bunny

Easter is a ‘movable’ holiday, falling on the first Sunday after the first full moon.  This can be tricky depending on which calendar is followed.  Western Christian churches do not follow the same calendar as Eastern Orthodox churches, which can cause the holiday to be celebrated on two different Sundays.

Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th.    The most common day is April 19th, on which Easter falls about 4% of the time.

 

The largest Easter egg hunt was in 2007 in Florida, when 10,000 people searched for half a million eggs.

 

According to one amateur statistician, two of the top ten most popular items people give up for Lent are abstaining from Facebook and Twitter.      Not surprising, giving up chocolate, swearing and alcohol also made the list.

 

In ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and Persia, painted eggs were used in Spring festivals and exchanged as gifts.  It was the Europeans who took the tradition one step further to Easter.

 

It is said that the Easter bonnet (a hat) was a treat women allowed themselves after abstaining from other luxuries during Lent.   They would wear the bonnet to Easter morning celebrations.

 

The first White House “Easter Egg Roll” was in 1878.     Ever since, children gather the Monday following Easter to push with a spoon decorated hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn.

 

After Halloween, Easter is the next-best-selling candy holiday.      Of course, chocolate is the #1 treat choice with 90 million chocolate bunnies created in the U.S. each year.   And according to 76% of Americans, chocolate bunnies should be eaten ears first.

 

The most popular non-chocolate Easter candy are marshmallow Peeps, of which 700 million are sold during the Easter season.    The most popular color is yellow, followed by pink, lavender, blue and white.

 

According to American Greetings, Easter is the fourth most popular holiday for sending cards (behind Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day).

And A Very Happy Easter to you from all of us at New Home Resource!