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April is the holy month of repentance and abstinence for many people from different faiths and beliefs. One such religious celebration is the auspicious occasion of Easter. Easter is the holy celebration of Christians all across the globe. The day holds special significance in accordance to the scriptures, as Christ resurrects and ascends into heaven on the third day after his demise on Good Friday. Which popularly came to be known as ‘Easter Sunday’ or ‘Ascension Sunday’. Below we have compiled a list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter that very few of you knew about.
15+ Interesting Facts About Easter
Tradition Of Easter Bunny Hails From Germany
The story of the Easter bunny bringing eggs seems a little absurd, as rabbits are marsupials. The tradition dates back to pre-Christian Germany, where the rabbit was said to be the symbol of a pagan goddess of spring and fertility. As the tradition spread across Europe, pagan beliefs in tandem with Christian holidays gave rise to this tradition. The story spoke of the Easter bunny leaving a basket of colourful eggs only for children who behaved well during Easter.
World’s Largest Easter Egg Weighs a Whopping 5000 lbs
The world’s largest Easter egg can be found in Vegreville, Alberta Canada. The egg weighs a massive five thousand pounds or roughly two thousand five hundred kilograms. The massive egg is thirty feet tall and eighteen feet wide and took over twelve thousand hours for completion. The egg is known by a very unique name, ‘Vegreville Pysanka’. The Pysanka is more of a jigsaw puzzle rather than a sculpture, as it took three thousand five hundred pieces of aluminium pieces to complete it.
Pretzels Were Considered Easter Treats
Easter celebrations generally witnesses delicacies like hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies being made around the world. However, there is one popular snack that sometimes gets forgotten during the Easter celebrations called Pretzels. The origin of pretzels being used as an Easter celebratory snack dates back to Germany. The reason behind pretzels becoming a popular Easter snack are the folds of bread in the centre that resemble the crossing of arms while praying.
The UK Made The First Chocolate Easter Egg
The early Easter celebrations would witness parents and kids colouring or dyeing hard-boiled eggs before easter and then having them on Easter morning. Although an exciting way of consuming hard-boiled eggs, this trend soon became mundane. Soon kids would find the Easter egg hunt a boring and tedious activity to do. So back in the 19th century, one of the chocolatiers in Bristol made the first chocolate Easter egg in 1873. The members of the Fry family took the initiative which rewarded them with massive returns on investments. Two years later Cadbury ventured into the same product and soon became known for the Creme Easter eggs they make during Easter every year.
It Is Illegal To Dance In Germany On A Good Friday
As a mark of respect for the Christians of the country and the world over. There is a fine of € 100,000 for anyone that plays music in a bar, restaurant or café in the party capital of Europe, Berlin. Everyone and thing goes silent for the weekend as Germans consider these days for mourning by the followers of Christ. The three day weekend are considered as days of silence in Germany.
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Easter Follows The Lunar Calendar
Contrary to popular belief, one of the 15+ interesting facts about Easter is that it falls on the third Sunday every year. However, the day of celebration is decided after studying the Lunar calendar. Easter is generally celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon, which marks the start of the spring season.
World’s Most Expensive Easter Egg
The list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter brings us to the most expensive Easter Egg in the world. The expensive Easter egg hails from Russia and was designed by Peter Karl Faberge. He was the master goldsmith at one of the Russian jewellery company ‘House of Faberge’. The story dates back to 1885 when Czar Alexander the III gave the ornamental Faberge Easter egg to his wife. Since then the Czar’s of Russia continued the tradition. Finally, in 1902 the famous Faberge Easter egg was made, that sold at an auction in London for £ 9 million. Making it one of the most expensive Easter eggs in the world and from the Faberge collection.
Easter Lilies
Decoration of Churches with flowers comes to mind every year during the Easter celebration. One such tradition that became one of the 15+ interesting facts about Easter is the use of lilies. Before lilies made their way to America from Japan, dormant bulbs were he ideal Easter decorations in churches. However, once lilies became the new fad the tradition stuck as the flowers became a symbol of hope and rebirth.
Medieval Origins Of Easter Eggs
On the auspicious occasion of Easter, there are several traditions that do rounds around the world. But for people who thought hunting Easter eggs in a basket was strange, then you guys got to listen to this. It was made public through the study of scriptures that there was a Easter tradition dating back to medieval times. The unique tradition, will see the boys in a church’s choir being given an egg to pass along till the music was played. As soon as the music stopped, the boy holding the egg has to eat it. The mystery of whether the egg used to be cooked or raw prior consumption, still remains a mystery to this day.
Easter Eggs Date Backs Even Before Easter
The list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter mentions that the tradition of distributing eggs on Easter dates back to the Medieval times. The tradition of giving eggs to young ones dates back to medieval times as eggs were symbols of rebirth and fertility. The tradition of giving eggs has been mentioned in numerous scriptures of several different cultures.
Easter Derives Its Name From An Anglo-Saxon Goddess
Many scholars believe that the term Easter came from the name of an Anglo Saxon goddess ,‘Eostre’. The hare and the eggs were the symbols that were often used to represent her in the scriptures. Hence, from then the symbol of the hare and eggs became the story of Easter that many of us hear today. This is one of the 15+ interesting facts about Easter that even we didn’t know about.
The Secret Behind Dyeing The Egg
Another fact on the list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter is that dyeing of the eggs is a symbol of the Christ. The dyeing of the eggs is a colourful semblance of blessing the eggs before the kids begin the hunt. The dye slowly seeps in with time giving the egg a slight hue of the colour it was coated in. Making the eating of boiled coloured eggs a bit of fun for the kids.
Good Friday Is Not A Public Holiday In America
The States is the biggest country that celebrates Easter Sunday in the world. Two days before Easter Sunday is Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified on the cross. But one of the interesting facts about Easter is that Good Friday is not a federal holiday in majority of the states. Only twelve states in America offer an official day off for Good Friday in the United States Of America. Surprising but true!
Easter And Halloween Compete For The Candy
The list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter sees two festivals in America and Europe go neck to neck in terms of candy sales. Data from different regions over the last decade, shows candy sales skyrocket in the week leading to Easter. However, the sale of candies during Halloween seems to stretch across the month of October rather than a certain week.
1.5 Million Cadbury Crème Eggs
The next fact on the list of 15+ interesting facts about Easter sees the Bourneville factory in Birmingham churn out a massive number of Crème eggs. The Cadbury outlet in the UK produces over five hundred million Cadbury Crème eggs just a few weeks before Easter. If one was to pile up the eggs on top of each other, the height will exceed the height of Mt Everest. Talk about a gargantuan egg hunt.
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Easter’s Chocolate Bunny
Easter bunnies are one of the most popular candies that are sold on the occasion of Easter. The sale of this cocoa filled bunny tops the sale of any and every candy in almost every country. During Easter, sale of this mouth-watering chocolate bunny sees a world cash flow of over $ 3 billion dollars, with over 90 million bunnies bein sold across the world.
