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The Best New Yorker Easter Covers: A Look at Holiday Art
Easter always came with its own set of traditions. As a kid, it was all about the baskets—the plastic grass, the pastel-colored eggs, and, of course, the jelly beans. The black ones were always the worst, a disappointment every SINGLE time. This was before Jelly Belly had come along to redeem them. Then there was the lamb, a staple on the table, though I could never get behind the mint jelly that came with it.
But beyond the candy and the meal, what always fascinated me were the Easter hats—big, bold, extravagant. The kind of hats you’d see in church (I see you, Abyssinian Baptist Church) where Easter Sunday was as much about fashion as it was about faith. It was a celebration of style, tradition, and community, all wrapped up in the perfect hat.
And just like Easter traditions shift from home to home, The New Yorker has captured the holiday in its own way for decades. Some covers lean into the sweetness—bunnies, eggs, and springtime pastels—while others bring out the humor, the satire, and, occasionally, a bit of existential dread. Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable New Yorker Easter covers and the stories they tell.
The New Yorker’s Most Memorable Easter Covers
Did You Know? Easter’s Strangest and Sweetest Traditions
The Terrifying Easter Bunnies of Old
Once upon a time, Easter Bunny costumes were the stuff of nightmares. In the early to mid-20th century, many Easter Bunny suits were handmade, with stiff, hollow-eyed masks and oversized, lumpy heads that made them look more like horror movie villains than cheerful holiday mascots. Vintage photos show children frozen in terror next to these creatures, making us all wonder—who thought this was a good idea?
The Origins of Chocolate Eggs
Before chocolate eggs, there were real eggs—hard-boiled, dyed, and used in Easter celebrations for centuries as a symbol of renewal. But by the 19th century, European chocolatiers began molding hollow chocolate eggs, especially in France and Germany. These sweet treats quickly caught on, and today, they’re a staple of Easter baskets worldwide, with brands like Cadbury leading the charge.
How Peeps Took Over Easter
Love them or hate them, Peeps are everywhere during Easter. The marshmallow chicks were first created in the 1950s by the Just Born candy company, and what used to take 27 hours to hand-pipe now takes just six minutes in modern production. Today, billions of Peeps are produced each year, with wild flavors like root beer, hot tamale, and even pancakes & syrup. (Whether they should exist is another debate entirely.)
Norway’s Easter Crime Novel Obsession—Påskekrim
While most countries associate Easter with pastels and egg hunts, Norway takes a darker turn. There, Easter is the season for crime fiction—so much so that publishers release special Påskekrim (Easter Crime) books, and TV networks air mystery marathons. The tradition is said to have started in 1923 when a crime novel publisher launched an Easter-themed book with an ad so convincing that people thought it was a real news story. It stuck, and now, solving fictional murders is a beloved Easter pastime in Norway.
The New Yorker’s Take on Easter: A Look Back
Easter means different things to different people—whether it’s about chocolate eggs, pastel-colored Peeps, or the perfect Sunday hat. And for nearly a century, The New Yorker has captured the holiday in its own signature way, from whimsical bunnies to sharp social commentary.
Whether you celebrate with an Easter feast, a stack of crime novels (if you’re Norwegian), or just by enjoying the first real signs of spring, these covers remind us that Easter, like everything else in life, is always evolving. But one thing is certain: the black jelly beans will always be terrible.
