Library Leaves - 4

Published on 17 March 2021

Wiyabu.

This edition of Library Leaves is brought to you by the words ‘chocolate’, ‘rabbit’ and the number 3.

Who do you think you are? Great news - the library can help. Family history services at Taree, Forster and Tea Gardens are back. Woo hoo and big thanks to the wonderful volunteers who make this possible.

With Easter just around the corner this edition focuses on two Easter traditions - rabbits and chocolate. Eggs as symbols of birth and rebirth, have been part of the Christian celebration of Easter since at least the 16th century. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularised the Easter Egg hunt and European chocolatiers saw a great business opportunity in turning painted eggs into chocolate ones. That’s how we got here.

Chocolate itself fascinates me. We come up with so many excuses to justify eating it: See what I mean here! And if you need any more scientists, at least those with chocolate stains around their mouths, have given you even more, as long as it’s dark chocolate: Read this!

 But if you’re still looking for excuses, just use the search term ‘excuses to eat chocolate’. We are that desperate.

On to rabbits. What have they got to do with Easter? No clear cut answer but Pagan mythology is the popular one. Eostre, the Germanic goddess of the Dawn, was celebrated with the coming of spring and new life. She may or may not have been rabbit-headed but rabbits and their ability to create new life have been associated with her. Don’t quote me on that. You can, however, see how well that concept of new life fits with the importance of this time in Christian belief.

All this talk of rabbits got me thinking of famous ones. Bugs Bunny. Roger Rabbit. Peter rabbit and, of course, the rabbit in Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Can you think of anymore? If you like your rabbits cute, cuddly and G rated this might brighten your day! If you like a more PG related laugh (mild language warning and very mild imagery) you can’t go past this classic!

Eaten too much at Easter? Here’s a few unusual words to describe you that sound a bit better than greedy guts: Gloffer, Gulcher and my two classy favourites - Epicurean and Gormandiser.

Dad jokes - two this time, one on theme, the other because it made me smile:

There are three species of hyena, but every time you see one it becomes spotted.

Why did the bald man put rabbits on his head? Because from a distance they looked like hares.

French phrase: qu'obtiendriez-vous si vous accouchez un lapin avec un célèbre général? (What would you get if you crossed a rabbit with a famous French general?)

Napoleon Bunnypart

Djurami. Gapu.