The History of the Easter Bunny

Even for people in Germany and other German-speaking countries who are not very religious, Easter, called Ostern in German, is an important springtime tradition. While many Catholic and Protestant Christians celebrate the arisen Christ in church, even those Germans who rarely see the inside of a church other than for Christmas or Easter (i.e., most of them) enjoy celebrating Easter and the arrival of spring. But they may favor the Easter eggs (Ostereier) and the Easter bunny (Osterhase), a German invention, over the more theological aspects of Easter.

An Easter bunny (Osterhase) with colorful eggs. PHOTO: Superbass (Wikimedia Commons)

The first known mention of the Easter bunny or Easter hare in print was in a 1682 doctoral dissertation in Latin, the language of academia at the time. Georg Franck von Franckenau (1644-1704), a German medical doctor and botanist, taught anatomy, chemistry and botany at Jena and became Professor of Medicine at the University of Heidelberg in 1679. Following a French invasion in the War of the Palatinate Succession he left Heidelberg for Frankfurt and then the University of Wittenberg. Franckenau later moved to Denmark as the personal physician to Christian V in Copenhagen, where he died on June 17, 1704.

Ein Hase is a hare; hares and rabbits (bunnies) are separate species, with hares being larger, with longer ears. (A “jackrabbit” is actually a “jackhare.”) Hares are runners, rabbits are hiders. Bugs Bunny was a hare, not a “wabbit” (Elmer Fudd’s pronunciation).

In 1682, while still at Heidelberg, under the name of Johannes Richier, one of his doctoral candidates, Professor Franck published a 16-page dissertation titled “De Ovis Paschalibus. Von Oster-Eyern.” (“On Easter Eggs”), which mentions for the first time the existence of the folk belief in an egg-bearing Easter bunny found in Protestant regions of Alsace and the Palatinate (Elsass und die Pfalz). In some other German-speaking regions the bringer of Easter eggs was a fox, a rooster, or the cuckoo bird. In English translation, part of the dissertation reads: “In Alsace, and neighboring 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.” (Bos, Carole; “On Easter Eggs – Georg Franck von Franckenau” AwesomeStories.com. March 20, 2016. March 31, 2021.)

The cover of the German/Latin dissertation titled “On Easter Eggs” by Johannes Richier, published in Heidelberg in 1682. PHOTO: Württembergische Landesbibliothek

The German custom of the Easter egg-laying hare (Osterhase) expanded across the German lands before being brought to America in the 1700s by German Lutheran immigrants in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. As time passed, in America and Europe, the custom added chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs. When it comes to candy sales in the US today, Easter is second only to Halloween. Easter egg hunts and egg-rolling developed as related Easter traditions. Chocolate Easter bunnies also originated in Germany, where they began making pastries for the Osterhase in the 19th century. The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.

The False Pagan Connection
The oft-repeated story that the symbol of the rabbit stems from pagan tradition, specifically the festival of Ēostre – a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny – has been debunked. The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore states “…there is no shred of evidence” that hares were sacred to Ēostre, noting that Bede does not associate her with any animal. Although eggs have long been a symbol of new life and fertility, an egg-laying bunny is a bit more difficult to explain. But there is some Christian tradition related to the rabbit at Easter.

An Easter postcard from 1907. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commmons

The ancient Greeks thought rabbits could reproduce as virgins. Such a belief persisted until early medieval times when the rabbit became associated with the Virgin Mary, tying in nicely with Christian doctrine. Rabbits appeared in ancient illuminated manuscripts created by monks to symbolize the virgin birth. Later, German Protestants turned the mythical Easter bunny into a judge who rewarded well-behaved children with baskets filled with colored eggs, similar to Santa Claus and St. Nicholas at Christmas.

Lent, the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, is another important part of the Easter celebration, at least it was until recent times. Lenten observations in the Middle Ages were more strict than they are today. Devout people refrained from meat and dairy products during the entire 40 days of Lent, and this included eggs. As a result, many eggs were lost during the early part of the season.

However, towards the end of Lent, eggs could be harvested and hard-boiled to preserve them long enough to keep until Easter. The time during Lent when eggs were not harvested offered a bonus: Eggs could hatch, increasing the size of the flock. The end of Lent was also a good time to cull the now-increased flock of chickens.

Hardboiled eggs also lent themselves to decoration. Egg decoration is definitely an age-old German tradition now found all around the globe and in many cultures. But German egg decorating goes far beyond merely dying them red, green or blue. Painting hollowed-out eggshells is a distinct art form popular in Germany and other parts of Europe.

