There's no story in the Bible about a long-eared, cotton-tailed creature known as the Easter Bunny. Neither is there a passage about young children painting eggs or hunting for baskets overflowing with scrumptious Easter goodies. And real rabbits certainly don't lay eggs.

《圣經》里并沒有一個關于長耳朵，軟尾巴的復活節兔子的故事。也沒有一篇文章是關于小朋友們畫復活彩蛋或者尋找放滿糖果的復活節籃子的。而且真的兔子都不會下蛋。

So why are these traditions so ingrained in Easter Sunday? And what do they have to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Well, nothing.

那么為什么復活節會有這些根深蒂固的傳統呢？這些傳統跟耶穌復活有什么關系呢？其實，它們之間并沒有什么聯系。

Bunnies, eggs, Easter gifts and fluffy, yellow chicks in gardening hats all stem from pagan roots. They were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition of honoring the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

小兔子，復活蛋，復活節禮物，草帽里嫩黃色毛茸茸的小雞都來源于清教。它們雖然與復活節的慶祝有關，但與天主教們慶祝耶穌的復活并沒什么關聯。

According to University of Florida's Center for Children's Literature and Culture, the origin of the celebration — and the Easter bunny — can be traced back to 13th century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal's high reproduction rate.

佛羅里達大學兒童文學與文化中心的研究表明，復活節的慶祝活動和復活節兔子能夠被追溯到13世紀的德國，當時還沒有出現基督教，人們還只是信奉幾個神與女神。日耳曼的Eostra之神是掌管春天以及繁殖的神，人們在春分的時候為她舉辦盛宴祭拜她。因為兔子的繁殖率很高，它便成為了Eostra之神的標志。

Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth; eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to History.com, Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection. However, this association came much later when Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion in Germany in the 15th century and merged with already ingrained pagan beliefs.

春天也象征著生命和新生；蛋是一個古老的生育的象征。根據History.com，15世紀時，天主教成為德國的主流宗教，天主教慢慢地與扎根于此的清教思想融合后，復活節彩蛋才與耶穌復活相聯系起來。

The first Easter bunny legends were documented in the 1500s. By 1680, the first story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden was published. These legends were brought to the United States in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country, according to the University of Florida's Center for Children.

佛羅里達大學兒童中心指出：第一個復活節兔子的傳說記載于16世紀。到1608年，第一個關于小兔子下了蛋并且藏在了花園里的故事才被出版。18世紀當德國的移民在賓夕法尼亞州定居之后，這些傳說才被帶到美國。

The tradition of making nests for the rabbit to lay its eggs soon followed. Eventually, nests became decorated baskets and colorful eggs were swapped for candy, treats and other small gifts.

為兔子建造下蛋的巢穴這個習慣隨之而來。最終，這些巢穴演變成了裝飾籃子，而彩蛋也被替換為糖果、點心和其它小禮物。

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（來源：滬江英語 編輯：崔旭燕）