According to the Oxford Index, Easter can be defined as, “The most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Christ.” Although most celebrate Easter as a religious holiday, in recent decades Easter has become more commercially popular. As a result, such symbols like Easter eggs and Easter bunnies have been commercialized. The Easter bunny’s origins, though unclear, are assumed to have resulted due to the bunny being a well-known symbol for fertility and therefore new life, such as the season of spring. According to history.com, “…the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called ‘Osterhase’ or ‘Oschter Haws.’ Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.” Eventually this custom spread all around the United States and the bunny’s deliveries to well-behaved children came to include chocolates and other candies. In addition, the nests were ultimately replaced with baskets.

Another popular tradition associated with Easter is the Easter egg. Being linked to pagan traditions, the Easter egg also symbolizes new life which the pagans would celebrate with festivals to welcome the coming of spring. As per history.com, “Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.” Senior, Eric Lavin, claims that, “Easter is definitely one of my favorite holidays. Apart from being very big for me religiously, the traditions and customs associated with it are also very fun.” In summation, make sure to take part in some of the discussed customs! Regardless of what religion one may celebrate there is always fun in painting eggs and participating in Easter egg hunts!