Wellbeing 

Easter time

With Easter egg hunts, a bunny mascot and chocolate aplenty, it’s easy to see why Easter is an exciting time for young people as well as those who are not so young!!! 

Yet how many of us actually know why we celebrate Easter or where our Easter traditions come from? 

Some interesting facts on Easter are:

1.    The date of Easter changes every year. This is because Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox. However, this always occurs on or between 22nd and 25th April.

2.    Easter is an important event on the Christian calendar and is a very old Christian tradition. The death of Jesus Christ is remembered on Good Friday and His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Sunday.

3.    Eggs are associated with Easter because they are a symbol of rebirth.

4.    Decorating Easter eggs first began with the custom of staining eggs red to symbolise the blood shed by Christ during the crucifixion. Find out an easy way to start the tradition with your children of dyeing eggs for Easter on the following website here.

5.    Hot cross buns were one of the earliest Easter treats.  As early as the 6th Century the Greeks may have marked cakes with a cross. From the early 1360’s some monks in England developed a bun with a cross on the top and gave it to the poor on Good Friday. Nowadays, we can purchase hot cross buns in supermarkets for many months before Easter. 

6.    It is thought that the first chocolate Easter eggs were made in France and Germany as far back as the early 1800’s. The first Cadbury Easter eggs were made in England in 1875 when they developed a pure cocoa butter that could be moulded into smooth shapes. 

7.    The tallest chocolate Easter egg ever was made by Tosca (Italy). It was 10.39 metres high and had a circumference of 19.6 metres and weighed 7,200 kgs - making it taller than a giraffe and heavier than an elephant!

8.    The idea of the Easter Bunny originated among German Lutherans as the Easter Hare. It was said to judge whether children had been good or bad, to determine if they deserved Easter eggs. The first mention in literature of this character was in a story in 1682.

9.    Easter is celebrated in different ways around the world. In Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Finland, instead of an Easter Bunny, they have an Easter Wizard, and the children dress as witches and wizards, similar to Halloween!! In several countries such as Germany, Poland, Austria, Ukraine & Czech Republic, Easter Eggs are not hidden, they adorn street trees. In southern France on Easter Monday, a giant omelette is served to the locals. It is made using more than 4,000 fresh eggs and can feed up to 1,000 people. Possibly one of the most unusual Easter traditions can be found in Norway where instead of chocolates or coloured eggs, the people buy crime novels and read them during the Easter period.

10.    Since rabbits are an introduced pest species in Australia, the Chocolate Bilby has often replaced the Easter Bunny. Both Pink Lady Chocolates and Haigh’s Chocolates donate proceeds from their sales of chocolate bilbies to support bilby conservation.

However, you choose to spend the Easter period and the school holidays, it is my hope that after a very full first term, you will all return to Bimbadeen Heights Primary School safe and refreshed for Term 2.

Anne Lawry

Chaplain