It is a weird visual when you actually stop to think about it. You have a massive, bipedal rabbit hiding neon-colored eggs in the bushes while, just a few blocks away, people are singing hymns about the resurrection of a first-century Jewish preacher. One is a foundational figure of Western civilization and the Christian faith. The other is a fluffy mammal that delivers candy. On the surface, Jesus and the Easter Bunny have absolutely nothing in common, yet they have shared the same calendar date for centuries. It’s a collision of the sacred and the sugary that leaves a lot of people wondering how we even got here.
The tension is real.
Some religious families avoid the rabbit entirely. They feel it cheapens the "reason for the season." Others just lean into the chaos, taking the kids to an egg hunt in the morning before heading to a high-church service at noon. But the history isn't just a straight line from the Bible to a chocolate mold. It’s a messy, winding road involving German folklore, ancient lunar calendars, and the way humans have always celebrated the return of spring.
The Origin Story Nobody Remembers
Let’s be clear: the Bible doesn't mention rabbits. Not once in the context of the resurrection. If you look at the Gospel accounts—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the focus is entirely on the empty tomb and the post-resurrection appearances of Christ. So, where did the bunny hop into the frame?
It started in Germany.
Back in the 1600s, there was a tradition of the "Oschter Haws" (or Osterhase). This was a mythical hare that judged whether children had been good or bad at the start of the season of Eastertide. If they were good, the hare would lay colored eggs in nests that the children made out of their hats or bonnets. It’s basically the spring version of Santa Claus. When German immigrants moved to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, they brought this folklore with them.
The connection to Jesus and the Easter Bunny started to solidify as the tradition spread across America. But why a rabbit? Why not a squirrel or a bird? In the ancient world, particularly in the writings of naturalists like Pliny the Elder, people believed that hares were hermaphroditic or could reproduce without losing their virginity. Because of this strange (and factually incorrect) biological belief, the rabbit actually became a symbol of the Virgin Mary in some medieval art. You can see this in paintings like Titian’s The Madonna of the Rabbit. Over time, that association with purity and new life got tangled up with the celebration of the resurrection.
The Egg as a Bridge
If the rabbit is the delivery driver, the egg is the actual cargo. This is where the religious and the secular actually touch. Early Christians in Mesopotamia began staining eggs red to represent the blood of Christ shed at the crucifixion.
💡 You might also like: Why the Cartoon Sun Holding Up a Peace Sign is Still Our Favorite Vibe
The egg itself is a pretty perfect metaphor for the tomb. It looks like a cold, dead stone, but inside, there is life waiting to break out. By the Orthodox tradition, these eggs were often cracked against one another to symbolize the opening of the tomb. When the German Osterhase tradition merged with these existing religious customs, the bunny became the primary way children interacted with the holiday's themes of "new life," even if the theological depth was swapped out for marshmallow peeps.
Why the Date Changes Every Year
If you’ve ever been frustrated that Easter is in March one year and late April the next, you can blame the moon. Unlike Christmas, which is fixed on December 25th, Easter is a "moveable feast."
The Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 decided that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. This ensures that the holiday stays in the season of rebirth. This is also why the Jesus and the Easter Bunny imagery is so tied to springtime aesthetics. Tulips, lilies, pastel colors, and baby animals aren't just cute; they are markers of the vernal equinox. The church wanted the resurrection to align with the natural world "coming back to life."
It’s an intentional overlap.
The Commercial Explosion
In the late 19th century, the candy industry saw a massive opportunity. Before the 1800s, Easter was a relatively somber religious holiday in the U.S., largely due to Puritan influence which frowned upon "pagan" celebrations. But as Victorian sensibilities shifted toward celebrating childhood and family, the Easter Bunny became a commercial powerhouse.
👉 See also: SAT Digital Score Calculator: Why Your Practice Test Results Feel So Weird
- Whitman’s and other chocolate makers began mass-producing chocolate rabbits.
- Greeting card companies started printing images of the bunny alongside crosses.
- The "Easter Parade" became a fashion event in New York City.
This commercialization is what eventually caused the friction we see today. When people talk about Jesus and the Easter Bunny, they are often talking about the struggle between a deep spiritual event and a high-calorie retail event. Honestly, it's a miracle the two coexist as peacefully as they do.
Real Differences in Modern Practice
While the secular world mostly treats the bunny as the "face" of the holiday, for billions of people, the weekend is defined by the Paschal Triduum. This is the three-day period of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, leading into Easter Sunday.
In many Latin American and European cultures, the "Easter Bunny" is still a secondary or even non-existent figure. In Australia, they’ve tried to swap the bunny for the "Easter Bilby" because rabbits are considered an invasive pest that destroys the environment. It's hard to make a pest the symbol of the Savior.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the two figures are inextricably linked in the public square. You see it in the White House Easter Egg Roll—a tradition started in 1878. You have the President and the First Lady standing next to a person in a giant rabbit suit, usually followed by a statement about the religious significance of the day. It’s a quintessentially American blend of faith and folklore.
Common Misconceptions
People love to claim that Easter is just a renamed pagan holiday for the goddess Eostre. While the Venerable Bede (an 8th-century monk) mentioned a goddess by that name, there is very little historical evidence that she had a massive cult or that Christians "stole" her festival. Most languages actually use a variation of the word "Pascha" (derived from the Hebrew Pesach or Passover) to name the holiday.
The link between Jesus and the Easter Bunny isn't a conspiracy to hide the gospel; it's a cultural accretion. It's what happens when a religion moves through different geographies and picks up local flavors along the way.
Navigating the Two Worlds
So, how do you actually balance these two? Most experts on child development and religious education suggest that they don't have to be in competition. You can use the bunny to talk about the joy of the season while keeping the focus on the historical and spiritual aspects of the resurrection for the "main event."
If you’re trying to make sense of it for your family or just want to understand the cultural landscape better, here are the most effective ways to look at it:
- Acknowledge the timing: Use the natural change of seasons (the bunny's domain) as a metaphor for the spiritual change (the resurrection).
- Focus on the history: Explain that the bunny is a folk tradition from Germany, while the account of Jesus is the foundational text of the faith. Kids are actually pretty good at distinguishing between "the story we play" and "the story we believe."
- Keep the symbols separate but friendly: There’s no harm in an egg hunt, but many families find value in attending a sunrise service first to set the tone for the day.
The reality of Jesus and the Easter Bunny is that they represent two different human needs. One is the need for deep, existential hope in the face of death. The other is the need for communal play and the celebration of nature's cycles.
🔗 Read more: Getting the Drawing of a Lunar Eclipse Right: What Most People Get Wrong About the Blood Moon
Actionable Steps for the Season
If you want to experience the holiday with a bit more depth this year, try these specific shifts:
- Visit a local historical museum or library: Many have exhibits on how German immigrants shaped local traditions, which can give you a real-world look at how the Osterhase arrived in your region.
- Read the primary sources: Before the chocolate and the eggs, read the last three chapters of the Gospel of Luke. It provides the actual context that the religious holiday is built upon.
- Look for "Fair Trade" chocolate: If you are going to buy the bunny, look for brands that support ethical cocoa farming. It’s a small way to align the secular tradition of gift-giving with the religious values of justice and care for others.
- Compare Global Traditions: Look into how other cultures celebrate. In Poland, for example, the "Easter Basket" (Święconka) is filled with bread, salt, and sausages to be blessed at church—no rabbits required.
Understanding the history makes the holiday less of a confusing mashup and more of a fascinating look at how culture evolves. Whether you’re there for the liturgy or the jellybeans, knowing where these symbols came from changes the way you see the Sunday.