There are many theories as to how bunnies became associated with Easter — like the supposed Anglo-Saxon goddess who turned an egg-laying bird into a rabbit, or how Neolithic communities in Europe buried hares in religious rituals. What is known is that by the 1600s, English hunters specifically sought out hares for Easter meals, possibly linked to a folk tradition thought to scare away witches, who supposedly took the form of hares to cause mischief and illness.
Around the same time, German children celebrated spring’s arrival by receiving gifts from the “Easter hare,” whom they anticipated by making nests for the hare to lay its eggs — possibly the origin of the Easter basket. German immigrants relocating to America brought this tradition with them, and over time it transformed into the chocolate-delivering Easter Bunny many children await each spring.