The first mention of the now-adored Easter Bunny is believed to date all the way back to 1572 – but the German text may send a shiver down your spine and see the mythical creature in a whole new light…
The Easter Bunny may not be as sweet and cuddly as you think – and it actually isn’t even a rabbit.
Like many fairytales and folklore, the story behind the Easter Bunny is complicated and slightly dark. Theories that the mythical creature derives from the Pagan religion circulate on social media around this time of year. They’re based on the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre, whose consort was a hare.
However, many historians have debunked this idea, arguing there is not enough evidence to support the claim. Eostre is mentioned in Saint Bede’s The Reckoning of Time, which was published in 725, but reports suggest this was perhaps a ‘supposition’ on the monk’s part.
So, where did the beloved animal come from, and how did it become one of the most iconic figures of Easter?
First of all, its original name is believed to be ‘Oschter Haws’ which translates to ‘Easter Hare’ in English. So yes, the Easter Bunny is actually a hare – not a rabbit.
It is believed the earliest reference to the Easter Bunny comes from a German text in 1572, which reads: “Do not worry if the Easter Bunny escapes you. Should we miss his eggs, we will cook the nest.” Creepy, right? Almost a century later the mythical creature was cited again, described as an ‘old fable’ – which suggests it had been around a while before the book was written.
In 1682, German physician and botanist Georg Franck von Franckenau details the myth in an essay named De Ovis Paschalibus. Translated into English, it reads: “In Alsace (a region in France), and neighbouring regions, these eggs are called rabbit eggs because of the myth told to fool simple people and children that the Easter Bunny is going around laying eggs and hiding them in the herb gardens. So the children look for them, even more enthusiastically, to the delight of smiling adults.”
The Easter Bunny entered Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the US in around 1757 and was used on the front covers of magazines during Easter from 1899. But these images portrayed a rather human-like rabbit that is more likely to scare children than bring them joy. Over time, the bunny became more playful in appearance and by the 19th century was sold in chocolate form across the US. You can probably point to capitalism for this development – in the same way Easter eggs are now also made out of chocolate.
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But how did the Easter Bunny wiggle its way into one of the biggest Christian celebrations? It seems a big jump (or hop) to say a German fable has anything to do with the Bible claiming Jesus was killed on Good Friday and resurrected three days later.
But actually, the hare is often associated with rebirth and resurrection in Christian art. Fact-checker Snopes says the symbol of a circle of three hares joined by their ears has been found in a number of churches in Devon , and this design has been found as far away as China.
Rabbits and hares are also closely linked to Mary, mother of Jesus, for centuries. This is because hares are able to produce a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first – giving the illusion of a virgin birth. The Bible also condemns eating hares (not the chocolate version) as Leviticus 11:6 states: “The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you.”
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