Easter Bunny traces American origins to Pennsylvania

ORWIGSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — It’s that time of year. The Easter Bunny is everywhere. At the mall, at stores as a marshmallow treat, and in so many communities for egg hunts and other Easter events.

It’s a commonplace theme now, alongside the religious traditions and observances associated with the holiday.

Though, it was in Pennsylvania that the first “Easter Bunny” depiction in what is now the United States was made.

According to the Orwigsburg Historical Society, Johann Conrad Gilbert was a renowned fraktur artist. Fraktur is a form of folk art practiced by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

A Revolutionary War veteran, he moved to the Orwigsburg area. At the time, it was part of Berks County and is today part of Schuylkill County.

He created numerous frakturs of a rabbit carrying a basket of easter eggs. Two are known to have survived and are in museums in Virginia and Delaware.

According to History.com, the idea of an “Easter Bunny” came to Pennsylvania with German immigrants, bringing their tradition of an egg-laying hare they called “Osterhase.”

“Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs,” History.com writes. “Eventually, the custom spread across the United States and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests.”