Ystera.

Starting point is 00:25:26 And it has also been pointed out that Bede formed these theories from a Christian perspective, without first-hand experience of Anglo-Saxon life. There is also the fact that the holiday is not called Easter in every European country. In places like Spain and France, the name is derived from the Greek and Latin word of pashka or pashk for Passover. This indicates no link with a goddess named Ystra. no link with a goddess named Ystra. Among those historians who don't adhere to Bede's writings, some have suggested that rabbits worked their way into Ystra more directly without the goddess Ystra. Some say that the tradition of rabbits appearing at Easter is connected to the practice of scaring away witches.

Starting point is 00:26:36 The effort to do this was part of numerous European spring traditions. European spring traditions. In medieval Europe, folklore held that witches could shape-shift into hares and perform mischief, such as stealing milk from farmers. More seriously, it was believed that a witch, if undetected, could take life energy from unsuspecting people. As such, traditional celebrations sought to banish the witches of winter, and this happened around the time of Easter. For example, people in Germany lit what was called an Osterfire, or Easter fire. Easter fire. While in some regions it symbolized spring triumphing over winter, in others this was a bonfire meant to scare away witches. In Sweden, people believed that witches flew away on their broomsticks at that time of year, to feast and dance on an island. All of this connection among hares, witches, and pagan celebrations provides another possible explanation about the evolution of our modern

Starting point is 00:28:30 Easter bunny. However, favoring the works of Bede, fairy tale author Jacob Grimm popularized the Ystra theory in more recent times, making it the lead story. In 1835, he wrote that the Ystra hair was connected to Ystra, and he claimed that the goddess was named Ostara in the German tradition. Not long after, German immigrants began sharing their Easter traditions in the United States. United States. Soon, the ubiquitous bunny was front and center for Easter, and Bede's theory became an oft-repeated truth that has established itself in today's popular imagination, cited in articles as settled fact. But none of this really explains why the Easter Bunny is so closely connected to eggs. The most obvious explanation for that mysterious link is that eggs and the Easter hair were thrown together because of plain old proximity. It's no secret that the egg has stood for new life since ancient times. The tradition of decorating eggs can be traced back to cultures from around the world, including

Starting point is 00:30:38 many Slavic countries. Scholars suggest that some pagan beliefs in that part of the world held that the yoke of an egg represented the return of the sun at the end of winter. In turn, it seems likely that Christians eventually adopted the symbol of the egg to represent rebirth in accordance with stories about Jesus. Even as the associations with the eggs changed over the years, egg decorating in the Slavic cultures spread. It became an especially rich tradition in Ukraine, where the art is called Poisonki. It's unclear how old the tradition of making Poisanki is, but the oldest surviving example of poisanki using actual eggs dates to roughly the 15th century.

Starting point is 00:32:00 Instead of simply dyeing eggs a new colour, as the families of many western countries now do, the art of Poi Sanci involves elaborate drawings. In fact, the word derives from the verb Poi Sati, which means to write, the verb, poisarty, which means to write, and it allows for a rich variety of decorations to appear on these festive pieces. The art can be floral or geometric or feature animals. or feature animals. These representations may differ from one region to another, ranging from images of chicks to represent fertility, to deer representing strength and prosperity. In fact, some scholars suggest that the link between the Easter hair and its Poissankey-style eggs began with Istra. The Encyclopedia Mythica explains, Cyclopedia Mythica explains. Ostara is the personification of the rising sun. She is the friend of all children, and to amuse them, she changed her pet bird into

Starting point is 00:33:38 a rabbit. This rabbit brought forth brightly colored eggs, which the Greek goddess gave to children as gifts. From her name and rites, the Festival of Easter is derived. Whether or not it is really linked to the stories about Istra, the art of Ukrainian Poysanky eventually evolved from being ritualistic to also being decorative. The artists in Ukraine began to sell the eggs in markets and they spread in popularity. By the mid-19th century, they had traveled to places such as Vienna and Budapest. Perhaps deriving from the practice, people of Russia's high society began exchanging eggs as gifts at about that time.

Starting point is 00:34:56 These were very elaborate, with some actually encrusted with jewels. Meanwhile, by 1572, someone had already recorded a specific link between the Easter Bunny and the eggs. A German text from the period advises the reader, do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you. Should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest. A hundred years later, another text calls the Easter Bunny an old fable. It appears he had been hanging around his nest for a while. German Americans are generally credited with bringing the Easter Bunny tradition to the United States as early as the 18th century, and their version of the character was the one who laid eggs. They called it the Osterhase, and children would make the bunny nests in which to put those eggs. Eventually, real eggs were largely replaced by candy, and the nests were replaced with baskets. Where parents had already been stuffing paper rabbits with treats, there was now a way to merge the sweets with the package itself.

Starting point is 00:36:55 It became popular to turn the bunny into an edible form. It was this convergence of sweets and the Easter bunny that rocketed the rabbit to true Easter stardom. Americans did not invent chocolate bunnies. In fact, there are chocolate molds dating back to about 1890 in Munich, Germany. However, the bunnies migrated. By the late 19th century, sweet shops in the eastern United States were selling rabbit-shaped candies. Their true commercial success, however, is generally credited to an enterprising owner a drug store or pharmacy. He was a first-generation German-American man named Robert Lincoln Strohecker. Mr. Strohecker owned a business in Reading, Pennsylvania, and he had a genius idea for promoting the chocolate bunnies he was selling for Easter. He contracted with W.H. Luden Confectioner to make a huge rabbit that was five feet tall. This chocolate behemoth would have weighed as much as four or five hundred pounds, and according to a current industry expert, it would have cost about ten thousand dollars today.

