Many wonderful things happen during Spring. Baby animals are born, the weather starts to get warmer, and the days get longer. One important holiday also takes place in Spring, Easter. During Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We also celebrate Spring, being with family, a new beginning, and the Easter Bunny of course!. Easter is a magical time filled with celebrations and more. Check out these fun Easter facts for kids.
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Easter is the Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his promise of eternal life. Even though the background of the Easter holiday is religious and celebrates Jesus Christ, many do not associate the holiday with religion. When many people think about Easter they think of Spring, treats from the Easter Bunny and Egg Hunts, and other celebrations.
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Where did the Name Easter Come From?
Easter is also known as Pasch or Pascha. Some people believe the word Easter comes from the pagan holiday honoring Eostre the pagan goddess of Spring which symbolized rebirth. Others believe the word Easter comes from the German word eostarun meaning dawn and white.
When is Easter Celebrated?
Easter is now celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on the Spring Equinox between March 22nd and April 25th
Easter is celebrated at the end of Lent on the last day of Holy Week.
Holy Week starts off with Palm Sunday the following Good Thursday the day of the Last Supper, Good Friday the day of Jesus crucifixion, and Sunday the day Jesus rose which is now the celebration of Easter.
How is Easter Celebrated?
In the United States Easter is celebrated in many different ways. Many people go to church, others attend different celebrations. Children often get a visit from the Easter Bunny and receive an Easter basket filled with candy, chocolates, toys, and more. Many children participate in Easter Egg hunts. During an Easter Egg Hunt, children search for hidden eggs with tiny candies, toys, or money inside. Sometimes real hard-boiled eggs are hidden for the children to find.
It is also tradition to get dressed up on the Easter holiday. Dressing up in your “Easter Best” is a common term used on Easter Sunday. It is common for little girls to wear Spring frilly dresses and little boys to wear Spring colored suits.
Where Does the Tradition of Coloring Easter Eggs Come From?
The Christian tradition of staining Easter Eggs started with the Christians of Mesopotamia. They would stain their eggs red to represent “the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion.” The egg later became a symbol of Jesus’s resurrection. Some Christians believe that cracking open an Easter egg symbolizes the empty tomb of Jesus.
The traditional word for painting Easter eggs is called pysanka.
Exchanging painted eggs started in ancient civilizations with people such as the Egyptians and Persians. They would exchange eggs as a symbol of fertility and new life.
Why a Rabbit for Easter?
Rabbits and Hares were also symbols of fertility.
In folklore, the Easter Bunny is a hare, not a rabbit, and lays eggs. Real hares and rabbits do not lay eggs.
The idea of the Easter Bunny originated in Germany.
The idea of the Easter Bunny was brought to the US by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania Dutch Country in the 1700s.
Germans believed the Easter Bunny was a white hare that would leave colorful eggs for good girls and boys on Easter Morning.
The girls and boys would wake up Easter morning and build nests out of sticks and leaves so the Easter Bunny can leave them the eggs. This is how the first Easter Hunts started.
Original Easter baskets were made to look like nests now children receive colorful baskets filled with eggs and candies from the Easter Bunny.
The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany in the early 1800s. They were made of pastry and sugar.
Facts about Easter
Pretzels were a food that was associated with Easter. It is believed that pretzels are the world’s oldest snack food. History says its origin dates back to 610AD when an Italian Monk used dough leftover for baking bread to make pretzels. He folded the dough over to make it looks like children’s arms folded when they pray.
Easter is the second-largest candy-consuming holiday. Halloween is the first.
Every day 5 million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are made to prepare for Easter.
Peeps are the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. Around 700 million peeps are sold for Easter.
Jellybeans became an Easter tradition in the 1930s. 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter. Cherry or red is the most popular flavor/color jellybean.
90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter. Fun Fact: When people eat chocolate bunnies they usually eat the ears first!
The most popular chocolate eggs are Cadbury Cream Eggs.
Easter at the White House
The tradition of having an Easter Egg Roll at the White House dates back to 1878 while President Rutherford B. Hayes was in office. Some people believe that the tradition started even earlier when Abraham Lincoln was in office.
An Easter Egg roll is a game where children push Easter Eggs down a hill or grassy area using a long-handled spoon. Every year there is a big Easter Hunt at the White House in Washington D.C to celebrate Easter. You must enter a lottery to be chosen to come to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. It is free to enter the lottery. You can check how to enter the lottery here.
Easter Records
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest Chocolate Easter Egg was made in Cortenuova Italy. It had a circumference of 64ft 3.65 inches and weighed in at 15873 pounds in April 2011.
The largest decorated Easter Egg was made in Portugal in March 2008. It stood 48ft 6 inches tall and had a diameter of 27ft.
The largest Easter Egg Hunt happened at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in Winter Haven Florida. The hunt consisted of 501,000 Easter Eggs!
Check out Bunny Rabbit Facts, Easter Bunny Jokes, Bunny Rabbit Handprint/Footprint Craft, Birds Nest Snack
Free Printable Easter Worksheets
Check out these fun Printable Easter worksheets for Kids
