March 3rd.2023 

Reporter ~ Carlee Garrison 

  Easter is the second favorite holiday in the USA, followed by Valentine’s Day. Everyone has heard of the Easter Bunny: a large or small white bunny that delivers small gifts and candy to every child on Easter Eve. In the Bible, there is no mention of a white, long eared bunny. Why is a rabbit the symbol of a prominent Christian holiday? Time travel back to 1500s Germany, where the first mention of a rabbit delivering eggs to children is made. This is the legend of the Osterhase, which translates to Easter Bunny. Legend says that a poor woman would decorate eggs and hide them in the garden for her children to find. During the egg hunt, it has been said the kids saw a large hare hopping away, making them think the hare hid the eggs. Thus the Easter Bunny is born, but it is not until the mid-1700s that the tradition we know is introduced to America. Around the mid- to late-1700s, German immigrants traveled to America, settling in a Dutch Pennsylvania colony, introducing the Osterhase, or Easter Bunny, into American folklore.