Easter may have a different look this year as tiny tots hunt for eggs in the snow, all clad in their winter gear instead of bright spring dresses and sun hats.  But even if spring isn’t blossoming in the background, the traditions and customs of Easter are still in full bloom.  Here’s a little peek of where the season's celebrations hatched from and a basket-full of trivia surround the holiday.

Lavish Easter celebrations are held across the country each year with egg-stra special parades, egg rolls, bunny photo opps and egg hunts.  The grandest and most popular parade is held in New York City traveling the historic route north on Fifth Avenue from 49th Street up to 57th Street. 

While there have been many an Easter egg hunt, nothing has topped or hopped beyond the festive hunt of Florida's Cypress Gardens Adventure Park.  In 2007, Florida hosted the world’s largest egg hunt that has ever been held with a record-breaking 501,000 hidden eggs searched for by 9,753 children.

The most historic egg rolling celebration is held each year at the White House, beginning in 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes after the tradition of holding the event at Capitol Hill was cracked.  President Richard Nixon and his wife were the first to invite the Easter Bunny to hop on over to make an appearance for the occasion.

While the holiday is full of egg-straordinary fun, for most, the real meaning of the season is celebrating the Holy Week.  From Palm Sunday when Jesus Christ made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem where he came to participate in the Jewish Passover to Resurrection Sunday, the week is full of meaningful celebration. 

Holy Thursday honors the Last Supper where Jesus introduced the sacrament to his apostles.  Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus when he was lifted on the cross.  Easter Sunday or Resurrection Day honors the day that the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea where Jesus was buried was found empty and he had been resurrected.  Preceding the Holy Week, many Christians begin recognizing the holiday season as they participate in Lent, forty days of sacrifice, prayer, and giving beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday.

The recognition of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection isn’t the only sweet of the season.  From bags to baskets of sugary treats, every-bunny loves a little Easter candy.  In fact, 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced for the season every year.  And here’s a strange fact, nearly 80% of consumers eat their chocolate bunnies beginning with ears!  

Tosca, Italy boasts the history's largest chocolate egg weighing in at 15,873 pounds, 4.48 ounces and measuring 64 feet, 3.65 inches around.  Surprisingly, the most popular Easter candy are peeps with 600 million enjoyed each year.  It takes only six minutes to make a peep but prior to 1953, it would take 27 hours.  It's indisputable what a favorite Easter candy has become as on average, $131 per household is faithfully rolled on over to be spent on Easter candy.

The Easter season is full of symbols from its historic beginnings.  The pagan feast celebrated over the vernal equinox honors Eostre, the goddess of spring and renewal.  Passed on from the pagan traditions and Christian celebrations, eggs and rabbits became a symbol of the holiday as they represented new beginnings, a season of rebirth and new life.  From the Old Testament customs of sacrifice, a lamb is also a common symbol of Easter.  The white lily, another symbol of the season, also ties back to Biblical traditions as it represents purity, rebirth, repentance, and hope found through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Easter Bunny first hopped on the scene in the United States after German immigrants brought with them the tradition of the egg-laying "Osterhase" or Easter Hare.  Over time, the sentiment remained but the name changed to Easter Bunny that would arrive on Easter Sunday to deliver spring treats and sweets.  In Switzerland, egg hunters await for the Easter Cuckoo to leave their spring surprises while little peeps in Australia watch for the Bilby to stop by.  

As Easter approaches, little ones are dying for the chance to color their eggs, a tradition passed on for centuries.  It is said that the custom began when Mary Magdalene taught Emperor Tiberius of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, demonstrating with a simple egg that miraculously turned red, symbolizing the blood of Christ.  Another tale of the Easter egg beginnings is when the Virgin Mary, begging for mercy on behalf of Jesus, offered eggs to the soldiers guarding Christ on the cross, and while doing so, her tears, splashing on the eggs, colored the eggs with dots where her tears had landed.  Regardless of the inspiration, the people of Ukraine are credited with the practice of dyeing eggs for Easter as we do today, a tradition called Pysanka.

A few final less known Easter trivia facts: in Medieval times, Christians would begin wearing new clothes on Easter as a part of their celebration the resurrection of Jesus Christ, reminding them of rebirth and new beginnings. Nowadays, wearing new clothes on Easter Sunday is said to bring good luck for the rest of the year.  Easter, a holiday dependent on the lunar cycle, will always be celebrated between March 22 and April 25.  England claims the beginning of several Easter activities such as its own egg-citing jig that features dancing between Easter eggs called “hop-egging” as well as the tasty “hot cross buns” that were once traditionally only to be served on Good Friday.

 Easter trivia found at https://parade.com/1165727/jessicasager/easter-trivia/, https://www.womansday.com/life/entertainment/g26765136/easter-trivia/ and

https://thoughtcatalog.com/january-nelson/2021/10/easter-trivia/.