Something came up at work yesterday that promises to leave me with virtually no time for frivolity over the next few weeks.
However, that doesn't mean you guys can't be frivolous on my behalf: tell me what, if any, mental image you had of the Easter Bunny as a child.
We were talking about this at work yesterday, in reference to those terrifying-looking... things they have at the mall. You think kids balk at sitting on Santa's lap, you should see what they do around this thing. At least Santa looks human. This thing at the mall is a monstrosity. Some costumes are better than others, but IMO they're all frightening. I don't think the Mall Edition Easter Bunny was invented yet when I was young enough to care about such things. Either that, or my parents wisely kept me away, because I'm telling you, it's creepy.
But that got us to thinking... how did we picture the Easter Bunny when we were little? My coworkers weren't sure. I honestly can't remember how I pictured him. I know I didn't picture a man in a nightmarish costume, but I'm sure I didn't picture an actual rabbit either. I think I must have had some vague idea of a cartoon bunny, which would have looked out of place sneaking around our living room.
Not surprisingly, the Easter Bunny was the weak link in the triumvirate of childhood mythical figures I grew up with. Santa seemed improbable, the Tooth Fairy seemed improbable and pointless, but it was the Easter Bunny who really failed to grab my credulity. The Tooth Fairy is a fairy, so maybe she can walk through walls; Santa goes down a chimney or one of those weird pipes on your roof that I didn't realize at the time actually led to the toilet; how the hell does the Easter Bunny get in?
And was it a coincidence that both he and Santa preferred a snack of beer and popcorn?
Without a consistent physical appearance or the kind of supporting literature that has buoyed Santa for generations, good ol' EB is a liability to the triumvirate. He threatens to bring them all down.
In any case, I'm straying from the question. I'm really curious. Did you picture a rabbit - how did he carry the basket?
Did you picture something like what's at the mall?
Something else?
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I don't clearly remember believign in the Easter Bunny, but I think I probably pictured him as the stuffed animals we always got on Easter. In other words, basically rabbit-shaped, but some pastel color.
ReplyDeleteAnd he didn't carry the baskets. He was magic, and no explanation is needed for magic.
And that's why the whole thing is ridiculous, because pretty much as soon as any explanation is needed, the whole thing falls apart.
Ah, the Easter bunny visited the yard when I was a child, not the house. A lot more plausible. And I have no memory of believing in the Easter Bunny, but I'm thinking he looked like the claymation one in the TV special. But I can't confirm that. I have no idea if I really believed in him or Santa. We didn't have a whole lot of non-evidential belief in my house. My parents didn't think that it was "cute" or "an important part of childhood" for us to believe a pack of lies.
ReplyDeleteY'know, you've got the "council of imaginary creatures," or whatever it's called, in the Santa Clause movies. I really thought that had given it away to my kids, who knew the Tooth Fairy wasn't real because somebody had exposed that information to them. But they still clung to the Santa myth. Bringing one down, apparently, does not bring down the whole show.
I don't recall believing in any of them. I remember NOT believing in Santa at a very young age (6ish) and confierming that belief by searching for and finding all my presents prior to Xmas. I assume I belived in him prior to that.
ReplyDeleteI did see the giant mall-like Easter bunny back when I was a kid. The local pharmacy near the church (Pleasant Drug?) used to have one on Easter Day handiong out candy. My sister and I would insist on stoping by on the way home. Sort of our reward for sitting though the eternal Easter Mass.