Easter Bunny traditions in the UK
4 November 2026
In 2027, Easter Sunday is on 28 March, with Good Friday on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March. The Easter Bunny came to Britain from German folklore, where an egg-laying Easter hare was first written about in 1682, and today UK families mix it with home-grown customs: chocolate eggs (first made in Britain in 1873), egg hunts, and egg rolling down hills.
When is Easter 2027 in the UK?
| Day | Date | Bank holiday? |
|---|---|---|
| Good Friday | Friday 26 March 2027 | Yes, across the UK |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 28 March 2027 | Sunday |
| Easter Monday | Monday 29 March 2027 | England, Wales and Northern Ireland (not Scotland) |
The bank holiday dates are from the official GOV.UK bank holidays list. Easter 2027 is early: in 2028 Easter Sunday falls on 16 April.
Why does Easter move every year?
Western churches set Easter Sunday as the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after 21 March. That means it can fall any time from late March to late April. School Easter holidays in the UK are set by each council or school, and don't always line up with the bank holidays, so check your school's term dates.
Where did the Easter Bunny come from?
The Easter Bunny began as a hare. The earliest known written account is a 1682 dissertation on Easter eggs by the German physician Georg Franck von Franckenau, which recorded a folk belief in Alsace and the Palatinate (now in north-east France and south-west Germany) that the Easter hare brought eggs for children. He dismissed it as a fable told to children, but the tradition survived and travelled.
The German Osterhase (Easter hare) was carried abroad by German emigrants, and over time the hare became a rabbit or "bunny" in the English-speaking world.
British Easter traditions
Chocolate Easter eggs
Eggs have been part of Easter for centuries, as a symbol of new life. The chocolate kind is a British story: J.S. Fry & Sons of Bristol made the first hollow chocolate Easter eggs in the UK in 1873, and Cadbury followed in 1875. Today a chocolate egg on Easter Sunday is the centre of most children's Easter.
Pace-egging
Pace-egging is an old Lancashire custom that also reached parts of West Yorkshire. "Pace" comes from pasche, an old word for Easter, and the Oxford English Dictionary records "pace egg" as far back as 1579. Eggs were wrapped in onion skins and boiled to give them a golden, mottled shell. Groups of dressed-up "pace eggers" went round the villages, often on Good Friday, collecting eggs or money, sometimes performing a mummers' play in return. The Pace Egg play is still performed every year in Heptonstall, West Yorkshire.
Egg rolling
Rolling decorated eggs down a hill is one of the best-known Easter customs in the north of England. In Preston, Lancashire, the Easter Monday egg rolling in Avenham Park dates back to 1867 and still draws crowds, with many children now rolling chocolate eggs instead of hard-boiled ones. Some families say the egg that rolls furthest, or survives without cracking, wins.
Egg decorating and egg hunts
Dyeing or painting hard-boiled eggs, then hunting for hidden eggs (real or chocolate) on Easter Sunday morning, is now the most common family Easter tradition. For ideas and clue templates, see our Easter egg hunt ideas.
Making the Easter Bunny feel real at home
Like the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny works best with a few small details:
- Bunny footprints. Cut a paw-print stencil from card and dust flour through it, leading from the door to the hidden eggs.
- A nibbled carrot. Leave a carrot out on Saturday night and take a bite out of it before morning.
- A letter from the Easter Bunny. A short note with your child's name, a clue to the first egg, and praise for something they've done this year.
- An Easter basket. Children put out a basket or bowl on Saturday night for the Bunny to fill.
- A trail of clues. Rhyming clues lead from egg to egg; good for children who can read.
Families who love these little rituals often carry them through the year, from the Tooth Fairy to birthday traditions and Christmas Eve.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter Sunday in 2027?
Easter Sunday 2027 is on 28 March. Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March. Good Friday is a bank holiday across the UK; Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland.
Where does the Easter Bunny come from?
From German folklore. The earliest known written mention of an egg-bringing Easter hare is in a 1682 dissertation by Georg Franck von Franckenau, describing a belief in Alsace and the Palatinate. German emigrants spread the tradition, and the hare became a bunny in English-speaking countries.
When was the first chocolate Easter egg made in the UK?
In 1873, by J.S. Fry & Sons of Bristol. Cadbury made its first chocolate Easter eggs two years later, in 1875.
Do the clocks change at Easter 2027?
Yes. UK clocks go forward one hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March, which in 2027 is 28 March, Easter Sunday. Bear it in mind if you are planning an early egg hunt.
What is pace-egging?
An old Easter custom from Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire. Eggs were dyed by boiling them in onion skins, and groups of "pace eggers" went round the villages collecting eggs or money, sometimes performing a mummers' play. "Pace" comes from pasche, an old word for Easter.