This weekend will be Easter weekend for Christians around the world. It is a holiday celebrating the end of Lent and the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Easter, like many holidays in the United States, is a religious holiday, but also a cultural holiday. Today we are going to look at some of the cultural celebrations of this holiday in America.

You can’t talk about Easter in America without talking about the Easter Bunny. Rabbits (whose babies are called ‘bunnies’) have long been symbols of fertility and spring. The association of a rabbit with the Easter holiday is said to come from Germany, and came to America with German immigrants. In the past children were told that “Easter rabbits” laid eggs for them to find on Easter day. Today the Easter Bunny brings not only eggs, but also candy to American children. The night before Easter children usually leave a basket out for the Easter bunny to put eggs in (or chocolate eggs, or just candy) for the children to find the next morning.

Easter eggs are associated with the Easter Bunny, but they also have significance of their own. Back in Medieval Europe eggs were forbidden to be eaten during Lent (Lent is a time for reflection and giving up unnecessary things). So, eggs that were laid during the time of Lent were often boiled or preserved to be eaten later. Easter Day, when Lent ended, there were a lot of eggs for people to eat!  There are many traditions around eggs at Easter time in the United States. One of these is coloring and decorating eggs with dyes or paint. Eggs are also used in games, such as an egg rolling contest, or by having adults hide eggs for children to find. When eggs are hidden on Easter and children go find them this is called an Easter Egg Hunt. Easter candy is now often shaped like eggs.

Other common Easter practices in America include having small Easter Parades and wearing new Spring clothes on Easter. Wearing a new ‘Easter Bonnet’ (a type of hat) is particularly common for girls and women.

Every year in America the holiday of Easter is celebrated by the President of the United States at the White House. This is one of the biggest American Easter celebrations and includes many of the traditions I wrote about above: a visit by the Easter bunny, an egg roll, an Easter Egg Hunt, lots of fun and candy! You can see what last year’s White House Easter celebration looked like in this video below.

Happy Easter Everyone!