Easter traditions vary around the world and have both religious and pagan origins. The date of Easter is based on the lunar calendar and differs each year between Western and Eastern Christian churches. Pagan spring traditions like decorating eggs and gifting them were adopted by Christianity to represent new life and Jesus' resurrection. Today, people celebrate with foods like lamb, hot cross buns, simnel cakes and chocolate, as well as activities like egg hunts, bonfires and traditions unique to certain countries.

1. Easter around the
world
The Easter
goddess
Easter treatsThe origins of Easter
Easter traditions

2. The English word,
“Easter” comes from a
Saxon pagan goddess.
Her name was Eostre
and she was the ,
“goddess of the
growing light of spring”
in Northern Europe.

3. The date of Easter changes each year as it is based on
the moon. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the
full moon following March 21st.

4. Easter is celebrated at different times by Christians in Eastern
and Western Europe. In 2016 western churches will celebrate
Easter Sunday on 27th March but Orthodox Easter Sunday will
be celebrated on 1 May (based on the Julian Calendar).
Countries in blue calculate the date of
Easter using the Gregorian calendar,
while countries in green use the Julian.

5. The custom of lamb for Easter
dinner comes from the Jewish
Passover holiday. On that day, a
sacrificial lamb was eaten at the
Passover Seder.
The Christians adopted the lamb
as a symbol of Jesus and retained
the custom.

6. People like to roll eggs, hunt eggs, eat them decorate
them at Easter.
Why do we exchange eggs at Easter time, what do they
represent?
The Christian church adapted many
pagan customs and the egg, as a
symbol of new life, came to represent
the Resurrection.

7. This ostrich egg from Egypt
dates to about 2,000 BC.
The oldest decorated
eggshells, are estimated to
be 60 000 years old and
were found in South Africa.
In fact, in many ancient cultures the egg was a symbol of
'fertility', 'rebirth‘.
In Egyptian mythology, the phoenix burns its nest to be
reborn later from the egg that is left. Hindu scriptures say
that the world developed from an egg.

8. In the Ukraine and Poland people create
decorated eggs called Psankas. Symbols
and colours have special meanings.
ROSE =
LOVE
CURLS =
PROTECTION
DEER =
WEALTH
WHEAT =
HEALTH
POPPY =
BEAUTY
FISH =
CHRISTIANITY

9. The tallest chocolate
Easter egg ever was
made in Italy in
2011.
At 10.39 metres in
height and 7,200 kg
in weight, it was
taller than a giraffe
and heavier than an
elephant!

10. The most expensive Easter eggs are made by
Choccywoccydoodah in London. They are made with
luxury Belgian chocolate and cost £25,000 for three.

11. The character of an Easter Bunny began in
Germany, where he delivered Easter treats
to children. He was known as Osterhase.
The children built a nest for him to leave
their eggs in.
.For the Pagans the hare symbolized the
goddess Eostre and fertility. A legend about
Easter says that she found an injured bird. The
only way she could save the bird was to turn it
into a hare. The little bird survived as a hare,
but kept its ability to build nests and lay eggs.

12. 76% of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.

13. Australians don’t like rabbits because they
cause so much damage to crops.
They have an Easter Bilby instead.

14. Marshmallow Peeps the most popular
non-chocolate Easter candy.
The White House hosts an
Easter Egg Roll on the front
lawn each year. This tradition
was started by President
Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.
Jelly beans are also
popular.

15. Competitions
Many UK schools have Easter egg decorating
competitions and Easter bonnet competitions.
Hot cross buns
The pagan Saxons would bake cross buns at the beginning of spring
in honour of the goddess Eostre. The cross represented the rebirth
of the world after winter, the four quarters of the moon, and the
four seasons and the wheel of life.
The Christians replaced their pagan meaning with a Christian one –
the resurrection of Christ at Easter.
Simnel cake
This traditional cake is decorated with 11 marzipan (for
the 12 disciples minus Judas who betrayed Jesus).
.

16. Colombians eat them for Easter. Turtle egg
omelettes, iguana soup and capybara stew
are all popular dishes.
What do these animals have in common?
Capybara Iguana Turtle

17. On Easter Monday boys used to
chase girls around with a whip (a
switch) made from willow branches
(korbáče) This kept the girls
beautiful and “springy” (like the
twigs) for the whole year. Girls
rewarded the boys by giving them
beautiful hand-decorated Easter
eggs, chocolates, liquor, or even
money.
They also poured buckets of cold
water on them.
Nowadays, only a cup of water is
splashed into a girl’s face.

18. Some Dutch towns light huge bonfires for Easter. The largest
Easter fire was almost 46 meters high.