Easter is one of the most celebrated holidays worldwide, combining religious traditions and holiday fun. Oh, and there’s chocolate, of course!
As we all likely know, Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion. But over time, it has transformed into a mix of cultural and secular events.
That said, let’s hop right into some egg-citing Easter facts, first looking back at the origins of this popular annual festival.
10 Historical and Religious Easter Facts
The belief that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation of Easter celebrations, which are observed by Christians worldwide.
Some believe Easter has roots in ancient spring festivals that celebrated renewal and fertility. While Christians mark it as Jesus’s resurrection, its timing and symbols certainly reflect earlier seasonal traditions tied to the spring equinox.
The earliest documented celebration of Easter dates back to the 2nd century. However, Christians likely commemorated Jesus’s resurrection differently before then.
In 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea proclaimed that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the annual spring equinox.
At first, there was a disagreement about when Easter should be celebrated. Some Christians wanted to observe it simultaneously with the Jewish Passover, while others wanted it on a Sunday to mark the day of Jesus’s resurrection.
Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate Easter dates, while the rest of Christianity uses the Gregorian calendar.
The word “Easter” is believed to be derived from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon pagan goddess associated with the season of spring.
Easter is the oldest Christian holiday in history. It also holds the highest significance within the whole of the religion, especially so in Orthodox Christianity.
The Easter season is historically known within Western Christianity as Eastertide. It begins on Easter Sunday and continues until Pentecost, which occurs 49 days later, to celebrate Jesus’s resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Easter is called Pascha. The name comes from the Hebrew word “Pesach,” which is the same word for Passover, the Jewish celebration.
15 Facts About Lent and the Holy Week of Easter
For over 1,000 years, Easter has followed a period called Lent, which lasts 40 days before the religious celebration. The final week of Lent is called Holy Week, leading to Palm Sunday.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is technically 46 days before Easter, but only 40 days are counted because Sundays are excluded.
Orthodox Christian Lent, or Great Lent, begins on Clean Monday. It starts seven weeks before Easter and also lasts for 40 days, excluding Sundays.
The 40 days of Lent involve a period of fasting, reflection, and giving up certain luxuries ahead of the Easter season. The festival Mardi Gras literally translates to Fat Tuesday and was initially a day to use up all your fancy fatty food before beginning Lent.
The Holy Week of Easter features numerous important days of observance and celebration. It includes Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.
For Orthodox Christians, the Holy Week of Easter includes Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Pascha (Easter Sunday).
Lazarus Saturday, which kickstarts the Holy Week of Easter for Orthodox Christians, celebrates Jesus Christ bringing Lazarus of Bethany back to life.
Palm Sunday, which occurs a week before Easter Sunday, honors Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem ahead of his crucifixion.
In Western Christianity, Holy Monday traditionally marks Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, driving out merchants and money changers. Meanwhile, Holy Tuesday observes Jesus’ prediction about his crucifixion.
Holy Wednesday, sometimes called Spy Wednesday, marks the deal Judas Iscariot made to betray Jesus.
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, celebrates two main events: the Washing of the Feet and the Last Supper Jesus shared with the Apostles.
Good Friday, which is recognized as a government holiday in 12 U.S. states, is observed as the day that Jesus was nailed to a cross and crucified.
Holy Saturday, otherwise named the Great Sabbath, commemorates the day Jesus was laid to rest in a tomb following his crucifixion.
Easter Sunday is celebrated as the day Jesus was resurrected, marking his return to life after being crucified on the cross.
A plethora of Holy Week processions occur annually worldwide, with particularly large celebrations in locations such as Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Seville, Spain.
10 Facts About Christian Easter Traditions
The annual Easter Vigil, held in traditional churches since early Christianity, occurs on the night of Holy Saturday and marks the beginning of Easter Sunday.
Some Christian denominations, such as the Moravian Church, observe an Easter Sunday service known as the Sunrise Service, which occurs outdoors at dawn.
