Easter Story
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on what is now celebrated as Palm Sunday, he was riding atop this animal.
A donkey. Jesus humbly entered the city as a king of peace. Traditionally, entering the city on a donkey symbolizes arrival in peace, rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse.
This fictional bunny of song comes “hoppin’ down the bunny trail.”
Peter Cottontail. Steve Nelson and Walter E. “Jack” Rollins wrote the popular tune “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” in 1949. The next year they penned “Frosty the Snowman.”
Children of all ages love to participate in this annual event where their hunting skills are tested.
Easter egg hunt. Real hard-boiled eggs, dyed or painted (and hopefully all discovered), and/or plastic eggs filled with candy are hidden. This is an especially sweet tradition for those who gave up candy for Lent!
This term refers to an amount of money saved for the future.
A nest egg. The term comes from late 17th-century poultry farmers’ tactic of placing eggs—both real and fake—in hens’ nests to induce them to lay more eggs, which meant more income.
Much like on Valentine’s Day, this type of candy is most popular on Easter.
Chocolate. About 70% of Easter candy purchased is chocolate.
Christians commemorate this famous meal on Maundy Thursday.
The Last Supper of Jesus. The word Maundy originates from the Latin word mandatum and refers to the command to love one another. Jesus demonstrated this mandate when washing the disciples’ feet, a symbol of humbly serving others.
This cloth toy rabbit longs to become “real” through the love of his owner.
The Velveteen Rabbit. Forgotten for a time in favor of shinier toys, the Velveteen Rabbit becomes the boy’s favorite toy after he provides lasting comfort during a long illness. Because of this love, the bunny becomes real and hops away to join other rabbits in the forest.
This food item, often hunted at Easter, is an ancient symbol of new life.
Easter egg. The egg has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. For Christians, Easter eggs represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection.
If you do this you are encouraging or urging someone to do something.
“Egg on”. Nothing to do with bird eggs, this term is a variant of edge, so to “egg someone on” is to edge or urge them forward. Both egg and edge come from the Old Norse word eddja.
Easter is the second-biggest candy holiday followed by this fall holiday.
Halloween. Americans spend $1.9 billion on candy to fill Easter baskets. Christmas and Valentine’s Day come in third and fourth in candy sales.
Judas traded this many pieces of silver for the life of Jesus.
30. This is mentioned in Matthew 26:15.
This mischievous young rabbit with a taste for fresh veggies gets into Mr. McGregor’s garden.
Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter self-published her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1901 after it was rejected by several publishers. It has since been translated into 36 languages, sold 45 million copies, and is one of the best-selling books in history.
This New York City Easter Sunday tradition dates to the mid-1800s, when the upper crust of society strolled along Fifth Avenue after Easter services, showing off their new spring outfits and hats.
Easter parade. This tradition was even more popular after the release of the 1948 film Easter Parade, starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. The Easter parade remains an annual tradition.
This saying is another way to express embarrassment or humiliation.
“To have egg on one’s face”. The origin of this phrase is thought to have come from the practice of audiences tossing rotten vegetable and eggs at actors after unpopular performances in the late 1800s. Said actors would then actually have had egg on their faces.
This part of a chocolate bunny is most popular to eat first.
The ears. Nearly 76% of Americans think the ears of a chocolate bunny should be the first to be eaten.
Jesus was crucified on this skull-shaped hill in ancient Jerusalem.
Golgotha. From Matthew 27:33. Golgotha means “skull” in Aramaic. The site is also referred to as Calvary, from Latin calva, which also means “skull.”
This fictional rabbit gets his name from his habit of repeatedly tapping his left hind foot.
Thumper. Thumper is introduced in the Disney film Bambi. He first appears as he watches Bambi’s introduction as the prince of the forest creatures. Thumper remarks that Bambi is “kinda wobbly” and is scolded by his mother, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” This moral has become known as “Thumper’s Law.”
For Christians, these white flowers that decorate homes and churches at Easter symbolize the purity of Christ.
Easter lilies. Their growth from dormant bulbs in the ground to flowers symbolize the rebirth and hope of Christ’s resurrection.
This saying tells someone to not risk losing everything by having only one plan and depend entirely on it for success.
“Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket“? This saying comes from an old proverb, most likely Spanish or Italian, and first appeared in print in Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote. It warns away from gathering all your hens’ eggs into one basket because if you drop that basket, you might lose all the eggs.
This candy is the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
Peeps. Each Easter season, more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps are sold, and yellow Peeps are the most popular. In 1953, it took 27 hours to create a marshmallow Peep. Today it takes six minutes.
This woman was the first person to see the risen Christ.
Mary Magdalene. From Mark 16:9. When she reported her vision to the disciples, they didn’t believe her. Being the first witness to the resurrection was very symbolic, as Mary Magdalene was considered an outcast in the religious community
Alice follows this fictional bunny down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.
The White Rabbit. The White Rabbit appears at the very beginning of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, staring at his watch and muttering to himself the famous words, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!”
These sweet breads marked with a Christian symbol are traditionally eaten during Lent, particularly on Good Friday.
Hot cross buns. It is said that a 12th-century monk who baked the rolls on Good Friday was the first to mark them with a cross. Legend says that if you hang a hot cross bun from your kitchen rafters on Good Friday, it will remain fresh and mold-free for the year. This stems from the belief that the body of Christ did not show decay during the time between His death and resurrection.
This is another way to say you are behaving or speaking in a cautious manner to avoid upsetting someone who is easily upset.
“Walking on eggshells”. This phrase came into use in the 1800s and replaced the phrase “walking on eggs,” from the 1700s. Both refer to the fact that eggshells are easily broken.
This symbolic candy introduced in Germany in the early 1800s, is the oldest traditional Easter candy.
A chocolate Easter egg. Chocolate eggs were made because the German Easter Bunny, called Osterhase, would lay the eggs given to children. Eggs were also a symbol of good luck and new life.