The Origins of the Easter Bunny

Ever wondered about the origins of the Easter Bunny? Dave and I feel pretty much the same way about the Easter Bunny as we do about Santa (except we think the Easter Bunny is a little more bizarre), but I've never looked into the origins of this tradition.

Most sources seem to agree that the rabbits and eggs both got connected with Easter as a result of the early Christian church absorbing pagan practices (in an attempt to make Christianity more attractive to their pagan neighbours). In second century Europe, the dominant festival was a spring fertility festival (which occurred at around the same time Christ's death and resurrection was celebrated by the Christian church), and was represented by eggs and rabbits. A goddess named Eostre (the name that the word 'Easter' comes from) was the pagan goddess of the Spring.

Coloured (and later chocolate) eggs in Catholic Europe were a popular way of celebrating the end of Lent. Protestants generally ditched Lent, but kept the chocolate!

The stories about an egg laying rabbit/hare seem to be more recent and to have come from Germany. The source of the stories was (apparently!) a popular misconception about egg-laying hares, based on the fact that hares raise their young at ground level, and abandoned plovers' nests were sometimes found nearby. The tradition was that good children would receive coloured eggs in their nests they made from their hats and bonnets from a hare called the "Osterhas" or "Oschter Haws". German immigrants introduced this custom to the United States in the 18th century.

* I got most of my information about this from here and here.
*Pic from istockphoto.com