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Show v . . iap -i i ! mm Hare EmplpyeiyjN ' &s Symbol .' - ht the MoVJ, DonbfMamany K'ople liave woii-dered woii-dered rwhst relation . jo the Raster season is borne by the hosts of candy haree and rabbits which are dlxplayed by the cotffecfoners, aide by side with ht Easter eggs. This association of the hare with the festival la an old custom among the Germans and has doubtless been Introduced Into this country by '.hem. Its origin Is remote end rather vague, but, the attempt to trace It brings out Interesting facta. In aa article by Catherine Hlllard. In the Atlantic Monthly for May, 1801), the author went Into the subject of the Easter hare at length. " Researchev having shown thnt the hare was used by various ancient natlona as a symbol sym-bol of the moon, she prefaced her remarks re-marks by some explanation of , the close connection between the ' moon and Easter thus establishing the chain of related ideas. For one thing, she mentioned that the Saxon goddesa an Easter Find.. Eos! re Is thought to have been Idei tlcal with Astsrte, the Phoenician goo-dess goo-dess of the moon. ' Then followed an account of the Important part which tbe moon played In the religious mythology my-thology of the Egyptians. Its different differ-ent phases, were thought to represent the conflict between the ' powers of good and evil. During the latter ,ir waning half of the moon Typhon, the god of darkness and evil, was supposed sup-posed to conquer Osiris, who repre tented light and the principle of good. Osiris, It was thought, was cut up Into 14 pieces, corresponding to the latter two weeks of tbe moon's monthly course. Then, "with the hew moon. Osiris came back to life, and at Ita full the Egyptlana sacrificed a black pig (representing the now conquered Typhon) Ty-phon) to Osiris. In the planisphere of Denderah, the god Khunsee Is seen offering a pig by the leg In the disk of the full moon, and. continued the author, au-thor, "In some parte of England a leg I of pig la stilt eaten on Easter Monday ! a turious survival of this sacrtllce." |