The sacrificial lamb
The primacy is held by a lamb. This is a clear evangelical symbol. The New Testament speaks of John the Baptist, who, upon seeing Jesus, said: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" [Jn 1:29]. Three years after this event, Jesus will die on the cross on Friday, a few hours before the beginning of the Sabbath during the Passover holiday, when the Jews sacrificed a one-year-old lamb. It can be said that at the beginning and at the end of Jesus' earthly journey described in the New Testament, the symbol of a lamb appears, underlining the sacrificial nature of the Savior's mission. Christianity is based on the conviction that the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah in the person of Christ and the fulfilment of the Passover. The killing of the lamb, the Passover ceremony and the letter of the Old Testament law were fulfilled in the saving suffering. Hence, the Easter lamb is a symbol of the Risen Jesus, the sacrifice he made on the cross for all people, the victory of life over death, but also innocence, purity and obedience. Popular representations of Jesus as a good shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders are in turn an allegory of care, protection and care.
There is an egg, there must be a chick
In the case of Easter, we can talk about a multiplied motif of beginning and birth. On the one hand, it is a memory of redemption on the cross, which gave rise to a new religion, on the other, Easter is a special period in the calendar year. That is when spring, which is the beginning of a regenerative cycle, also "comes along". Nature comes to life, wakes up after winter lethargy, resurrects. Hence, the symbols of regenerating life and spring correspond perfectly with Easter. Religious symbolism is accompanied by secular symbolism, sometimes associated with pagan or simply universal. The presence of a chick can be interpreted in this way. It becomes an extension of probably the most legible Easter symbol, the egg, which is associated all over the world with the beginning, with the first fruit, and at the same time with something that transforms, has its continuation, is only a prelude to the proper form that is the chick. Thus, we can say that the Easter "chick" owes its presence to the egg.
Old German hare
The hare is a non-Christian symbol. The spring mating behaviour of these animals meant that the hare became a symbol of vitality and sexual debauchery in many cultures. However, why the hare and not the rabbit, which is a much more fertile creature? The hare symbol began to accompany Easter celebrations in the 19th century among Poles living in Upper Silesia, Greater Poland, Pomerania and Masuria. Diffusionists would interpret this fact as clear evidence of German cultural influence, and they would be right. Ethnologists point to the old Germanic origins of the hare symbol. The goddess of spring, fertility and nature Ostara (sometimes appearing with the head of a hare) was depicted in the company of these animals. At the time when the old Germanic pantheon was being created, the European rabbit dominated the Iberian Peninsula and was not known in the north. The Catholic Church shunned the hare symbol due to its pagan origins and the demonic nature of the animal. The activity of this species increases after dark, so it is a lunar creature – associated with the moon, night and darkness, potentially dangerous to humans. In the past, meeting a brown hare on the road was a bad omen.
The watchful rooster
Contrary to the lunar hare, the rooster is a symbol of light, but also directly of Christ and resurrection. We rarely see it in Easter decorations today. In the past, the rooster was carried around the countryside during the Easter holiday season (especially on Monday) by boys singing songs and reciting short rhymes, mainly of a flirtatious and matrimonial nature, addressed to girls. Participants in these processions also wished their hosts health, prosperity and abundance, while collecting donations similarly to Christmas carolers. People walked around with a live rooster tied to a special cart, but due to the lack of cooperation from the animal, it was often replaced with a figure decorated with feathers made of bread, tow or straw. In this situation, as in the case of the hare of course, fertility symbolism dominated, but the clergy "trusted" the rooster much more than the hare. It was commonly believed that the crowing of a rooster scares away demons, evil spirits and witches, as it heralds the dawn or the morning rebirth of the sun. Placing a tin rooster on church towers was associated with the belief that this watchful bird would be the first to announce the coming of the Last Judgement with its crowing. Rooster-shaped lamps symbolised Christ and rooster images on tombs symbolised the resurrection. This symbol should be considered religious. The rooster motif appears in episodes of the Gospel Passion when St. Peter, after Jesus is captured in the Garden of Gethsemane, denies knowing him. The prophecy was quickly fulfilled: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times" [Matthew 26:75].
Source: Dr Damian Kasprzyk, IInstitute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Lodz
Edit: Press Office, University of Lodz
Dr Damian Kasprzyk