What is the story behind the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs?

Do you know the origin story of the Easter Bunny and why it brings eggs? We were wondering about this and so we did some research to find out more.

The Easter Bunny legend originally comes to us from Germany. During Lent (40 days of fasting before Easter), no one was allowed to eat meat or eggs. But hens kept on laying, of course, and so people began to boil the eggs to preserve them. Some even coloured the eggs by adding herbs as they boiled them to clearly separate them from other eggs.

When the period of fasting ended, families were left with an abundance of boiled eggs. As Easter always falls in spring time, there were many hares in the fields. In the minds of the Germans of that period, eggs and rabbits became associated with fertility. The legend gradually took shape, evolving into a story in which the Easter Bunny brings children eggs. But this captivating legend that has thrilled young and old alike comes in multiple different forms.

Customs have changed over the years, and several types of eggs have been used. Golden eggs rose to prominence among the noble classes, while chocolate eggs appeared more recently. There are some rather surprising twists on this tale in other countries with other beliefs. For example, it is sometimes a fox, swan, cockerel or cuckoo that brings the eggs rather than a rabbit.

In Switzerland, it was originally the cuckoo that brought the Easter eggs, a charming tradition that later gave way to the Easter Bunny legend in the 17th century.
Over the years, many different versions of this Easter tale have appeared across Europe, but they all share one thing in common — a celebration of fertility, rebirth, and new life, just like the eggs and the bunny that symbolise spring today.
In the United Kingdom, the same Easter Bunny story is told, often linked to the ancient goddess Eostre, who was honoured during the spring equinox and represents renewal and light.

Irrespective of the various versions, children all adore the Easter Bunny. They believe the cute little rabbit has been and hidden eggs, and they love hunting for them. But in advance, the eggs need to be dyed, as is the tradition in Switzerland.

Did you dye eggs in your family when you were a child, too? Why not do it together with your kids? It’s great fun. You can either buy the dye from a shop and hand-paint the eggs, or you can dye them in the traditional manner using natural ingredients such as onion peelings, turmeric or curry powder, red cabbage, blueberries or beetroot.

Dyeing instructions

• Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Rinse them with vinegar to make sure the colouring sticks better.
• Prepare your dyeing mixture: for 1 litre of water, use around 250g of the dyeing ingredient (turmeric, curry, onion peel, blueberries, beetroot etc.).
• Simmer the mixture for around 30 minutes, then strain everything and add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar.
• To decorate eggs, wrap several elastic bands around them to produce stripes or stick on herbs and flowers using a nylon stocking.
• Leave the eggs to soak in the dye mixture for 45 minutes.

If you haven’t decorated them before dyeing, you can use lemon juice to draw patterns with a cotton bud. Another option is decorating them using special pens, and then you’re done!

And for a successful egg hunt, don’t forget the Easter Bunny and chocolate Easter eggs.

We wish you all a very happy Easter !