Where did the Easter Bunny come from?

The Easter bunny came to America from Germany in the 1700s when early settlers arrived in Pennsylvania. Called “Oschter Haws,” or “Osterhase” in German, children built nests for the colored egg-laying bunny. They left carrots to provide food, and the bunny left colored eggs for good children.

Georg Franck von Franckenau first mentioned the German custom of the Easter bunny in writing in 1682. Egg decoration itself dates back to the 1200s because the Catholic religion forbade eating eggs during Lent. People painted and decorated eggs to mark the end of Lent and included them in the celebration on Easter.