Ostara's Hare
From Jennifer Emick,
Have you ever wondered where the celebration of the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ acquired its unusual name and odd symbols of colored eggs and rabbits?
The answer lies in the ingenious way that the Christian church absorbed Pagan practices. After discovering that people were more reluctant to give up their holidays and festivals than their gods, they simply incorporated Pagan practices into Christian festivals. As recounted by the Venerable Bede, an early Christian writer, clever clerics copied Pagan practices and by doing so, made Christianity more palatable to pagan folk reluctant to give up their festivals for somber Christian practices.
In second century Europe, the predominate spring festival was a raucous Saxon fertility celebration in honor of the Saxon Goddess Eastre (Ostara), whose sacred animal was a hare. The colored eggs associated with the bunny are of another, even more ancient origin. The eggs associated with this and other Vernal festivals have been symbols of rebirth and fertility for so long the precise roots of the tradition are unknown, and may date to the beginning of human civilization. Ancient Romans and Greeks used eggs as symbols of fertility, rebirth, and abundance- eggs were solar symbols, and figured in the festivals of numerous resurrected gods.
Pagan fertility festivals at the time of the Spring equinox were common- it was believed that at this time, when day and night were of equal length, male and female energies were also in balance. The hare is often associated with moon goddesses; the egg and the hare together represent the god and the goddess, respectively.
Moving forward fifteen hundred years, we find ourselves in Germany, where children await the arrival of Oschter Haws, a rabbit who will lay colored eggs in nests to the delight of children who discover them Easter morning. It was this German tradition that popularized the 'Easter bunny' in America, when introduced into the American cultural fabric by German settlers in Pennsylvania.
Many modern practitioners of Neo-pagan and earth-based religions have embraced these symbols as part of their religious practice, identifying with the life-affirming aspects of the spring holiday. (The Neopagan holiday of Ostara is descended from the Saxon festival.) Ironically, some Christian groups have used the presence of these symbols to denounce the celebration of the Easter holiday, and many churches have recently abandoned the Pagan moniker with more Christian oriented titles like 'Resurrection Sunday.'
The Phooka (Old Irish), (also Pooka, Puka, Phouka, Púka, Pwca in Welsh, Bucca in Cornish, pouque in Dgèrnésiais, also Glashtyn, Gruagach) is a creature of Celtic folklore, notably in Ireland and Wales. It is one of the myriad of fairy (faery) folk, and, like many faery folk, is both respected and feared by those who believe in it.
* 1 Morphology and physiology
* 2 Agricultural traditions
* 3 Regional variations
* 4 Popular culture
* 5 References
* 6 External links
According to legend, the phooka is an adroit shape changer, capable of assuming a variety of terrifying forms. It may appear as a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what form the phooka takes, its fur is almost always dark. (its name is a cognate of the early Irish 'poc', 'a male goat', and it may lend its name to Puck, the goat-footed satyr made famous in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream), but it most commonly takes the form of a sleek black horse with a flowing mane and glowing yellow eyes.
If a human is enticed onto a phooka's back it has been known to give them a wild ride. But unlike a kelpie, which will take its rider and dive into the nearest river or lake to drown and devour him, the phooka will do the unfortunate rider no real harm. The Púca has the power of human speech, and has been known to give advice and lead people away from danger. Though the phooka enjoys confusing and often terrifying humans, it is considered to be benevolent.
Certain agricultural traditions surround the Púca. It is a creature associated with Samhain, the third Pagan (Celtic, Wiccan) Harvest Festival, when the last of the crops is brought in. Anything remaining in the fields is considered "puka," or fairy-blasted, and hence inedible. In some locales, reapers leave a small share of the crop, the "púca's share," to placate the hungry creature. Nonetheless, November Day (November 1) is the Púca's day, and the one day of the year when it can be expected to behave civilly.
In some regions, the Púca is spoken of with considerably more respect than fear; if treated with due deference, it may actually be beneficial to those who encounter it. The Púca is a creature of the mountains and hills, and in those regions there are stories of it appearing on November Day and providing prophecies and warnings to those who consult it.
In the movie Donnie Darko, Donnie is both unconsciously and then consciously directed by a pooka named Frank to specific acts which determine the course of his life.
In the classic Mary Chase play Harvey, the title character Harvey is a pooka, in the form of a very tall humanoid white rabbit. There is a humorous scene in which Mr. Wilson, the asylum orderly, reads the definition of pooka in the encyclopedia: "Pooka. From old Celtic mythology. A fairy spirit in animal form. Always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one at his own caprice. A benign but mischievous creature. Very fond of rum-pots, crackpots, and how are you, Mr. Wilson?" This provides the notion that Harvey is real.
In Emma Bull's 1987 book, War for the Oaks, the Phouka is a mischievous but ultimately trustworthy shapechanger who takes the form of a large black dog.
Jenny Gluckstein, of Peter S. Beagle's Tamsin, meets a Pooka when she moves from New York City to a haunted farm in Dorset, England.
In The Spiderwick Chronicles, the phooka is a shapeshifter that resembles a black rabbit monkey like creature; he is smarter than his speech can demonstrate.
In Chynna Clugston's Blue Monday comic, heroine Blue encounters her Pooka, Seamus - a giant, gaseous, kilt-bearing otter who often causes more mischief than anything else.
In the 1959 Disney film Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Darby's horse turns into a pookah. The first time the horse transforms, it frightens Darby into falling down a well, where he first encounters King Brian and the land of the leprechauns. The second time, the horse causes Darby's daughter Katie to fall and be injured, which leads to Darby's final deal with King Brian and the ultimate "happily ever after" resolution.
In the 1985 book Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn, the 8th Xanth novel by Piers Anthony, a Pooka befriends the main character. He is a smart, helpful ghost horse with rattling chains and ends up being named "Pook."
In one episode of American Dragon, Phooka influences Haley's dark side with a song.
The pookah also appears in the graphic novel blue monday.
In the 1950's movie, Harvey, with Jimmy Stewart, Stewart's character Elwood P. Dowd sees 6-foot rabbit named Harvey. Dowd explains that Harvey is actually a phooka.
For specific characters named one of the various spellings of pooka (thus alluding to the creature), see Pooka (disambiguation).