I hope everyone has had a wonderful Friday out of school! We have had a great and exciting week at the Academy Maryland Farms with the Easter bunny coming to visit, and having an “egg”celent Easter egg hunt! The kids and staff really seemed to enjoy themselves! With all of the Easter festivities going on I became curious about the origins of these Easter traditions and wanted to share some of the interesting facts I found with you all!
The Easter bunny, Easter eggs, and Easter candy are all prominent customs in American culture today. After doing some research it was interesting to see that while Easter is predominantly thought of as a Christian holiday that the beginnings of theses traditions are quite pagan. The earliest accounts show that the Easter bunny came from German immigrants who came to America in the 1700s and settled in Pennsylvania. These immigrants told a tale of an egg-laying hare, and their children would make and leave nests for this hare to leave his brightly colored eggs. Over time the nests evolved into decorated baskets and the eggs into the chocolate and gifts that we have come to know today. The decorating of Easter eggs has been dated back to the 13th century. Eggs are viewed as an ancient symbol of new life and are celebrated at Easter in result of their association with the arrival of spring from pagan festivals. Easter candy often includes jelly beans, which coincidentally, are egg shaped and became associated with Easter in the 1930s. “According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year or Easter.”
Regardless of how you choose to celebrate this holiday I hope all of you are spending quality time with your families and making memories with your precious children! We are thankful that you are a part of our family at the Academy of Maryland Farms and look forward to seeing all of your bright smiling faces on Monday morning! Learn more at http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols
