TITLE: Easter Bunny Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: North America
COUNTRY: United States of America
ETHNICITY: Mixed
DESCRIPTION: Vacuform Easter Bunny mask
CATALOG ID: NAUS014
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Easter
AGE: ca. 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: styrene plastic
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; steel staples; elastic band
Easter, which is the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, is not traditionally a masked festival in the United States. However, the influence of German Lutheranism has brought the legendary “Easter Hare,” morphing in the United States to a “bunny” (an affectionate term for a rabbit). The legendary rabbit brings dyed eggs and candy in a basket to children in celebration of the resurrection. Among the Easter festivities in the United States are egg hunts, where adults hide real colored eggs, or plastic eggs filled with candy, and children compete to search them out. Occasionally, adults will don costumes and masks to resemble the Easter Bunny during the proceedings.
