By Amy McGarry
Going down the rabbit hole refers to getting deeply involved in something, often something complex or confusing. That’s an apt description of me looking into why Easter bunnies, dying eggs, and egg hunts are part of the Christian Easter holiday in the United States. Maybe most confusing to me, why does the Easter Bunny bring eggs when rabbits are mammals and mammals don’t lay eggs? I did a lot of head scratching and Google searches, and the rabbit hole finally led me to some answers.
The Easter hare, or Osterhase/Oschter Haws, comes from German legend that a rabbit would lay colorful eggs as gifts to well-behaved children, much like Santa’s naughty or nice list. Apparently, parents have always found ingenious ways to get their kids to behave. Another story contends that a poor German woman decorated colorful eggs to delight her children who would search for them in the garden. As the children were finding the hidden eggs, they saw a large hare (Hase) hopping away. Clearly, the Hase had left the eggs!
However, according to a 1682 dissertation by a Professor at Heidelberg titled, “On Easter Eggs,” the myth of egg-laying rabbits was told “to fool simple people and children…so the children look for them even more enthusiastically.”
German immigrants brought their Easter egg-laying hare, and all its origin stories, to America in the 1700s. Given America’s tendencies to commercialize holidays for profits, the fabled bunny’s delivery expanded over time from just eggs to include other treats such as chocolate and toys. Easter baskets have only gotten more and more elaborate over the years, as one trip to the store this year will tell you, not to mention the aisles full of Easter-themed candy. In fact, Easter is second only to Halloween when it comes to candy sales in the U.S. today.
Another question I had regarding this Christian-but-also-egg-hiding-bunny-holiday concerns the word “Easter.” Most holidays in America have a name that clearly explains what the holiday is, or why it’s celebrated. New Year’s Day. President’s Day. Independence Day. Pretty straight-forward. Even Christmas is clearly derived from a form of Christ’s mass. But Easter? The word Easter is nowhere to be found in the bible, despite its Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection. This question took me down several more rabbit holes, leading me again to the Germans.
The word Easter is believed to come from Eostre, of German mythology. Eostre was a pre-Christian deity celebrated with the spring equinox, the date in late March when the amount of daylight equals the amount of dark. On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called Ostarmandod or Easter-month. Eostre was associated with springtime themes of rebirth and renewal. In the earliest days of Christianity, the church found it was easier to promote their faith if the main Christian holidays, Easter being number one, coincided with the celebrations that had been in practice before Christianity. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred around the time of the spring equinox, offered an opportunity to promote the Christian message of resurrection and eternal life, with the earlier ideas of rebirth and renewal. It’s no coincidence that the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Christmas, is celebrated at the time of the winter solstice.
One last dive down the rabbit hole for the final mystery on my mind: why is Easter on a different date every year, when Christmas is always on the same date? This dive turned out to be the deepest dive of all and, full confession, the information I found was so complicated, I made my way back out of that rabbit hole as soon as possible. It included mathematical calculations, astronomy, correlations, and algorithms. And that’s only if I understood it correctly. The simple answer is, Easter occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon occurring after the spring equinox. And that date changes every year. This year, the first full moon after the spring equinox occurs on April 12. So, this year, Easter is celebrated on April 20. But, but, but…the first Sunday after the Saturday, April 12 full moon is Sunday, April 13! Alas, I could find no reason why Easter is on April 20 this year and not April 13. There are some rabbit holes that are just too deep.
Regardless of the date, the name, or the reasons for Easter traditions and activities, Easter egg hunts continue to be a delight for children of all ages. One example of the many events around the region is the Riverfront Park’s Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch with the Easter Bunny on Saturday, April 19. No registration is required and it’s free for all ages. To even the hunting field, different times for different ages are broken down as follows:
10:00 a.m. | Ages 0-2 | Spokane Pavilion
10:25 a.m. | Ages 3-5 | Tower Meadow
10:35 a.m. | Ages 6+ | Lilac Bowl
Sensory Supportive Easter Egg Hunt with the ISAAC Foundation: Providence Playscape; free for all ages. 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Registration required: https://theisaacfoundation.configio.com/pd/2936/sensory-supportive-easter-egg-hunt-2025
Easter Brunch at the Spokane Pavilion (reservations required)
8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Admission: Adults: $37, Youth (ages 6-12): $24, Under 5: free
See full menu and make reservations at: my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontspokane/calendar/2025/01/19/easter-egg-hunt-and-brunch
Easter Fun Facts
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?
Chocolate Easter bunnies also originated in Germany, where they began making pastries for the Osterhase in the 19th century.
In Sweden, Easter is often celebrated with colorful decorations and children dressing up as “Easter witches,” similar to Halloween costumes. The children go door-to-door, exchanging drawings and cards for candy.
The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.
In the United States alone, Easter candy sales are expected to exceed $3 billion.
Amy McGarry grew up in Spokane Valley, Washington. After a 20 year hiatus, she moved back to Spokane Valley where she lives with her husband, daughter and two cats. She is the author of I am Farang: Adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand, available on Amazon.com, Auntie’s Bookstore, and Barnes and Noble.