I24 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



I can do no better than quote The Catholic Encyclopedia, 

 article "Easter" : 



Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent they were 

 brought to the table on Easter Day, colored red to symbolize 

 the Easter joy. This custom is found not only in the Latin but 

 also in the Oriental Churches. The symbolic meaning of a 

 new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was 

 probably an invention of later times. The custom may have its 

 origin in Paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrat- 

 ing the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The tgg is the 

 emblem of the germinating life of early spring. Easter eggs, 

 the children are told, come from Rome with the bells which on 

 Thursday go to Rome and return Saturday morning. The 

 sponsors in some countries give Easter eggs to their god-chil- 

 dren. Colored eggs are used by children at Easter in a sort of 

 game which consists in testing the strength of the shells. Both 

 colored and uncolored eggs are used in some parts of the United 

 States in this game, known as "egg-picking." Another practice 

 is the "egg-rolling" by children on Easter Monday on the lawn 

 of the White House in Washington. 



A quaint feature in this pagan survival in a Christian 

 celebration of a momentous incident and idea is the con- 

 nection with it of the rabbit. Wherever colored Easter 

 eggs are displayed, images of a rabbit are likely to ac- 

 company them. Children are told that the Easter Rabbit 

 lays the eggs, for which reason they are, in some coun- 

 tries, hidden in a nest in the garden. The strangeness of 

 the association disappears when we remember that the 

 date of the feast is determined by the time when the 

 moon first becomes full after the spring equinox, and that 

 the rabbit, which has from time immemorial been a sym- 

 bol of fertility, is representative of the moon-goddess, 

 Luna, which was worshipped annually at a date coincid- 

 ing with the Easter festival. Thus, like many other 

 pagan rites and symbols significant of reviving nature, it 



