A hopping bunny with a basket full of colorful eggs is the quintessential image of Easter.
Like most major holidays, Easter has many traditions. If you celebrate Easter, which are your favorites?
The Easter Bunny
Long ago, the Easter Bunny was called the Easter Hare. Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they are a symbol of fertility. The Saxons devoted the month of April to celebrating Eastre, the goddess of spring and fertility. Eastre's sacred animal was the hare.
Easter Eggs
Eggs have also been long associated with fertility and springtime festivals. Ancient Greeks and Romans used eggs in festivals celebrating resurrected gods. The Romans believed that all life comes from an egg. Christians consider eggs to be the seed of life.
More recently, as part the holiday, families color and decorate eggs on Saturday. On Easter Sunday, kids wake up to discover that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets full of sweet treats, such as chocolate and jelly beans. They may also hunt for eggs; the child who finds the most wins a prize. The President and First Lady hold Easter egg hunts on the White House lawn, typically the weekend before Easter.
Most of all, though, Easter is a religious holiday that honors the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And like most holidays, it is a time to treasure and enjoy our families and friends.
If you are unable to spend this holiday with your kids or grandchildren why not send them a kids Easter basket? Or for the grown-ups send Easter baskets filled with flowers. Both are beautiful ways to celebrate Spring. For more egg-ceptional, egg-cellent choices visit our Easter Flowers collection.
