复活节兔子 Easter Bunny1

杨璐

Easter is a festival celebrating the rebirth2 of the Jesus on the third day after his death.

Easter Bunny， a rabbit bringing Easter Eggs， is a symbol of Easter. During Easter， Easter Bunny is often busy sending or hiding Easter Eggs. According to some stories， it carries colored eggs and candy in his baskets to the homes of children. In some stories， it is also a judge who check whether childrens behavior was good or not during the Easter season. This is similar to the stories about Santa Claus.

It is also said that Easter Bunny keeps the baskets in a place or hide them in the house or garden so that children can find them when they wake up in the morning. It is this story that led to the tradition of Easter Egg hunt.

Today， children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version3 of real Easter Eggs—those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

However， the stories of the Easter Bunny or Easter Eggs are not in the Bible. There are several stories about the story of the Easter Bunny and how it came to be.

Because rabbits can give birth to many baby rabbits during their lifetime， people connected them with new life. In ancient times， people also thought rabbits were hermaphrodite4. That is to say， they were thought to have the ability to give birth alone. Thus， rabbits were connected with Virgin5 Mary.

Easter Bunny first came to be used as a symbol of Easter by German Protestants6. It is said that the story of the Easter Bunny was introduced to the United States by German settlers7 in the 1700s. Soon people began to make nests for the rabbit to lay its eggs. These nests were originally made from hats or paper boxes. At last， nests became baskets. Besides the colorful eggs， candy and other small treats were added to the baskets. Over the past centuries， Easter Bunny has become one of the most popular religious8 symbols.

復活节是为了庆祝耶稣在受难后第三天复活的节日。

带来复活节彩蛋的复活节兔子，是复活节的象征。在复活节期间，复活节兔子经常忙着递送或隐藏复活节彩蛋。根据有些传说，它用篮子把彩蛋和糖果送到孩子们的家里。在有些故事中，它在复活节期间负责检查孩子们的行为是否良好。这与圣诞老人的故事相似。

也有人说，复活节兔子把篮子放在某个地方，或者把它们藏在房子里或花园里，这样孩子们早上醒来时就能找到它们。正是这个故事开启了寻找复活节彩蛋的传统。

在今天，孩子们到处搜刮彩色的蛋，并将这些蛋和现代版本的复活节彩蛋一起放到复活节篮子中。这些现代版本的复活节彩蛋是由塑料或巧克力做成的。

然而，复活节兔子或复活节彩蛋的故事并没有出现在《圣经》中。关于复活节兔子的传说和传统是如何形成的，有好几种故事。

因为兔子在一生中能生很多小兔子，所以人们把兔子和新生命联系起来。在古代，兔子也被认为是雌雄同体的。也就是说，它们能独自繁殖后代。因此，人们把兔子和圣母玛利亚联系在了一起。

复活节兔子最初被德国新教徒当作复活节的象征。据说复活节兔子的传说是在18世纪由德国移民带到美国的。不久人们就有了给兔子造窝下蛋的传统。这些兔子窝最初是用帽子或纸盒做的。最后，兔子窝演变成了篮子。除了五颜六色的蛋以外，篮子里还加上了糖果和其他小点心。在过去的几个世纪里，复活节兔子已经成为最流行的宗教象征之一。

【Notes】

1. bunny [     ] n. 兔子（特别是小兔子） 2. rebirth [     ] n. 再生;复兴

3. version [     ] n. 版本 4. hermaphrodite [     ] adj. 雌雄同体的

5. Virgin [     ] n. 圣母玛利亚;处女座 6. Protestant [     ] n. 新教徒

7. settler [     ] n. 移居者;殖民者 8. religious [     ] adj. 宗教的