Do you know someone who is excited about the Osterhase (Easter Bunny)? Why not get out some paper, pencil, and maybe some colorful markers, and let your little one write a letter to the Osterhase, Hanni Hase in Ostereistedt! The idea for an Easter Bunny Post Office came from an Advertising company in Hamburg in 1982 as part of the “Write Again” program for the Deutsche Post. They planned to set up a mailbox for Hanni Hase to receive letters from children and then send out an answer. What started as a simple idea grew like crazy! Initially, the mailbox in the Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) village of Ostereistedt saw 120 to 150 letters, but in recent years the number has grown to 59,000 letters!
Fortunately, Hanni has help.
Das Osterpostamt
17 volunteers, mostly retired postal workers and a few other hard-working volunteers, read and answered each letter. Hanni and the volunteers got big packets of letters from classes where the teacher made letter writing an assignment. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, children were home with more time to write letters, and there were more concerns about whether the Easter Bunny would even make it to their home. Now, most kids write from home. “We old hands ensure that every child who writes to the Easter Bunny gets an answer,” says chief secretary Hans-Hermann Dunker (78), who personally handles 70-100 letters daily. Some children share funny stories or cute pictures; others wish the Osterhase good health. Some write worries of their own. Children ask about Frau Hase and if Hanni has children (he does, 7, and he hopes one of them will take over the Osterhase duties someday). And more than a few are worried that Hanni will hide their eggs in the wrong garden!
The volunteers love the handwritten notes and sweet drawings the children send them and hang some of their favorites around the workshop.
Every Child Gets a Response.
This year, the work started in early March. It takes time to go through thousands of letters! (Besides, Hanni has 7 children, which keeps things pretty busy in the Rabbit Hutch.) In Germany, children are guaranteed a response if they get their letter before Good Friday (April 18th, 2025). But many letters come from further away. Hanni and her volunteers have gotten letters from as far away as the United States and Thailand! (They are answered, too).
With so many letters, it is no longer possible to handwrite a response to every child. But each letter is read carefully, and every letter does get an answer. Remember the excitement of getting an ACTUAL letter in the mail? These pre-printed notes come with a surprise: a craft idea or recipe to make at home. The address on the envelope is handwritten to give a personal touch. And some very special letters get a few personal lines written on them.
Send Hanni Hase a Letter Here
Hanni Hase
Am Waldrand 12
27404 Ostereistedt
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