Orthodox Christians paint their Easter eggs red to symbolize the blood that came from Jesus while he was on the cross.
A Western Christian tradition called “flowering the cross” occurs during Easter. Worshippers decorate a bare wooden cross with flowers to symbolize the new life that came from Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
The Paschal candle is a significant symbol in Western Christian Easter celebrations. It represents the resurrection of Jesus and is blessed and lit every year during the Easter Vigil, and remains lit throughout Eastertide.
Footwashing is a customary practice in Catholic churches at Easter. This ritual commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and takes place during Holy Week on Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” means the act of footwashing.
Another classic Easter tradition is the giving of lilies. The flowers are believed to have grown where Jesus’ blood and tears fell while he was being crucified.
Each year, Christian pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa from Jerusalem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This walk is typically taken on Good Friday, following the route Jesus is said to have taken on his way to be crucified.
An Easter bonnet is a fashionable item worn by Christian women during Easter. These luxurious headpieces are typically adorned with flowers and colorful decorations.
Easter baskets filled with treats and toys for children originated from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. This tradition later included a priest-blessed exchange of goods at the end of Lent, leading to today’s beloved practice of giving Easter eggs and treats.
15 Facts About Easter Traditions Around the World
You must be alert on the Greek Island of Corfu or in Venice, Italy, on Easter Saturday. In Corfu, it is tradition to throw old clay pots out of the window, while in Venice, old possessions are slung out.
An Orthodox Christian tradition on the Greek island of Chios takes place called Rouketopolemos. It involves rival churches firing homemade rockets at each other on the island’s hills to score points!
In the French commune Bessieres, near the city of Toulouse, people gather on Easter Monday to eat a giant omelet. The omelet is made using around 15,000 eggs!
If you were looking for somewhere to show off that new Easter bonnet, a major Easter parade and bonnet festival occurs annually in New York City on Easter Sunday.
Every Easter, residents of Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, celebrate by flying kites to represent the ascension of Jesus.
In Norway, a tradition dating back to 1923 involves indulging in reading, watching, and listening to crime novels over the Easter period. It even has its own name, påskekrim, which means “Easter Crime.”
In the Philippines, people reenact Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday. Some especially devout Christians go as far as actually being nailed to a cross in front of a crowd!
A German Christian tradition at Easter is to adorn trees and bushes with painted easter eggs. This symbolizes life around the world.
In parts of some Nordic countries, such as Finland and Sweden, children don witch costumes at Easter and go door-to-door seeking treats. This tradition is similar to trick-or-treating at Halloween.
There’s typically a big splash in Poland on Easter Monday. That’s because people throw water over each other in the streets. This tradition is linked to the baptism of a legendary Polish prince many years ago.
In Florence, Italy, the tradition of Scoppio del Carro (“Explosion of the Cart”) occurs annually on Easter Sunday. The custom involves exploding a cart full of fireworks outside the famous Florence Cathedral.
Easter in Latvia is called Lieldienas. In addition to marking the arrival of spring and the sun, it has some unique traditions. Lieldienas begins on Easter Sunday at dawn, ideally with a quick dip in a river or stream that flows toward the Sun.
During Easter in Hungary, the tradition of Locsolkodás, or Wet Monday, involves Hungarian men and boys reading poems before spraying perfume on women and girls. It’s not so bad now, but they used to dump buckets of water on them, too!
The burning of Judas effigies is a popular Easter Sunday tradition in the towns and villages of Mexico. It symbolizes Judas’ betrayal of Christ and serves as a way to cleanse the communities of evil.
Instead of hiding eggs for an egg hunt, people in Papua New Guinea place packets of cigarettes in trees near local churches. Following the annual Easter service, attendees go out and look for them!
5 Facts About Easter Food Traditions
Much like Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter is a time when families traditionally come together to celebrate. The occasion is often marked by enjoying a delicious meal around the dinner table.
