Happy Anniversary to Book Again! On March 1st we celebrated 23 wonderful years of buying, selling and trading books with this great community, and thanks to you we continue to carry on strongly.

Just as they've done 23 years ago, my sons continue to help out and support Book Again. Joe is the author of our popular, long-running folklore column (as well as the proud new father of Clara). Most of you know Mike – he ran the store for many years while the rest of us had day jobs and did our part behind the scenes. Mike still helps out now and again, still pointing out how it took six women to replace him. And finally my youngest son, Dan, runs this website as well as producing our newsletter and bookmarks.

So I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank my family and my five wonderful helpers for their continued devotion to Book Again, and most of all a big thanks to you for the support you've given us over the years. Thank you for 23 wonderful years!

—Sheryl

• Mysteries in good condition

This month we break with a couple of traditions.

First, and most shockingly, we are taking a break from our decades-long tradition of devoting March/April to St. Patrick’s Day! It’s not that we’ve run out of things to say, exactly, nor do we intend to dispense with our yearly visits to the Emerald Isle – we just felt as if a little break was in order.

Secondly, we are also taking a break from our relatively new tradition of continuously reporting the latest doings of my daughter Clara. I am sure you know she will return as well – again, just a bit of a break...

This time we turn our attention to that Other rite of Spring, as I have suddenly realized that, in over 22 years of turning out these columns, we have never once looked at the origins of the Easter Bunny! I propose to rectify this unforgivable omission right now...

Now, long time readers will recall that, back in April of 1987, we did delve a bit into the story of that ancient German goddess of Spring, Eastre (or “Eostre”, as she was more frequently called). What I neglected to mention was that she was usually depicted with a hare for her consort.

Interestingly, the hare was considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians, who probably also invented the custom of giving eggs to commemorate the coming of Spring. Back in that ’87 column we also saw how the early Christians adopted the egg giving tradition, even as they were making the ancient Eostre festival their own.

Evidently, the Germans kept the tradition of the sacred Hare of Eostre alive, and as the centuries passed this Magic Hare became himself the bearer of the traditional Eostre eggs.

As the Irish brought Halloween to America in the 1800’s, and as the Dutch did the same two centuries earlier with Santa Claus (aka “Sinter Klaas”, or Saint Nicholas), so did the Germans bring the story of the Easter Bunny with them when they flocked in droves to the colony of Pennsylvania in the 1700’s. (As a matter of fact, Clara’s great-great-great etc grand-father was one of them, and so we bring her into the tale after all!)

The German children knew the bunny as “Oschter Haws” (“Easter Hare”), and even way back in those colonial times would gather together each Easter morning to search for hidden baskets of goodies...