Why is it that the Easter holiday is associated with chocolate eggs and the bunny who delivers them? For Christians, Easter is a very important holiday which celebrates the resurrection of Christ, their savior. There is no story in the Bible about a floppy-eared, cotton-tailed creature known as the Easter bunny – and real rabbits certainly do not lay eggs. This situation raises the questions, why are rabbits the symbol of Easter, and why do we hunt for colorful eggs?

According to TIME Magazine, “…the exact origins of the Easter bunny are clouded in mystery.” Although there are many different theories about how the Easter bunny came to be, one popular one is that the symbol of the rabbit originates from pagan traditions, specifically the festival of Eostre (time.com). Eostre was a Teutonic Deity (a divine being worshiped by the ancient Teutons), and the goddess of spring and fertility. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproductive rate. “The first Easter bunny legends were documented in the 1500s. By 1680, the first story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden was published,” according to NBC News (nbcnews.com).

The legends of an egg-laying rabbit traveled to the United States when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania. Making nests for the rabbit, under the belief that only well behaved children would receive colorful eggs in the nests, followed. According to NBC News, “Children would additionally leave out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping. In fact, when the tradition was first brought to the U.S., they called the bunny, or the hare as he was originally referred to, as ‘Osterhase’ or ‘Oschter Haws’” (nbcnews.com).

Once this tradition became more popular and it spread widely across the U.S., the bunny’s morning deliveries started to include chocolates as well as other types of candies and gifts. Decorated baskets began to replace nests. Freshman Savannah Messerman said that she gets a basket filled with delicious candy along with a cute stuffed animal. She added that every year she celebrates the holiday with her family with an easter egg hunt. Freshman Addelaide Hays said she spends the Easter holiday decorating eggs and spending time with family.

Since ancient times, eggs and rabbits have been a symbol of fertility while spring has been a symbol of rebirth. So even though rabbits do not lay eggs, the relationship between these two became almost natural. During Lent, the 40 days before Easter, eating eggs was forbidden. So when Easter came around, getting to eat an egg was a real treat! People would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the fasting period (time.com).

Did you know the largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds? It was built out of chocolate and marshmallow and supported by an internal steel frame, according to the History Channel (history.com).

While celebrating Easter this year, scarfing down chocolate eggs and marshmallows, think fondly of the origins of the holiday. Even consider inviting friends and family over for an easter egg hunt!