10 Interesting Facts About Easter

From all of us at American University of Health Sciences (AUHS), Happy and blessed Easter Sunday! Easter is the most important Christian holiday because it observes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that humanity became reconciled with God. Easter Sunday marks the last day of Lent, a 40 day period where Christians fast, pray and seek penance in observance of how Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by the devil before he began his ministry. Here are ten interesting facts that you probably didn’t know about Easter!

1. Easter is called a “moveable feast” because it does not have a set date every year, according to com. Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year.
2. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which observes Jesus’ last supper with his disciples; and Good Friday, which honors the day He was crucified, died and was buried.
3. Holy Week is the celebrated during the week leading up to Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday, continues on to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and then, Easter Sunday.
4. The first story of a rabbit (which will be later known as the “Easter Bunny”) laying eggs in a garden was published in 1680.
5. “The White House Easter Egg Roll” event has been celebrated by the President of the United States and their families since 1878.
6. Egg dyes were once made out of natural items such as onion peels, tree bark, flower petals, and juices.
7. Palm Sunday is often celebrated with a procession of palm leaves. In some churches, the palms are saved and burnt into ashes to be used on Ash Wednesday of the next year.
8. According to Polish folklore, the Virgin Mary offered eggs to the soldiers guarding Christ on the cross, as she begged them to be merciful. Her tears left stains on the eggs.
9. Origins of the Easter Bunny are unclear, but he appears in early German writings.
   The first edible Easter bunnies appeared in Germany in the 1800s, and were made out of sugar and pastry.
10. Americans nearly $2 billion on Easter candy making it the second biggest candy holiday after Halloween. Over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made each year.

AUHS is a private, for-profit, minority owned, minority serving, Christian-based university whose mission is to educate and equip students with life careers and to produce quality health care professionals for the community, the nation, and the world. It is a university where appreciation of life and one’s spiritual reason for existence can be nurtured.
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