There are many traditions when it comes to food at Easter. For instance, Le Gigot d’Agneau, a succulent leg of lamb, is a traditional Easter dish in France.
In fact, eating lamb at Easter symbolizes the Paschal Lamb of the New Testament, which represents Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for humanity’s sins, so it’s common at Easter in many countries.
In countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, people like to eat hot cross buns, sweet buns topped with a white cross, at Easter. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, often contain raisins, and are best toasted and slathered with butter.
A popular Easter treat is the chocolate Easter Bunny, but it’s a pretty new tradition and was only first made in the 19th century in Germany.
5 Facts About the Easter Bunny
The beloved Easter Bunny originated in Germany as the Easter Hare. This hare carried a basket full of colored eggs and treats, delivering them to children like Santa Claus does at Christmas.
Although the Easter Bunny is a prominent symbol of Easter, rabbits don’t hold any religious significance. Instead, it represents spring and renewal, essential aspects of the holiday.
Easter Bunnies were initially called Oschter Haws, or Easter Hares.
The earliest possible mention of the Easter Bunny was in a German book of unknown name in 1572, but this is understandably disputed. The next mention is in another German book published in 1682, De ovis paschalibus (“About Easter Eggs”)
In the 1700s, German settlers brought the Easter Bunny concept to the United States, introducing a tradition in which Easter hares lay colorful eggs.
5 Facts About Easter Eggs
The use of eggs during springtime celebrations dates back to ancient pagan times, but in Christianity, they symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus Christ following his resurrection.
The oldest Easter egg tradition is to dye, paint, and decorate eggshells in different colors during the Easter season, but even this tradition predates Christianity. While not so popular elsewhere, it’s still common among Orthodox Christians today.
The tradition of chocolate Easter eggs began in Europe in the 19th century. For many, these delights are more closely linked with Easter celebrations than the traditional Christian meaning.
One of the world’s largest annual Easter egg hunts takes place on the grounds of Chateau Vaux Le Vicomte in Maincy, France. A whopping 35,000 eggs are hidden for participants to find!
On April 16, 2011, an enormous Italian-made Easter egg measuring 34.08 inches (10.39 meters) broke the Guinness World Record for the largest chocolate Easter egg in history.
10 Statistics About Easter
Between 80 and 90 million chocolate Easter eggs are purchased in the United Kingdom annually. That’s just over one chocolate egg per person in the UK—you’d better hope they’re the big ones, at least!
Around 240 million chocolate Easter bunnies were produced in Germany in 2024. However, only 118 million, or around 49%, remained in the country, with the rest being exported to other nations.
Between 2013 and 2024, an average of 80.58% of Americans celebrated Easter, peaking in 2013 with 83% participation.
On average, every kid in the UK gets 8.8 chocolate Easter eggs over the Easter period.
Since 2021, annual Easter spending in the US has exceeded $3 billion, with a total of $3.1 billion spent over Easter in 2024.
About 938,000 people attended an Easter church service in England in 2023, which has been dwindling steadily over the years. In 2010, there were 1.41 million attendants.
How do you eat your chocolate Easter bunny? According to a survey by the National Confectioners Association, 78% of people go for the ears first!
During Easter, Peeps is the top-selling non-chocolate candy in the United States. Notably, Americans consume around 1.5 million Peeps over the holiday!
On April 1, 2007, an adventure park in Winter Haven, Florida, broke the world record for the largest Easter egg hunt in history. 9,753 kids took part in the hunt for 501,000 eggs!
Over 16 million jelly beans are consumed in the United States during Easter. Those little treats see a 109% surge in sales heading into the holiday.
10 Facts About Easter in Pop Culture
The 25-minute Easter-themed Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade television special was released in the United States during Easter on March 20, 2016.
In the 2012 film Rise of the Guardians, Hugh Jackman provided the voice for the character of the Easter Bunny.
The Universal Pictures live-action animation movie Hop, released in 2011, follows the coming-of-age story of E.B., the Easter Bunny’s son.
