The Mad March Hare

Mad March Hare

The Celts are connected to nature and the seasons. There are many festivals and events to celebrate throughout the year and the Spring Equinox falls on March 20-22 in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a celebration of new life and fresh beginnings. The arrival of the March Hare during the day is a sign of Spring.  Usually, a nocturnal animal in Northern Europe, the hare starts to look for a mate during daylight hours.

The rejected males behave very erratically and so the term ‘as mad as a March Hare‘ came into being.  It is confirmed and written about by Lewis Carroll in the popular writing of Alice in Wonderland. The Mad Hatter and the March Hare had a place on the table at the famous Tea Party.

In early pagan tradition the Hare was a fertility symbol. The modern Easter Bunny is derived from the March Hare and appeared with the arrival of Christianity. The association with Easter Eggs came later. This practice arose from the foraging of eggs from wild bird’s nests. Today the eggs are chocolate and scattered for children to hunt and find.