The use of "bull" and "bear" to describe markets comes from the way the animals attack their opponents. A bull thrusts its horns up into the air while a bear swipes its paws down. These actions are metaphors for the movement of a market. If the trend is up, it's a bull market. If the trend is down, it's a bear market.  When the market is in a recession it is a bear market but when it is skyrocketing upward it is a bull market. Obviously the better of the two would be the bull market. A recession is when the market is in a downfall and slowly getting worse and a depression is when it is bad and stays bad for a long period of time.