Ostara

Neo-pagans in the northern hemisphere celebrate Ostara today, the spring equinox. According to one of their stories, Ostara gave us the Easter/Spring  connection with the bunny and eggs. Here is a version of the tale adapted from Damien's blog from last Easter. 

One year Ostara, the Saxon Goddess of Dawn, who was responsible for bringing spring each year, was feeling guilty about arriving so late.To make matters worse, she arrived to find a pitiful little bird who lay dying, his wings frozen by the snow. Lovingly, Ostara cradled the shivering creature and saved his life. 
 
Legend has it that she then made him her pet. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly because of his frost-damaged wings, the goddess Ostara turned him into a rabbit, a snow hare, and gave him the name Lepus. 

 To honor his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs in all the colors of the rainbow, but he was only allowed to lay eggs on one day out of each year. 

Eventually Ostara flung him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare).

Ostara allowed the hare to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring.

Michael's addendum: Although a pagan hare, apparently Lepus decided Christian children deserved the fun of colored eggs, too, and so he spread his bounty near and far.

Damien notes that there are other explanations of the bunny-egg-Easter connection, and they may be of more historical value. But I think this is a lovely story and one worth sharing.