Easter has different meanings to different people.
Of course, Christians honor it as the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead after his crucifixion, and they typically go to church to celebrate the event.
But if you didn't grow up reading the Bible and don't identify as a Christian, you're probably wondering how this very religious holiday got associated with baskets of candy and bunnies.
One bit of history suggests that the Easter Bunny concept has pagan roots. Another posits that the idea of the bunny came to America with German immigrants in the 1700's, who called it "Osterhase" (Easter hare) as far back as the 1500s in their written records.
As the Osterhase originally left eggs behind for children to find, the concept eventually grew to include candy eggs and other small gifts. That tradition continued to develop until it became a part of the holiday we celebrate today.
Easter Candy That Defines the Holiday
Whether you've celebrated Easter for five years or 50, there's always a lot of fun candy to look forward to. But certain classic candy paved the way for all the stuff we see on store shelves today.
The Big Chocolate Bunny
Whitman's
The idea of eating a huge chocolate bunny with nothing on the inside may not be particularly appealing these days, especially when there are so many more options on the shelves to choose from.
Whitman's was dabbling around with bunny-shaped candy in the 1800s, but it wasn't until Robert L. Strohecker, the grandfather of Harbor Sweets' owner Bob Strohecker, made one that the idea took off.
By the early 1900s newspapers were chattering about the chocolate bunnies. But one interesting thing is that they weren't hollow at first. That came about in the early 1940s due to cocoa rationing, which luckily is no longer a problem today.
The Creme Egg
Cadbury
The Cadbury Creme Egg was in fact not created by Cadbury (MDLZ) at all, but by a British chocolate company named Fry's (who just so happened to also make the first mass-produced candy bar, Fry's Chocolate Cream). Fry's merged with Cadbury in 1919 and while the egg was originally sold as the Fry's Creme Egg, it was rebranded as the Cadbury Creme Egg in 1971.
Filled with a white and yellow fondant intended to mimic the inside of a real egg, it's one of those Easter candy options that inspires either passionate love or boiling hate in people. There's really no inbetween.
The Peeps
Peeps
These cute little yellow birds made of chewy marshmallows are yet another staple of Easter basket history. They were first created by the Rodda Candy Company by hand-squeezing the shapes through pastry tubes and individually applying the little wax eyes, which is a devastating idea if you think about the amount of Peeps that's on the shelf at your local drugstore alone.
Rodda was purchased by JustBorn in 1953, the company that makes Peeps today. And while the recipe remains pretty much the same, JustBorn was kind enough to come up with a way to make the little chicks with machines instead of human hands. Today they also come in a much wider variety of flavors and colors, from bunnies to chocolate-dipped.
The Peanut Butter Egg
Reese's
If you think about it, all a Reese's (HSY) Peanut Butter Egg is the candy you're already used to in a new shape. But there's something about them that seems creamier, like you're getting more peanut butter. Others seem to have noticed as well.
At any rate, Reese's debuted the Peanut Butter Egg in 1967 after a successful test market run, and the bright yellow package became synonymous with a few moments of happiness. While Reese's has made the egg in different varieties like the Reese's Pieces-stuffed one you see above, the core egg continues to sell like crazy. People seem to really like the mini versions too.
The Mini Eggs
Cadbury
Hey, not everyone wants to eat Easter candy the size of a real egg. Some of us have more delicate tummies than that. In 1967, Cadbury heard our prayers and debuted the Mini Eggs, which are kind of like a much bigger, pastel M&M. They originally came in white, pink, yellow, and light blue, but today a few more colors have been added to the lineup. And of course, Cadbury has experimented with different chocolate as well, so whether you like white or dark, you can get your candy fix.
