What would Easter be without multi-colored eggs, chocolate eggs, and Easter bunny plush toys? Easter just wouldn’t be the same if these traditional Easter fare were missing.
Like Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny is never seen and leaves his scrumptious treats in the middle of the night. Because the Easter Bunny is so popular, many children want a memento of him to last the entire year. Just prior to the holiday, bunny plush toys become available for purchase.
That’s not to say that plush bunnies aren’t available all year long, but specifically for the Easter holiday, Easter bunny plush often come in different and unusual colors (like pink) and can be purchased with bows tied around their necks and can be placed in colorful Easter type baskets.
Like the Pagan festival of Eastre, The Easter Bunny is not a new innovation that came along with the modern world. The Bunny symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre but its origins were based in pre-Christian lore.
At the time, both the hare and the rabbit were the most known fertile animals that existed thus they served as symbols of new life when spring began. Easter rabbits were first mentioned in German writings found in the 1500s and then the first edible Easter bunnies were made in the 1800s in Germany.
These bunnies were made of pastry and sugar, not chocolate. The actual symbol of the Easter rabbit was brought to America by German settlers who arrived during the 1700s in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
The next time Easter rolls around, giving your child a bunny plush toy along with the ‘traditional’ chocolate eggs can be an adventure in learning; teaching them about the history of Easter and their bunny plush toy, will make the holiday that much more enjoyable.
Angeline Hope is a collector of Easter bunny plush toys. You can view a huge selection of quality Easter bunny plush toys at MyBigPlush.