The Halloween bunny is a recent invention. Halloween party goers like to don fancy dress costumes and while these used to be representations of witches, ghouls, ghosts etc, it seems today that anyone goes.
The bunny was for centuries linked with Easter, sometimes referred to as the Easter Hare or in the U.S. The Spring Bunny. I believe that the popularity of bunny costumes at Halloween has more to do with the rabbits pagan associations and it's credit as a prolific breeder. In other words 'naughtiness' has a important place in the party atmosphere of Halloween. This also explains the huge query for sexy bunny outfits.
Bunny Halloween Costume
Halloween, itself, practically indeed began as an antique Celtic pagan festival known as Samhain which marked the end of the light duration and the starting of the dark, when the Celts believed that this world and the 'other' world came very close. To ward off evil spirits animals were slaughtered, although rabbits, or bunnies, would not be complex as they did not appear in Britain until the 11th century when they were introduced by William the conqueror.
The term Halloween was not in coarse use in England until the 16th century and is a variant of 'All Hallows Eve', in other words, the night before All Hallows Day.
Hugh Hefner chose the bunny as the logo of his Playboy empire and dressed his playmates in curious bunny outfits, again enforcing the link in the middle of rabbits and sexiness and having a good time.
So we have established a link in the middle of paganism, Halloween and the humble bunny, or rabbit. Whether or not our furry friends deserve it's somewhat raunchy credit is open to debate but it is indeed a prolific breeder so perhaps it will never shake off its relationship with Halloween or any other time when population accumulate to dress up and make merry.
Halloween Bunny
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