Hoppy Easter

Easter means many things to people. Rebirth, the change of season and the arrival of spring, fertility, eggs, baskets, flowers and rabbits and of course, resurrection.

Easter marks the end of the Lenten season with the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. To find out more on the religious and historical aspects of this highest of holy days, please visit these sites.

The Story of Easter

Easter is called a 'changeable' holiday ~ meaning that it has no fixed date. It will be a Sunday, but could fall anytime within the space of a month. The date of Easter is figured as the first Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox.

Easter has many symbols both religious and secular. This page will deal mostly with the secular side of things, but many of these symbols have their own meanings from pagan beliefs.

Eggs are a symbol of fertility or new life. The colors denote the hues of springtime and the colored and decorated eggs were often given as gifts. Decorated eggs can be very plain or the most ornate. The ultimate "Easter" egg is the Faberge Egg. These eggs are jewel-encrusted wonders created by the jeweler, Faberge, for the Russian royal family, but not actually made from eggs.

Another spectacular egg is EggScapes created by Mitzi Perdue, wife of the late chicken magnate, Frank Perdue. These incredible creations really are made from egg shells of many varieties of larger birds - like the ostrich and emu.

Colored eggs are also used in egg rolling contests and Easter egg hunts. In an egg rolling contest children roll the eggs against each other or down a hill and the one that remains unbroken is the winner. The lawn at the White House in Washington, DC has been the site of an egg rolling contest since 1878.

In an Easter egg hunt, children search inside or outside for colored eggs allegedly hidden by the Easter rabbit.

The rabbit is another symbol of fertility (think of the phrase 'multiply like rabbits'!). The Easter bunny came to the US by German settlers in the 1700s.

Easter lilies are another symbol of the resurrection and other spring flowers symbols of new life and rebirth.

The Easter Parade has been a tradition in some areas for over 100 years. The oldest Easter Parade dates back to 1860 in Atlantic City where strollers would don their Easter finery walk the boardwalk. New York City's Easter Parade was immortalized by Irving Berlin and Judy Garland in the movie "Easter Parade".

Easter Coloring Pages

Meet the Rappin' Easter Bunny

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Special Thanks:

Granny J's Gifs Galore

2-24-18
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