Thursday, March 4, 2010

So What About That Easter Bunny? - Postcard Friendship Friday #1

Welcome to Postcard Friendship Friday. This is my first time hosting this fun event. I admit I'm a little nervous--I hope it all works the way it's supposed to!


The Easter Bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Alsace and southwestern Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1600s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.

The Easter Bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pensylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. The arrival of the German Osterhase, or Easter Hare was considered one of "childhood's greatest pleasures.

According to tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. If the children had been good, the Easter Hare would lay brightly colored eggs in the nest.

As the tradition spread and years passed by, the nest eventually became the Easter basket and the placing of the nest in a hidden area has become the tradition of hiding eggs.






16 comments:

Lola said...

Congrats Beth, on yr first McLinky! Wonderful post - so informative AND beautiful!

Have a great PFF and weekend!

XOXO LOLA:)

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

Such a pretty card! I didn't know that the bunnies used to be made of pastry - I'm glad they have changed to chocolate! :)

No need for nerves, it will all work very well, you'll see. :)

LiT Web Studio said...

wow! happy PFF...and congratulations on your first mclinky event!

Postcardy said...

That's interesting. I didn't know about children building nests. Happy PFF!

Marie Reed said...

Beth darling! Your PFF post is just divine! Kids in Germany still build Easter nests in the backyard. I guess it's better to use real grass then plastic! That's just what they do. City kids just lay out a regular plate for the Easter Bunny to fill:) Happy Hearts are Crunchy PFF to you:)

maryt/theteach said...

Beth thanks so much for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday! You've done a wonderful job! I love the name of your blog and how it came about! Happy PFF!

Lois said...

Easter is one of my favorite days of the year! This is so cute.

Paul van Yperen said...

Great post, beth. Thabnks for hosting PFF. Among the Dutch Easter is still a great thing. I've eaten many hares of pastry - and chocolate as a kid. And coincidentally (?) our chickens lay record amounts of eggs around Easter.

papel1 said...

Thank you so much for hosting PFF. I will add you link to my blog later today. I love your Easter Postcard.
Judy

MuseSwings said...

Very pretty Easter wishes! I've visited everyone on the link list and enjoyed all of the wonderful and so diverse PFF posts! Thank you for being our host today!

Vivianapachecofineart said...

Thank you for hosting PFF!! I love that postcard you've got today, it is so vibrant! I will save it to use on one of my cards, thanks for sharing!

dandelionlady said...

That's a lovely postcard. Thanks for hosting PFF!

Clytie said...

Thank you for hosting PFF, sissie! And thanks too for the Easter bunny history lesson. Pretty cool, I think. And the card you chose is wonderful.

Patricia's Paper Crafts said...

Love the Easter Bunny postcard history.

Patty said...

Good luck hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Hope you enjoyed it. Post card is so cute. Have a great week-end. Tonight the girls and I are going to a spaghetti dinner at the Vocational school where I use to work, and our one daughter still works there. Has for 30 years now. Abe taught there for about ten years, I worked as secretary in Adult Ed for 17 years. They are sponsoring a dinner and the proceeds go to a teacher who is fighting a rare cancer. Tomorrow we'll have spaghetti again for dinner/lunch, because Audrey who turned 10 yesterday asked we have that for her birthday meal. So it will be spaghetti, loose hamburger fried for the ones that eat meat, we have several that are vegetarians, salad, garlic toast, and we few other items, like shrimp and dip, my Mother and I love shrimp, and of course it will be topped off with cake and ice cream, also a large cookie, our one daughter's birthday is tomorrow and she requested a large chocolate chip cookie. In fact the one that has worked there for 30 years, turns 48 tomorrow and she and her partner are vegetarians, so the spaghetti sauce is the garden chunky type, but some like a little meat throw on top. LOL And I'm not taking the time to make meat balls.
Again, happy week-end.

Irene said...

Thanks for hosting Beth, love your card. I didn't participate this week, but I'll be back.