An Unusual German Easter Custom
Writing to the Easter Bunny in Germany – Yes, German children write letters to the Osterhase! But where do they send their letters, and who are the Osterhase’s helpers? – More…

The Three Hares Symbol

The Paderborn Three Hares window is in one of the cathedral’s Late Gothic interior courtyards. PHOTO: Zefram (Wikimedia Commons)

Der Hasen und der Löffel drei,
und doch hat jeder Hase zwei.
Three hares sharing three ears,
Yet each one of them has two.

The origin of the Three Hares symbol is unclear, but the Dreihasenbild dates from the 6th century, and is found in places from Asia to Europe. The Drei-Hasen-Fenster (Three Hares window) at Paderborn Cathedral (PDF) is the most famous in Germany. But there are other Three Hare windows in churches in Germany, France and England. The motif is also seen as tile work or in heraldry. Considered a puzzle or optical illusion, the symbol shows three hares chasing each other in a circle. The image has a threefold rotational symmetry. Each of the ears is shared by two hares, so that only three ears are shown. (See the photo above.)

In Christian churches, the three hares and three ears represent the Trinity, but the symbol is also found in other cultures and religions, from Buddhism to Judaism and Islam, from China to Egypt. Its original meaning is not certain, but the Trinity interpretation of the Three Hares symbol is definitely not the only possibility.

The Chocolate Easter Bunny (der Schoko-Osterhase)
Chocolate Easter bunnies were initially created in Germany and France in the 1850s. They gained mass appeal in 1890 after the American merchant Robert Strohecker created a five-foot-tall chocolate bunny as an Easter promotion in his drug store. To promote his chocolate rabbits, Strohecker displayed a five-foot tall chocolate bunny in the window of his drugstore in Reading, Pennsylvania. According to Harbor Sweets — a chocolate manufacturing company founded by Strohecker’s grandson, Ben Strohecker — the giant bunny was made in the Pennsylvania factory of candy manufacturer William H. Luden, who would go on to make his fortune by inventing the menthol cough drop. After that, sales of chocolate Easter bunnies started to take off.

Shelves filled with “Goldhasen” chocolate Easter bunnies are a familiar sight around Easter in Germany and many other places. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

Why are chocolate bunnies hollow? Because if they were solid, they would be hard as a brick and virtually inedible. The earliest ones made in Germany in the mid-19th century were heavy and solid. But that was costly and inconvenient, so a method to create a hollow chocolate figure had to be developed. At first the method was inspired by beekeepers and their honey centrifuges. Today molds are more commonly used. The first golden foil-wrapped “Goldhase” made by Lindt & Sprüngli came on the market in 1952. Nowadays tens of millions of chocolate bunnies are sold annually worldwide. (Chocolate Easter bunnies outsell chocolate Santas.) But Easter bunnies make up only about 57 percent of the Easter chocolate figures. The rest are lambs, eggs, chicks, and chickens.

Writing to the Easter Bunny
In Germany there are three post offices where German children can write to the Easter Bunny, similar to the same thing for Santa at Christmas. In Ostereistedt (Easter Egg Town), Lower Saxony they can address a letter to Hanni Hase (Johnny Rabbit). In Seifhennersdorf, Saxony they can write to Olli Osterhase. In Osterhausen (Easterville), Saxony-Anhalt letters are addressed simply to the Osterhase. See Writing to the Easter Bunny in Germany for more.

German Easter Vocabulary

We have two special annotated Easter glossaries to help you learn Easter-related vocabulary.

• Easter English-to-German Glossary – An annotated English-German glossary
• Easter German-to-English Glossary – An annotated German-English glossary

More Easter Traditions

The German Way blogging team has written about their personal Easter and springtime experiences in Germany:

• Eggs on Trees: Five favourite German Easter traditions – Chloë (from the UK) has her own favourites
• Spring has sprung, officially – Alie writes about Easter fountains and other unusual spring and Easter traditions in Germany
• Reasons to love Germany in spring – Sarah E tells us why she loves German in the spring

Other German Easter Traditions

For more about other German Easter and springtime customs see these links:

• German Easter and Springtime Traditions – Germans and Austrians take Easter very seriously – and they have the traditions to prove it! From Easter bonfires to Easter trees.
• Writing to the Easter Bunny in Germany – German kids don’t settle for just writing to Santa.

Next | Holidays and Celebrations

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Easter and Other Movable Feasts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
• History of Germany – A summary of German history from the 9th century to the present
• History & Culture – Austria, Germany and Switzerland
• Cultural Comparisons: The USA and Germany – Comparison charts