The holiday of the Easter Bunny has passed quickly, but what really is it? Easter is a Christian festival where Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection. According to the Bible, Christ had died on Good Friday, and was later restored back to life on Easter Sunday. Easter is also known as Resurrection Sunday or Pascha. Easter was once a holiday of birth and renewal. Coming from the goddess of fertility’s name, Eostre, Easter was named after her.

Why bunnies and eggs? According to Christianity, Easter eggs represent Jesus Christ’s resurrection. They symbolize new life for Christ. In Orthodox tradition, the eggs would be painted red to represent Jesus Christ’s blood on the cross. Rabbits are known for energetic breeding, which symbolize fertility. People believe the Easter bunny comes from the pagan tradition of the festival of Eostre.

What is the background to all of this? According to the Christian religion, back in around 30 A.D. Romans crucified Jesus Christ. He was charged for treason, as he had claimed to be the king of the Jews, and religious leaders were enraged. Claiming statements that were seen as false,  would be considered betrayal to the king and the punishment would be death. Jesus Christ was hung, stabbed on the side, wore a crown of thorns, carried his cross, and whipped. Peace was destroyed in Rome. Christians believe that three days after Good Friday, Jesus Christ was brought back to life on Easter by God, who had restored Christ’s tomb.

Besides all this serious talk, here are some fun facts!

The Easter Bunny first came from Germany.
Painting eggs comes from a Ukrainian tradition.
Over 1.5 million Cadbury Creme eggs are made everyday.
The world’s largest Easter egg weighs at 5000k pounds.
Pretzels were once connected with Easter.
An Easter egg was sold for 9 million pounds in 2007.
The first UK chocolate egg was made back in Bristol in 1873.