The Easter Bunny is a favourite character every Easter. He brings around chocolate eggs for children every year at Easter, often hiding them in “egg hunts” where competitions are held to see who is able to collect the most eggs in a specific place with a specific time. But where does it come from?

The bunny is often a symbol of new life, which is particularly significant at Easter due to the celebration being based off the religious event of Jesus Christ being resurrected from the dead at this date, according to Christian religion. The Easter bunny is also known as the “Easter hare”, and hares have had a religious significance throughout history too. For example, as long ago as the Neolithic Age, hares were buried alongside humans, possibly as a part of a ritual in which hares would symbolise new life. Hares were also believed to be protected by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

Hares used to be eaten at Easter during the medieval period as a way of “scaring off witches”. This was because witches were believed to often take the form of a hare due to their magic and evil spells. This made hares very popular at Easter, even hundreds of years ago.

In Germany, as long ago as the 1600s, children were having “egg hunts” for eggs which were hidden by the Easter Bunny. This was around the same time as hares were eaten at Easter in England in the times of witch hysteria, and from this point the symbolism of hares and bunnies at Easter has grown through the ages to the present day, where chocolate eggs are the most popular.