The Easter Hare: the story behind Easter's egg-laying hare

When the kids wake up on Easter morning and find coloured eggs hidden in the garden or in the sofa, it's rarely them who ask about the logic behind the tradition. The parents, on the other hand, do wonder, because why exactly is it a hare that runs around with eggs? The answer lies in German folklore, and the story contains both solid knowledge from old sources and theories that have later been embellished.

Here's the full story of the Easter hare, from the earliest written description to the hare's journey to Danish gardens.

The Easter hare in brief: from German custom to Danish Easter tradition

The Easter hare is a folk figure and a symbol of Easter that brings Easter eggs to children. The figure originates from German Lutherans, and like Father Christmas, the hare originally judged whether children had been good or naughty. Children who had behaved well were rewarded with sweet eggs.

One of the earliest known descriptions of the Easter hare is found in the treatise De ovis paschalibus (On Easter Eggs) from 1682. In Denmark, the hare was unknown before the early 1900s, and it was only in the regions with German cultural influence that the custom took root. Today, the Easter hare hides eggs for children to search for, and it has become a fixed part of Danish Easter.

The German origins: from a medical treatise to popular tradition

It's hard to say exactly when the Easter hare originated, but one of the oldest written sources is the treatise De ovis paschalibus, written by the physician Johannes Richier under Professor Georg Franck von Franckenau in Heidelberg in 1682. The text describes a custom in parts of Germany and Alsace, where an Easter hare lays eggs and hides them in the garden, in grass and bushes, for children to search for.

The Easter hare is a disciplinary figure with roots in German Protestantism. Just as Father Christmas keeps an eye on children's behaviour, the hare originally kept an eye on who had been good and handed out sweet eggs to them.

In the 1800s, the hare became truly popular across Europe. Easter cards, toys and books spread the image of the egg-laying hare, and when sugar from sugar beets became cheap, most people could suddenly afford chocolate hares and chocolate eggs. At the same time, German emigrants took the custom with them to Britain and North America, where it became the Easter Bunny. In German, the figure is still called Osterhase.

Why a hare with eggs: explanations, not definitive answers

Neither the hare nor the egg was chosen at random as a symbol of Easter, but there are several explanations for the connection, and none of them has been conclusively proven. In north-western European folklore, incidentally, it's a hare, not a rabbit, that brings the eggs.

Both the hare and the egg were believed to promote fertility, so it made good sense to put them together. Eggs were also linked to Easter because it was forbidden to eat them during Lent, and until the end of the 1800s, hens didn't lay eggs during the cold, dark winter months either. When spring arrived and the hens started laying again, it coincided with newborn leverets appearing as yet another sign of spring.

One explanation suggests that Catholics in Germany didn't eat eggs during Lent and therefore had plenty of eggs at Easter, while Protestants, who also ate Easter eggs, lacked an explanation and invented the Easter hare. Another explanation points out that hares were simply a common sight in gardens in the spring and were therefore an obvious explanation for where the coloured eggs came from. The hare's form in the grass also resembles the lapwing's nest, which likewise lies hidden in the grass in spring. These are plausible explanations, then, not documented facts.

The myth of the goddess Eostre: a theory without evidence

A common explanation is that the hare was the sacred animal of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, and that the Easter hare is therefore in reality a remnant of old goddess worship. The connection between Easter and the goddess was first drawn by Jacob Grimm in 1835, and in 1874 Adolf Holtzmann expanded on the idea, suggesting that the hare was probably the goddess's sacred animal.

The problem is that there's no evidence for the connection. According to The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, there isn't a shred of proof for the theory, and Bede, the only known writer who even mentions Eostre at all, doesn't link her to any animal. The often-told legend that Eostre turned a bird into a hare that kept on laying eggs can only be traced back to 1883, long after Eostre supposedly lived. In other words, the story of Eostre and the hare is a later invention, not an ancient truth.

The Easter hare in Denmark: from Southern Jutland to the whole country

The Easter hare came to Denmark from Germany in the early 1900s. The figure was first known in parts of Southern Jutland and in circles that were otherwise under German cultural influence, while the rest of the country stuck to its own traditions.

Where the Easter hare took centre stage in Germany, including as a chocolate figure, chocolate eggs have historically dominated as the Danish Easter tradition. The hare has, however, since gained a foothold here at home, partly through supermarkets with German roots that sold chocolate hares alongside the eggs. It wasn't until the 1950s and 1960s that Danish families really started hiding eggs in the garden or elsewhere for the children to find, and in the new millennium the Easter hare has become a regular fixture of Danish Easter celebrations, clearly inspired by both German and American traditions.

Who brings the Easter eggs in other countries?

The hare is far from the only one to have been given the honourable task of bringing Easter eggs. Around the world, various animals and figures have taken on the job:

• In parts of Switzerland, it was the cuckoo that brought the eggs, right up until the 1800s.
• In parts of Westphalia, it was the fox.
• In Thuringia, it was the stork.
• In Bohemia, it was the rooster.
• In some places, people believed that the church bells flew to Rome on Maundy Thursday and brought the eggs back home again on Easter night.
• In Finland, it's the Easter rooster that brings the eggs.
• In Australia, there has been an Easter bilby alongside the Easter hare since the 1970s, to raise awareness of the endangered marsupial.

Around the world, different animals and figures traditionally bring the Easter eggs.

The Easter hare at home today

Today, the Easter hare's role as judge of well-behaved and naughty children is almost forgotten, but the gifts remain. The hare brings sweet eggs to the children, and in many places it also hides one or more Easter eggs on Easter morning for the children to find when they wake up. How involved the hare gets in an actual egg hunt in the garden is up to each family, but the basic idea that something needs to be found crops up in many homes.

For the boiled eggs on Easter morning itself, an egg cup shaped like an animal can add a bit of extra festivity to the table, for example a Leopard egg cup or a Parakeet egg cup, both in stoneware from Quail, where every item is hand-picked by Dinna.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the Easter hare come from?

The Easter hare originates from German Lutherans, and one of the earliest known descriptions is found in the treatise De ovis paschalibus from 1682.

Why does the Easter hare bring eggs?

Both the hare and the egg were considered symbols of fertility, and eggs were also linked to Easter because they were forbidden during Lent and scarce in winter. At the same time, leverets and freshly laid eggs were seen as signs of spring.

When did the Easter hare come to Denmark?

The Easter hare came to Denmark from Germany in the early 1900s and was first known in Southern Jutland and German-influenced communities.

Was the hare the goddess Eostre's animal?

The connection was suggested by Jacob Grimm in 1835 and Adolf Holtzmann in 1874, but according to The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, there is no evidence for it.

Is the Easter hare a hare or a rabbit?

In north-western European folklore, it's a hare, not a rabbit. In German, the figure is called Osterhase, and it became the Easter Bunny when the custom spread to English-speaking countries.

Who brings the Easter eggs in other countries?

It has, among others, been the cuckoo in Switzerland, the fox in Westphalia, the stork in Thuringia and the rooster in Bohemia. In Finland, it's the Easter rooster, and in Australia, there has been an Easter bilby alongside the hare since the 1970s.

Summary

The Easter hare started as a German custom, known from a treatise from 1682, where the hare laid eggs for the children in the garden. The story of the hare as the goddess Eostre's animal is a later theory without firm evidence, while the German origin and its journey through 19th-century Easter cards and chocolate is far better documented. In Denmark, the hare arrived in the early 1900s and is now a firm part of Easter, where it hides eggs for the children on Easter morning.

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