Easter Sunday: 5 Fun Facts That You Probably Didn’t Know


As you already know, today is Easter Sunday. Millions of Christians around the world are busy celebrating and remembering the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the Biblical text, Jesus sacrificed his life in order to atone for mankind’s sins. Three days later, he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Of all of the Christian holidays, Easter is seen as the most important, with Christmas coming in as a close second.

Like most holidays, there is also a commercial side to Easter, symbolized by decorated eggs, hoards of candy, and Easter bunnies. Of course, many believers also participate in these activities for fun.

Here are five fun facts you might not have known about Easter Sunday.

The White House Easter Egg Roll Started With Rutherford B. Hayes

The White House Easter Egg Roll is a long honored tradition here in the United States. Each year, thousands of people and their kids flock to the White House lawn to participate in a variety of Easter-related events, including egg hunts and dancing on the lawn. Many people assume that it’s always been tradition, but it actually didn’t get started until Rutherford B. Hayes’s presidency in 1878. According to The Daily Beast, Haye’s opened up the White House grounds for kids who wanted to roll Easter eggs.

Though it’s one of the oldest White House traditions, its future under Donald Trump’s reign as the president remains unclear. Over the past few days, several late night talk shows and sketch comedy shows have speculated over whether Trump’s staff was prepared to pull off the historic tradition, as news broke that the White House was “unprepared” to accommodate the event.

The Week before Easter Is Called the Holy Week

Easter takes place after a series of important Holy days for Christians. The week prior to Easter is called the Holy Week. It starts during the last week of Lent, which is the time of reflection or believers to spiritually prepare themselves for Easter. It starts with Palm Sunday and ends on Good Friday.

Easter comes in second to Halloween as the most candy-consuming Holiday

Easter is a big time of year for candy retailers. It comes in just after Halloween as the most candy-consuming holiday. The National Retail Federation forecasts that Americans will spend $5.8 billion on food for Easter this year, with 2.6 billion dollars being spent on candy alone.

Easter Eggs (Can) Represent Christ’s Sacrifice

Many people wonder how a holiday that celebrates Christ’s death and resurrection has become associated with bunnies and their colored eggs. Though most people probably don’t relate dyeing easter eggs with Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, the practice has been associated with that. In the Christain Orthodox Church, eggs are dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ that was shed during his death.

Reeses’ Peanut Butter Eggs are the most popular Easter Candy of 2017

According to a poll by Retailmenot, Reeses’ Peanut Butter eggs are the go-to Easter candy this year. They’re near twice the size of regular Reese’s cups and stuffed to the brim with peanut butter, so it’s not really all that shocking. Unsurprisingly, the classic chocolate bunnies came in as a close second. They’re followed by jelly beans and Hershey’s eggs. The candy that got the least amount of votes were–you probably guessed–marshmallow peeps!

Did you know any of these fun Easter Sunday facts prior to reading this article? Do you have any more fun facts to add? You can add your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Featured Image by Yuganov Konstantin/Shuttershock]

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