Easter Bunny

<p>The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a <a href="/facts/Folklore/hcBN8qcd">folkloric</a> figure and symbol of <a href="/facts/Easter/LYPGCQge">Easter</a>, depicted as a <a href="/facts/Rabbit/8jQGWcQD">rabbit</a>—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing <a href="/facts/Easter_egg/CINC0S9g">Easter eggs</a>. Originating among German <a href="/facts/Lutheran/L4pMlRcS">Lutherans</a>, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of <a href="/facts/Eastertide/JXx9WWDz">Eastertide</a>, similar to the "naughty or nice" list made by <a href="/facts/Santa_Claus/9hg3kDdD">Santa Claus</a>. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children. As such, the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa (or the <a href="/facts/Christkind/9gKo0vq1">Christkind</a>) and <a href="/facts/Christmas/EsuI0Gds">Christmas</a> by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday. The custom was first mentioned in <a href="/facts/Georg_Franck_von_Franckenau/ozRNJpke">Georg Franck von Franckenau</a>'s <i>De ovis paschalibus</i> ("About Easter Eggs") in 1682, referring to a German folk belief of an Easter Hare laying eggs hidden in garden and bushes for children to find.
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Easter Bunny