“First! “I'm first,” shouts the blonde girl as she touches the door to the gym. Behind her are the other children of Kita Wiegelsweg, ages 3 to 6. They walk on the spot, whisper or talk loudly, and look at the teacher who is now opening the door to the children's conference. The children immediately rush in. Today they can decide together whether they want to write a letter to Hanni Hase, Olli Osterhase and Lotti Langohr. The living democracy in this daycare center is also connected to the Easter Bunny.
Hanni Hase has been answering letters sent by Ostereistedt to Lower Saxony for over 40 years. According to Deutsche Post, he is contacted from all over the world. Last year, the Easter Bunny received 70,000 jobs, 1,000 of them from abroad. Every letter is answered. “The wish for peace in the world was especially important to the children,” the post said. The Easter office responded to more than 100,000 letters during the 2021 pandemic.
“Who wants to write a letter to the Easter Bunny?”
Kita Wiegelsweg's children could also be there this year. You can also write to Olli Osterhas and his wife Lotti Langohr in Seifhennersdorf (Saxony). The post office here has been run by Das-Kiez-Querxenland employees since 2005. In 2023, a total of 5,700 letters were sent here – in which children wished for health, peace or X-boxes.
“Who would like to write a letter to the Easter Bunny?” asks teacher Anke George from the Wiegelsweg day care center. About 30 children kneel, sit and fidget in a circle on red and green gymnastics mats. Many of them are now loudly chanting “Yes”. The teacher asks three to six-year-olds what exactly they would write on the Easter Bunny. “That we like him,” says one of the girls.
No Wiegelsweg child has to write to the Easter Bunny, just like they don't have to sleep, participate in nature education projects, or do crafts. Here is “open concept”. Every child can say what he wants to do and children's time is not “planned”, say the educators. “It's also their day,” says childcare manager Margit Strehl-Enders. First, the children's wishes are taken into account. And secondly, participation should be possible from an early age, according to the Hess education and upbringing plan, which is also implemented here by the children's conference. It should practice democratic processes. Strehl-Enders says that the open concept also prepares people for working life. Independent thinking and creativity are needed here.
Desire for chocolate, gems and toys
Children are also creative in the week after the children's conference. The writing and crafting project is open to any child who knows that day. Color images are created. Almost everyone can see a rabbit-like shape, hearts or flowers. Educator Anke George interviews the children and writes down their thoughts: “Dear Easter Bunny, when are you coming?”, “Where do you get your eggs?”, “Do you have a family?”, the children want to know. They also want their letter chocolates, gems and toys.
The children walk with Anke George to the nearby post office. The children give the postal worker two letters packed with pictures. They will wait a few days for answers. While Olli Osterhase and his wife Lotti Langohr announced a short holiday in “Querxenland” in Seifhennersdorf in a letter sent to all the children, Hanni Hase dedicated a letter and a stamp to each child. In it, she talks about how her baby bunnies bully her – and how much fun it is to read the letters.