The Easter Bunny

    The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with the festival of Eastre, their goddess of springtime. Her earthly symbol was the rabbit.

    The bunny as a more recent Easter symbol seems to have its origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s.  They were made of pastry and sugar.  Chocolate bunnies came much later.

        The Easter bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. The arrival of the "Oschter Haws" or Easter Bunny, was considered "childhood's greatest pleasure" next to a visit from Christ-Kindel (Santa Claus) on Christmas Eve. The children believed that if they were good the "Oschter Haws" would lay a nest of colored eggs.  Children never gave it a thought of how a rabbit could lay colored eggs.  Easter was not widely celebrated by other people in America until after the Civil War.

       The children would build their nest in a hidden place in the home, the barn, or the garden, so the Easter Bunny had a place to put the colored eggs.   Boys would use their caps and girls their bonnets to make the nests . The use of fancy Easter baskets would come later as the tradition of the Easter Bunny spread throughout the country.

The Easter Egg  

     As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg goes farther back than the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime by the pagans is a custom that was centuries old before Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

    From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth to most people. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf, or if you were poor, they were colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.  Dying hardboiled eggs and Easter egg hunts became a tradition later on in America.

    Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.