Did you know that the Easter Bunny actually started as the Easter Hare? And that the word Easter comes from a Pagan Goddess?
The word Easter is believed to come from the Church’s long standing ability to assimilate pagan stories and rituals in to their own calendar and stories. Easter is believed to come from Eostre who was a pagan goddess way back in Saxon times. She was associated with dawn and light and was seen as the bringer of spring after the dark of winter.
Obviously this feeling of light chasing away dark fits very well in to the story of the crucifixion and resurrection and so the Eostre became Easter.
Its not hard to see how Easter, falling at the very end of winter became associated with bunnies and lambs as they are a visible (and very cute!) sign that spring has arrived.
The Easter Bunny was a bit like a cuter, and hairier, version of Santa Claus bringing coloured eggs and sweets to good children. If the children were good the Hare would lay eggs for them.
The reason for chocolate eggs comes from a very different angle. It is said that Mary Magdalene brought boiled eggs to the tomb of Jesus to feed the other mourners. From there came the idea of painting eggs to celebrate Easter and this then evolved to the chocolate eggs we give each other today.
Nowadays approx 80 million Easter Eggs are sold in the UK every year and it is the Easter Bunny who brings them.
Easter in 2020 is going to be very different but there are still some fabulous Easter activities which you can still do in Isolation and here are a few suggestions.
1. An Easter Egg hunt in your house and garden is always going to be fun. For older children you can also create clues, while younger kids just turn your home in to a giant hide and seek with mini eggs. You could also include egg and spoon races in to the Easter hunt by asking the kids to bring small eggs back using a spoon.
2. Put paint on your kids fingers so they can make multi coloured finger prints. You can then draw on whiskers and bunny ears or wings and a beak to make cute fingerprint Easter animals
3. Make Easter Egg shaped decorations for the house. These could be giant egg shapes with bits of paper glued to them, or paint egg shapes, or with older kids you could make a garland of paper eggs to string across the walls. If you have paper plates you can also draw/stick on a beak, wings and long legs to make Easter chicks.
4. Easter Wreath. If you are creative and have enough supplies then you can make a wreath to go on your front door using pipe cleaners, paper, pompoms and anything else you have to hand. If the wreath shape causes you issues why not re-purpose your Xmas wreath by covering it with Spring themed decorations.
5. Easter cooking. Everything from chocolate nests using rice krispies/cornflakes to biscuits in the shape of bunnies or even an Easter cake.
What will you be doing this Easter? We'd love to share your ideas on our Facebook or Instagram pages
