Where does the Easter Bunny Come from?

Have you ever been curious as to where the Easter Bunny comes from?

As a fine art portrait photographer I love to use symbology, and the Easter Bunny is no exception, and I am always curious as to where these symbols come from and what they actually represent.

Easter is a christian celebration filled with the themes of sacrifice and rebirth. In the wider community we celebrate the re-birth, but the symbols draw from both themes - and they don’t all originate from christian religious icons.

The Easter Bunny is a relatively new symbol, and although the exact origins are not known, it is thought to have come from the German tradition of an egg laying hare called “Osterhase” - children would build nests in which the hare would lay colourful eggs. Rabbits have an ancient history as symbols of fertility and re-birth, and thus, two symbols have merged into one creating the Easter Bunny and his basket of eggs.

“And why eggs?” I hear you ask. Well, that probably originated from pagan celebrations for spring and new-life. They have been used since ancient times to symbolise new life, and religion has adopted the idea to symbolise the re-birth of Jesus. Decorating eggs has been found as far back as the 13th century and is thought to have come about when it was forbidden to eat eggs during Lent. The eggs would be decorated to mark the ending of the period of penance and fasting, and they would be eaten as a celebration.

Colours are symbols too. During Easter, pink represents jubilant celebration and new beginnings and gold represents the glory and triumph of the resurrection of Jesus, and purple is the colour of Lent.

All of that aside, we don’t often think about all the symbols we use in life and in celebrations in particular, but we all recognise the Easter Bunny and his colourful basket of eggs.

Being the curious one I am, what Easter traditions do you have? and the most important question, what is your favourite Easter egg?