The Hare...

In Celtic tradition, the Hare is sacred to the Goddess and is the totem animal of many lunar Goddesses, such as Hecate, Freja and Holda - the hare is a symbol of the moon. The Goddess most closely associated with the Hare is Eostre, or Ostara. The date of the Christian Easter is determined by the phase of the moon. The nocturnal hare, so closely associated with the moon which dies every morning and is resurrected every evening, also represents the rebirth of nature in spring. Both the moon and the hare were believed to die daily in order to be reborn - therefore the hare is a symbol of immortality. It is also a major symbol for fertility and abundance as the hare can conceive while pregnant. Over the centuries the symbol of the hare at Ostara has become the Easter Bunny who brings eggs to children on Easter morning, the Christian day of rebirth and resurrection. Hare hunting was taboo but because the date of Easter is determined by the moon together with the Hare's strong lunar associations, hare-hunting was a common Easter activity in England (and also at Beltane).