he Easter Bunny was not originally an Easter symbol. Bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire, and southwestern Germany, where the practice was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s.[citation needed] The first edible Easter Eggs were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.[citation needed]

The Easter Bunny was introduced to the United States by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.[4] The arrival of the Osterhase was considered one of "childhood's greatest pleasures", similar to the arrival of Kriist Kindle (from the German Christkindl) on Christmas Eve.

According to the tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. The "O_ster Haws_e" would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. As the tradition spread, the nest has become the manufactured, modern Easter basket, and the placing of the nest in a secluded area has become the tradition of hiding baskets.[5]