Easter bunny delight

Avanthi FERNANDO

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"Here comes Peter

Cottontail

hoppin' down the bunny trail

Hippity hoppity

Easter's on its way!"

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...goes that famous Easter rhyme.

Do you know where edible Easter bunnies hide in Sri Lanka this season?

Celebrating Easter is often synonymous with Easter bunnies carrying Easter eggs, kids having Easter egg hunt games and family and friends getting together for an Easter Sunday brunch. Even though Sri Lankans might not be keen on this Christian religious tradition belief, just like Christmas, everyone joins in the spirit of Easter today. Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion (Good Friday) which falls on Easter Sunday.

The Easter Bunny is a mythical character as an anthropomorphic rabbit where according to legend, the bunny would bring baskets laden with coloured eggs, candy and toys to children on the night before Easter, similar to the Santa Claus tradition. Eggs, like rabbits are fertility symbols of antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits give birth in large litters during spring, these are now symbols of rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.

The symbol of the Easter bunny originated in Germany, being first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. It was here that the first edible Easter bunnies were made during the 1800s from pastry and sugar.

The Easter bunny was introduced to American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Today, Easter is clearly a Christian holiday, with deep liturgical and traditional significance. However, scholars actually believe that the festival has its roots in a number of pre-Christian faiths, including Pagan and Jewish. Some legends believe that the name of Easter is deeply rooted in from the Anglo-Saxon goddess called Eostre, who was always with her pet bunny rabbit. It's rather interesting to know it was her bunny that had laid the first coloured eggs.

With traditional Easter games and customs like egg rolling, egg taping, pace egging and egg decorating and Easter treats like jelly beans, peeps, marshmallow bunnies, chocolate eggs and Easter greeting cards, people are now getting into the spirit of things with Easter goodies exuding with creativity and goodwill. Just before revealing the all-important Sinhala and Tamil New Year with the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka, Easter comes in time for all to be happy and cheerful.

Many of Sri Lanka's top hotels are hiding Easter bunnies this year with extraordinary surprises to get you in the Easter mood. Executive Pastry Chef Gerard Mendis of the Hilton Hotel is fashioning amazing Easter creations with hand-made Easter bunnies and Easter eggs.

These lovingly-wrapped Easter eggs are infused with strawberry-flavoured white chocolate, tempered to perfection and are magically formed into special moulds by a talented team of 40 at the Hilton's pastry department. He said, "By May 1st, we have a unique 'low-sugar' and 'sugar-free' range for our health-conscious clientele and I always believe in making goodies that are nutritious and delicious for children".

Proceeds of Hilton's Easter celebrations this year will go into a charity collection box in aid of the Ceylon Deaf and Blind School. The 'eggs-travagant' idea of the Hilton's General Manager Jerome Auvity was to get children of this school along with the Overseas School of Colombo to paint 200 clay eggs.

These lovely eggs are displayed for sale in the Hilton lobby so that customers can pick and choose colourful eggs to take to their family on Easter.

Galadari Hotel's Pastry Chef Nimal Fernando is whipping up some wonderful delights to tantalise Easter tastebuds. He said, "We have special Easter cakes carved from half-egg shapes and an assortment of wonderful Easter bunny surprises".

Chef Nimal said that special Easter baskets with bunnies made from milk, white and dark chocolate are available for the sweet tooth. "We also have tailor-made Easter baskets where the customer can pick and choose treats from our Cafe 64 range to gift this season" he said. A big chocolate Easter egg design is on display with different bunnies in tasty sculptures and they are beautiful to gift and are a feast for the eyes.

Trans Asia's kitchen is also brimming with Easter ideas that has resulted in Pastry Chef Jagath Wijesinghe displaying chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs with Easter cakes in ribbon and chocolate flavours at their 'Goodies' outlet. A range of their different Easter treats are available at very reasonable prices and they will take the Easter craze one step higher where a kids' Easter Sunday party will have fun activities like Easter egg decorating, egg hunting and egg painting.

Cinnamon Grand hotel has spruced up this year with Chef W. D. M. L. Niranjan making exciting Easter treats. The popular Coffee Stop will serve scrumptious Easter goodies that are wholesome and economically-priced that include a delectable range of white and milk chocolate. Says Tharika Goonathilake, PR Manager of the Cinnamon Grand, "We are offering a range of tantalising Easter treats like chocolate Easter egg cakes, chocolate bunny logs, rabbit in an egg, mother bunny with baby, bunny houses, the funny laughing bunny, full chocolate egg and many more interesting Easter delights that is sure to make Easter all the more merrier".

She said that traditional Easter breads and pastries like Hot Cross Buns and Easter Bread with Fruit will also be available for their clients.

More than having an 'Egg-stravagant Easter' this year, remember that respecting Christian tradition and religious ideals should be the focus and not just the commercial aspect of having an Easter celebration. Many churches are reenacting the pain, suffering and death of Jesus Christ and we must think of a peaceful and happy Easter celebration this year.