Create the perfect basket
Easter is one of our favorite holidays . From brightly painted eggs to fresh flowers to new church clothes to lots of colorful sugary treats , there is so much to love about the holiday .
A popular tradition for children is the Easter bunny arriving in the middle of the night to drop off Easter baskets for Sunday morning . In the United States , it is a tradition whose origins date back to immigrants from Germany more than two centuries ago .
According to History . com , the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants settling in Pennsylvania . They brought their tradition of an egg-laying hare named Osterhase which most likely dates back to the 1500s . According to German folklore , a poor woman decorated colorful eggs and left them in a garden for children to find . When the children discovered the eggs , a large hare was seen hopping away , so the children thought the rabbit had left the eggs , or so the legend goes .
After arriving in America , the German children made nests in which the “ Osterhase ” could lay its colorful eggs , beginning a tradition that eventually spread across the country . Over the years , decorated baskets replaced the nests and Easter morning surprises grew to include chocolate and other types of
32 • MERIDIAN LIFE