The song “Easter Parade” by Irving Berlin is closely associated with the Easter holiday. The tune was first heard in the 1933 Broadway musical As Thousands Cheer.
Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins released the non-religious Easter hit “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” in 1949. The pair was also behind Christmas’s popular “Frosty the Snowman” song the following year.
Released in 1974, It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! is an animated Easter special based on the legendary Peanuts comic strip.
Many TV shows produce Easter specials, although they’re not always related to Easter. For instance, the Doctor Who episode “Legend of the Sea Devils” was released in the United Kingdom and the United States on Easter Sunday in 2022, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Easter!
In 2017, Pokémon GO introduced a special Easter-themed event called Eggstravangza, where players could find an increased variety of Pokémon in the easily-hatched 2 km eggs.
TikTok is absolutely overflowing with Easter challenges, ranging from classics like egg rolling to Easter-egg-eating competitions and everything else in between.
There are a plethora of Easter-themed books and novels for adults and children, including Spot’s Easter Surprise by Eric Hill.
15 Random Facts About Easter
Easter is jam-packed with fun egg games, one of which is egg rolling. This game typically involves racing eggs down a steep hill, but it can also be played on a lawn with sticks to push the eggs.
Another popular game, particularly among children, is Easter egg hunting. This involves searching and finding as many eggs as possible. It can be played with both real and chocolate eggs, but don’t complain to us when your kids are upset their eggs aren’t chocolate!
Easter Island, a small Polynesian island under Chilean rule, gained its name from the first European visitors, who arrived at Easter. Easter Island is more famous for something else, though—the 600 or so giant stone heads sticking out of the earth!
Easter eggs can be digital, too! This kind of easter egg is a hidden joke, message, or surprise, though, and is commonly found in video games, TV shows, and movies.
In Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation, Easter is not recognized as an official public holiday. However, it is observed in the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, as they have significantly larger Christian populations.
An Australian alternative to the Easter Bunny is the Easter Bilby. Sales of chocolate Easter Bilbies and associated merchandise go toward protecting bilbies, an adorable endangered marsupial native to Australia.
Instead of the Easter Bunny, the Easter Cuckoo delivers Easter eggs in Switzerland. The cuckoo symbolizes growth and rebirth, but it’s also a bird that lays its own eggs in other birds’ nests, so it makes a bit more sense than a bunny, at least!
The Mirage, the world’s most expensive Easter egg, is encrusted with 1,000 diamonds and valued at a staggering $8.4 million.
Countries in the Southern Hemisphere, such as Australia and New Zealand, observe Easter during autumn, which makes the themes of spring and renewal feel a bit misplaced!
The inaugural White House Easter Roll occurred on April 22, 1878, and almost every year since.
Dancing is prohibited on Good Friday in 12 of 16 federal states in Germany. If someone is caught, they could face a fine equivalent to $1,500! Some bars aren’t even allowed to play music, in case it puts anyone in the mood.
In Cadbury’s Bournville chocolate factory in Birmingham, England, a whopping 1.5 million Cadbury’s Creme Eggs—a popular treat leading up to Easter in the UK—are made every day.
It is considered good luck to wear new clothes on Easter Sunday. It goes all the way back to the 4th-century tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter to symbolize the resurrection of Christ, signifying a fresh start.
In the leadup to Easter in the UK, the Tuesday before Lent begins is called Shrove Tuesday, or more favorably, Pancake Day. Funnily enough, this day is dedicated to eating lots of pancakes!
Russia and other Slavic nations celebrate Maslenitsa, a week-long celebration before Orthodox Easter, known for daily feasting on blini—thin pancakes that symbolize the sun and the arrival of spring.
And that’s our Easter basket filled up with facts!
From its potential origins as an ancient pagan celebration to its modern-day festivities, Easter has undoubtedly evolved into an adored holiday with diverse traditions.
We certainly hope you enjoyed cracking open this list and savoring all these sweet details about Easter.
