Easter is considered a religious holiday by many people. In addition to being celebrated in curches, a lot of people enjoy Easter at home. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the spring equinox. This means that Easter always falls between March 22nd and April 25th.
Does this make you wonder about the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs? The Easter Bunny is said to be named after the ancient goddess Eostra, the goddess of Spring. Many baby animals are born in the spring and rabbits have lots of babies! Eggs are another symbol of spring and new life. In the 1700s, German immigrants to America brought a story of a rabbit that laid eggs and hid them for children. That’s the Easter bunny!
Sweets are also associated with Easter. This tradition is said to have started with Hot Cross Buns, baked pretzels, and finally chocolate. In the 1800s, chocolate in the shape of an egg became the new Easter favorites list and in 1954 marshmallow Peeps became an iconic Easter candy experience.
We sure love our Easter candy. Americans devour 16 billion jellybeans every Easter! We buy more than 700 million Peeps! Approximately 200 million chocolate eggs are sold at Easter time each year. That’s a lot of candy!