Easter is famously known in the Christian religion as the day they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, there are many Easter traditions we celebrate that have no connection to the Bible; such as parades, decorating eggs, and the most famous, the Easter Bunny. Ever wonder how these traditions started?
Everyone knows about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC, but did you know there's an Easter parade as well. This tradition started back in the mid 1800s. Society's upper class would attend Easter services on 5th avenue; after which they would walk up and down the street showing off their new spring outfits with matching hats. The middle class would gather to watch. The tradition lives on today, they close down 5th avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street; for the annual Easter Bonnet Parade and people come and show off their extravagant hats.
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2 of 4 Photo: Getty Images
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The tradition of decorating Easter eggs might not have anything to do with the Christian holiday, but it has pagan roots. For them the egg is a symbol of new life or rebirth, so it was used for spring celebrations. Decorating Easter eggs dates back to at least the 13th centur. The theory is eggs were a forbidden food during their Lenten season; so they would decorate the eggs to be eaten on Easter.
Fun fact, the largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 ft tall, and it weighed over 8,000 pounds. It was made of chocolate and marshmallow and had to be supported by a steel frame inside.
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The Easter Bunny which is basically Santa's springtime cousin has no links to the Christian holiday, but rather it is a German tradition that got it start in Pennsylvania in the 1700s. Germans that immigrated here brought with them, their tradition of the "Osterhase." The children would make nests for this unusual rabbit that would lay colored eggs. This tradition spread across the US, and now we use Easter baskets instead of nests, and they are full of more than just colored eggs. In December, we leave cookies for Santa, so don't forget to leave carrots out for the Easter bunny, he gets hungry hopping all around!
I'm looking forward to a lot of Easter traditions, decorating eggs, eating a delicious meal, reading stories to Kohl and leaving out his basket and carrots for the eater bunny! I'm also looking forward to doing another Easter egg hunt with Kohl. He roams around more of the yard, so I will have some fun places to hid them! They'll be filled with treats and catnip! I hope you enjoy whatever Easter traditions you celebrate or not, Either way have a fun, safe weekend!