Mythology - Brown Hares in North Wales
Across the world and for many centuries the Brown Hare has always had a special attraction for people.
Its elusiveness and unusual behaviour, particularly at night, have reinforced its reputation as a magical creature.
The Easter Bunny is really a hare!
In Saxon times, the Goddess Eostre ruled over the Spring and dawn. Hares were her sacred symbol. Easter (Eostre) originally celebrated the coming of Spring. Pagan symbols were transformed into Christian icons. This is where Easter and the 'easter bunny' came from.
There are many different superstitions.
A couple of examples are:
- Hares could not be mentioned at sea as sailors considered them unlucky.
- In Cornwall it is said that girls who died of grief caused by a fickle lover turned into pure white hares and haunted the guilty parties.
In Wales, reference is often made to hares in tales and literature.
In the Mabinogion, Little Gwion is trying to escape from the claws of the witch, Ceridwen, whilst being chased on land, through water and in the air. He turns into a hare and she turns into a greyhound, he turns into a fish and she into an otter, him into a bird and her into a hawk. Finally he changes to a grain of wheat only to be eaten by Ceridwen's hen. However, there is a happy ending because the witch becomes pregnant as a result and a beautiful child is born.
But there is a touch of evil in the mythology with witches being able to change themselves into hares - and Gerallt Gymro, when he travelled through Wales in 1188, recorded the Welsh belief that a witch could turn herself into a hare in order to go into the fields and suck the cows' milk.
Examples can be found in Medieval churches and on artefacts from Iran from the 12th and 13th century.
See the Chris Chapman Photography web page for more information on this subject.
