Origins of Easter, Chocolate eggs, and the Giant Bunny

Why do we paint eggs? What's with the Easter bunny? We have questions. AYO Production / Shutterstock

The origins of Easter blend ancient religious belief, seasonal traditions, and centuries of cultural change.

Today millions of people celebrate Easter Sunday as a Christian holiday marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet many Easter traditions also reflect older spring festivals that celebrated new life after winter.

Because of this mix of influences the Easter holiday includes church services, chocolate eggs, egg hunts, and symbolic animals like the Easter bunny. Understanding how these customs developed helps explain why this religious holiday looks the way it does today.

The Christian Origin of Easter

For Christians, Easter Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. According to the Christian faith, Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sunday following his burial, an event described in the New Testament.

Easter is immediately preceded by Holy Week. This sequence of observances includes Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday, and finally Easter morning.

Christian churches hold church services across this period to remember the events leading to Christ's resurrection. Many Christians attend church services early on Sunday morning to celebrate the empty tomb and the promise of eternal life.

The celebration is closely connected with the Jewish festival of Passover. Early Christians linked the resurrection of Jesus with the timing of the Passover season, which helps determine when Easter Day occurs each year.

How the Date of Easter Is Determined

Unlike Christmas Day, Easter does not fall on a fixed calendar date. Church leaders in early Christianity established a rule connecting the holiday to the spring season.

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox (fixed on March 21 in the ecclesiastical calculation). Because of this formula, in the Western (Gregorian) calculation Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

Western Christians and Eastern Orthodox Christians sometimes celebrate Easter on different dates. This difference happens because Western churches and Eastern Orthodox churches use different calendar systems to calculate the holiday.

Pagan Spring Festivals and Seasonal Symbols

Some Easter traditions have connections to older pagan celebrations of the spring season. In Northern Europe, seasonal festivals honored fertility and renewal after winter.

One popular theory links the word Easter to an Anglo Saxon goddess named Eostre. According to the eighth-century writer Bede the Venerable, Eosturmonath was once called after a goddess named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month.

Eggs also became powerful symbols during the Easter period. In many cultures eggs represent fertility and rebirth, which fit naturally with springtime celebrations. Early Christians later adopted eggs as symbols of Christ's resurrection and new life.

How Easter Traditions Developed

Over time religious observances blended with cultural customs. Many Easter celebrations today include both Christian traditions and family activities.

Easter eggs became a popular symbol across Europe and eastern Europe. People once decorated hard boiled eggs during the Easter week and gave them as gifts.

The Easter bunny also developed from older folklore about an Easter hare that delivered eggs to children. By the 19th century this tradition spread widely, especially in western countries.

Modern celebrations often include egg hunts using plastic eggs or candy filled eggs. Chocolate eggs and edible Easter bunnies also became popular treats during the Easter holiday.

Hot cross buns, Easter lilies, and festive meals are also common features of Easter celebrations. Together these customs mark one of the oldest Christian holidays and one of the most widely observed religious celebrations in the world.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.