Easter Egg

While the Easter Bunny has very little to do with the religious history of Easter, he does have some mythological roots. The bunny is a symbol of fertility and spring renewal. So knowing this the Easter Bunny starts to make a little sense. Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal. Plants return to life after winter dormancy and many animals mate and procreate. We all know that rabbits know all about procreating! Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a symbol of new life. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs as they are also a symbol of new life.

The Easter Hare was first mentioned along with Easter in German folklore as early as 1682 when German’s “Oschter Haws” laid a nest of colored eggs as gifts for good children. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Oschter Haws came to America with Pennsylvania Dutch settlers in the 1700’s and evolved into the Easter Bunny as it became entrenched in American culture. For Christians, the Easter egg is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Over time the bunny started bringing chocolate, marshmallow peeps, toys, and other gifts in addition to eggs.

Today it is believed that the Easter Bunny disguises himself to look like all the other bunnies hopping around in fields, meadows, and parks and then the night before Easter, the Easter Bunny comes out of his burrow and uses magic to grow into a big rabbit to deliver the eggs and baskets.