Starting point is 00:39:10 today. If the Luden name sounds familiar to you, it may be because they were eventually best known for their cough drops, but the mark they made on the commercial aspect of Easter was also indelible. The massive chocolate bunny was one of their lesser-known achievements. The legacy continued. Strohecker's grandson eventually went on to head up his own sweet-making company, and he has shared a photo of his father standing next to the enormous bunny. Its ears are taller than the man himself. The pharmacy owner smiles warmly at the viewer from a fading sepia image. Strohecker's massive rabbit was so successful that his family eventually developed its own lines of chocolate bunnies, which they named after him. From this moment in history, it would be reasonable to say that the popular treat was unstoppable.

Starting point is 00:40:54 A 1902 article in the Reading Eagle newspaper notes the rise of this particular Easter tradition, getting more playful and creative with their bunnies. For example, Ari Rodder Candy Company offered a rabbit playing a guitar for 50 cents at that time. Of note, this is the same company that went on to create Peeps, the iconic marshmallow chicken rabbit shaped candy still being sold today. By the 1930s, chocolate bunnies were becoming even more fun. A large outfit called the Bortz Company started mass producing chocolate bunnies. With their efficient methods, they had a little more flexibility to try new things. As such, the beloved rabbits began to show personalities, looking more like cartoon cartoon characters, and each possessing a unique name. This led to children requesting and collecting them more often. Then, wild events interfered. The march of the Easter Bunny was briefly halted due to wartime

Starting point is 00:42:48 austerity measures in 1942. That year, the War Production Board issued what was known as Conservation Order M145. It stated that no chocolate novelties, including products manufactured in a special shape, commemorating, symbolizing, or representing any holiday, event, person, animal, or object could be sold. In issuing this rule, the board further clarified that American children would contribute to the war program by sacrificing chocolate Santa Clauses, St. Valentine's hearts, Easter bunnies and eggs, and other chocolate novelties. Previous stockpiles of the chocolate treats offered a short reprieve, but by Easter 1944, the stash ran out. At that point, parents were having to substitute bunny-shaped pieces of wax, soap, and wood, or plush dolls, in order to make up for the missing chocolate. Still, the idea of the Easter Bunny bravely held his ground through the restrictions. Luckily, once the war years ended, chocolate rabbits flowed off the production lines once

Starting point is 00:44:51 again, eagerly finding their way into Easter baskets for decades to come. But it's worth noting that along the way, the solid bunnies of the past gained a new and less expensive companion, the hollow chocolate bunny. Although these lightweight versions first appeared in the late 1930s, a returning World War II veteran named Richard Palmer may be most responsible for advancing the trend. He founded a chocolate company in 1948 and was soon making a hollow Easter bunny named Baby Binks, which he claimed as saying that he looked at the toy and thought, that has kind of a whimsical personality, I could make a chocolate mold like that. But why hollow bunnies at all? This topic has often been discussed in news articles, and the general consensus is that

Starting point is 00:46:36 hollow bunnies offered a greater perceived value for kids. After all, the bigger a bunny gets, the heavier it will become. Too much so perhaps, unless it's empty inside. Nowadays, the Easter bunny seems almost inseparable from the Christian celebration, and it's fair to say that it has spread throughout popular culture as well. People wear the Easter bunny as a costume. They feature it in art. Most of all, the bunny can be found annually in countless Easter baskets in both plush and chocolate form. As noted earlier, currently, about 90 million chocolate bunnies are created each year. When surveyed, 44% of parents cited chocolate bunnies or eggs as the item they were most likely to put in a child's basket. This determination to fill baskets with chocolate may be self-serving though,

Starting point is 00:48:19 as 81% of those parents also admitted to sampling treats from the basket for themselves. And the light-hearted Easter tradition doesn't appear to stop with childhood. 60% of parents surveyed said they planned to send Easter baskets to their adult children after they moved out. And of course, 90% of those baskets will have chocolate or sweets But chocolate bunnies have transcended even the basic purpose of consumption. They are also art and jewelry. The world record for the largest chocolate bunny is currently held by a team from Brazil. In 2017, for an event called ChocoFest, Artisans created a bunny that was 4.52 meters tall, 2.52 meters tall, over, weighed a mere 11 pounds.

Starting point is 00:50:12 Commanding a price of $49,000, this fancy rabbit was created by an award-winning chocolatier. It was made of 75% fine chocolate sourced from Tanzania and decorated in gold leaf. But to be fair, a large portion of its value came from the diamond eyes placed on its face. It should be noted that the eyes were perhaps not the edible part. One fine chocolatier took advantage of its recognizable gold foil-wrapped chocolate bunny by turning it into a limited edition jewelry offering. In 2015, Selfridges in London offered a bunny charm plated in 18-carat gold. It sold for £100 and came with a 500-gram chocolate counterpart

Starting point is 00:51:36 that people could nibble on while wearing their fancy bunny necklace. their fancy bunny necklace. As we wrap up our long and winding tale of the Easter Bunny, let us return to our age-old riddle from the beginning of tonight's story. A recent American survey asked people what came first, the Easter bunny or the egg? 52% of respondents said it was the bunny. Of course, that leaves 48% who insist it was the egg. So, it does appear that we will not soon discover the real answer to that question. When Easter morning comes, there are many countries with other traditions that will take precedence over the rabbit.

Starting point is 00:52:53 Australia has promoted an Easter bilby since the late 1960s in an effort to raise awareness of an endangered marsupial. French children will look for flying church bells, and the Swiss will talk of an Easter cuckoo. The list goes on, and celebrations will vary. list goes on and celebrations will vary. So, to those who celebrate Easter, whatever your tradition, we hope your festivities and your dreams are as sweet as a chocolate bunny. I'm going to go ahead and start the video. You You You..... You You You You You.. You You.. you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of the Easter Bunny

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.