Contents
Every country has its own traditions for Easter, and some are very different from others. For some people, Easter is a time to reflect on their religion and mourn the death of Jesus. For others, it is a day to eat chocolate and dress up as the Easter bunny.
Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about Easter.
It all started in Germany
The Easter bunny story started in pre-Christian Germany hundreds of years ago. The rabbit was believed to be the Pagan Goddess of Spring and Fertility. However, pagan traditions quickly blended with our Christian holidays as Christianity spread through Europe. These days, the Easter bunny brings chocolate eggs to children who are well-behaved.
It is illegal to dance on Good Friday in Germany. The dancing ban is out of respect for the Christians mourning Jesus’ death on Easter weekend. In Bavaria, you can be fined up to 10,000 euros for playing music in a bar on Good Friday.
1.5 million Cadbury Crème Eggs are produced every day
Cadbury Crème eggs are a hate it or love it kind of thing. Some people count down the days until they can get their hands on a crème egg at Easter. Others find crème eggs sickly and too sweet for their taste. 500 million crème eggs are produced every year, and if you piled them on top of one another, they would be ten times higher than Mount Everest.
The UK’s first chocolate egg was produced in Bristol
The Fry family ran the largest chocolate factory in the world back in the 19th century. They produced the first chocolate egg in England in 1873. Cadburys produced their first chocolate egg two years later. Get your hands on a giant Easter egg this year to celebrate the holiday in style.
Easter is based on the lunar cycle
Easter Sunday changes every year. Sometimes it lands in March, and other times it’s in April. Easter is actually based on the lunar calendar. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the 21st of March. This year Easter Sunday falls on the 17th of April.
Greeks crack red eggs on Easter
It is a tradition to crack red eggs together in Greece on Easter weekend. They paint the eggs red to symbolise the blood of Christ at his crucifixion, and the eggshell represents the sealed tomb. The cracking of the eggs mirrors his resurrection and exit from the tomb. The egg tradition started on the night of the Resurrection service and continues until Easter Sunday. Two people tap their eggs together until they crack and say, “Christ has risen!” (“Christos anesti!”)
Depending on your religious views, Easter is a time to celebrate Christianity or chocolate. You could incorporate a few traditions from around the world into your Easter weekend this year.
