Easter is our chance for renewal and rebirth. It is the holiday where we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And, adding to the happiness we feel, is the fact that we also get our annual chance to have a visit from the infamous bunny and his heaps of Easter candy.

Contrary to popular belief, bunnies do not lay eggs. 🙂 Also, they don't have anything to do with how chocolate eggs are produced. However, we just seem to be huge fans of associating rabbits and eggs. Why did we even think that the Easter Bunny lays chocolate eggs?

How these two Easter symbols originated can be traced to some centuries back, and they have just drastically evolved as time passed by. The Easter Bunny and Easter eggs both started out symbolizing fertility. They surface when celebrating the arrival of spring. Like the majority of creatures, rabbits breed the most in the spring. Also, they are remarkable procreators. That's practically the reason why these lovely animals were used as a symbol of fertility.

As time passed by, the rabbit evolved into the Easter Bunny. Some cultures even came up with the concept of the Easter Bunny mythically laying eggs. The Easter Bunny came to North America by the 17^th century. Germans who migrated to America continued the culture of a rabbit laying eggs which is known as "Osterhase."

With regard to Easter eggs, its precise origin is a blur. Some sources claim that it can be traced back to Pagan culture in which eggs represented new life and fertility, while others claim that it is due to the fact that birds reproduce as well as lay eggs during spring time. This makes them an ideal symbol for this celebration.

When did the Easter eggs turn chocolate, you may ask. It was in the 1900s, and they were mostly made by the French and German people. Today, Easter is the second leading day of the whole year, next to Halloween, in which chocolate sales are highest.

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Joanna Maligaya

Staff Writer/Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

Ever since she can remember, Joanna has always considered chocolate as the ultimate food for her soul. She believes in the saying, “9 out of 10 people love chocolate, and the 10th always lies.”

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