Easter 2015 Top Quotes, History and the Stories Behind Bunnies and Chocolate Eggs

The Easter bunny is German.

So goes a tale that reached American shores with German immigrants in the 1700s. It's just one of numerous myths surrounding the floppy-eared mammal and Easter, the Christian holiday commemorating Jesus' resurrection after being buried for three days.

For many, Easter ends a six-week-long vow of abstinence from something they desire. Some stop smoking cigarettes, others cut back on their coca cola consumption. It's supposed to tighten religious ties and heighten one's awareness during Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

What that has to do with bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs is a mystery as old as Christianity itself. The word Easter is also tied to Passover, the festival celebrating the exodus of Jews from Egypt. Egyptian mythology says the phoenix burns its nest to be reborn from the egg it left. Hindu scripture states the world was born from an egg.

The word "Easter" has been linked to Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, she who brought new life. The Latin phrase "hebdomada alba," which means "white week," traces back to a Christian tradition where people were baptized while wearing white clothes. The Bible makes no direct correlation between rabbits and Jesus' return from the dead, but like many traditions that arrived with European immigrants, the United States adopted it into a national holiday.

Eggs - the universal symbol of life and fertility - have been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. Decorating them dates back to the 13^th century. Since they were often forbidden during Lent, people ate them after having dyed them to mark the end of the season.

According to History.com, German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania inspired the tradition in its current form. Children made nests for over egg-laying hares brought over called "Oschter Haws." These unique rabbits layed colored eggs, leading to the coloring of white eggs. Children often left our carrots in case bunnies got tired from all their "hopping."

For a while, some didn't acknowledge a rabbit at all. While some Germans Dutch settlers brought "Oschter Haws" to the States, many continued to wait for the Easter fox. On Holy Saturday, children would prepare a cozy nest for the fox and ensure it was not disturbed on its visit. The bunny has taken over tradition since.

The holiday started to stray from its religious ties around 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes participated in the first official White House egg roll. Children rolled and searched for decorated eggs much like they do today. The only difference being that it was done on the Monday following Easter instead of the holiday itself.

As for the candy, look no further than the need to satiate a person's sweet tooth.

Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in the United States, behind only Halloween. Over 16 billion jelly beans are made, enough to fill an egg 89-feet high and 60-feet tall, according to the National Confectioners Association. Cadbury, one of the world's leading chocolate producers, says this came about from Victorians in the 17^th and 18^th century filling egg-shaped toys with gift and candy.

Nevertheless, Easter has become a worldwide tradition. In Sweden, girls treat the holiday much like Halloween by dressing up and traveling house-to-house looking for treats. Christians in Bermuda fly kites on Good Friday to represent Jesus' ascent into Heaven.

Easter has brought people closer together for centuries. Let's take a look the holiday's most memorable quotes.

"There would be no Christmas if there was no Easter"

          - George Hinckley, religious leader and author

"What is the real purpose behind the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus? They seem like greater steps toward faith and imagination, each with a payoff."

          - Chuck Palahniuk, author

"It is at Easter that Jesus is most human, and like all humans, he fails and is failed. His is not an all-powerful God, it is an all-vulnerable God."

          - Michael Leunig, Australian cartoonist and cultural commentator

"They have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter."

          - Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States

"Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life."

          - Janine di Giovanni, award-winning foreign correspondent

"Do not abandon yourself to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."

          - Pope John Paul II, Roman Catholic priest, bishop, and Cardinal