8 facts you might not have known about Easter

Who knew!

As we know, the festival of Easter is celebrated every year! Although it may have had religious beginnings, it is now mostly associated with spending time with family, resting - oh, and eating plenty of chocolate eggs!

However, there are plenty of interesting facts about Easter that most people aren't aware of - for example, did you know that the day on which Easter is celebrated changes every year?

Have a look through the rest of our facts and brush up on your Easter knowledge:

1) Easter in Ethiopia

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter anywhere from a week to two weeks after the western Church.

2) The Burning of the Judas

The Burning of the Judas is a tradition common in several Latin American nations and in some parts of Greece.

3) The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny seems to tie into the old Anglo-Saxon festival of Easter, the spring goddess, whose symbol was a rabbit, a symbol of fertility.

4) Fabergé eggs

Fabergé eggs came about from Tsar Alexander III looking for an Easter/anniversary gift for his wife. He got in touch with jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé, who made a white enamelled gold egg that opened to reveal a golden yolk containing a small golden hen with ruby eyes.

5) New clothes

According to superstition wearing new clothes at Easter time means good luck for the remainder of the year.

6) Mini-Halloween

In Sweden and parts of Finland, a mini-Halloween takes place on either the Thursday or Saturday before Easter.

7) Easter Egg rolling

Easter Egg rolling is popular particularly in the UK and USA. In the UK egg rolling is generally done down a grassy slope, whereas in the USA the egg rolling is a race on flat grass where generally children roll their egg.

8) Egg dance

In Germany there is an Easter tradition called the egg dance. People put eggs on the floor and dance around them, trying not to break any.

This year, Easter Sunday falls Sunday 31st March.

Now read:

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14 eggsellent jokes to get you in the Easter spirit

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