As the marker of mid-spring approaches, many are awaiting Easter break. Where children await the presence of the Easter bunny and colorful eggs filled with candy some may wonder where this joyful holiday originates from,
It is a Christian belief that Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ while also bringing an end to Lent, a Christian tradition of abstaining from a particular item or activity for forty days. While Christians are celebrating their holy day, others may be hunting for or painting Easter eggs.
According to Sykes Holiday Cottages, in 2020, the most popular creme eggs are mass-produced surrounding the holiday—Cadbury in particular manufactures 500 million every year.
The holiday’s devious egg-hiding bunny mascot takes inspiration from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Eostre is said to bring spring, dawn and fertility, and she was often depicted as a bunny. She was often celebrated in pagan spring festivals, and over time the Pagan traditions merged with Christian traditions to create the holiday we now know as Easter.
Though these celebrations converged into one mainstream holiday, the ways to celebrate it are as varied as there are celebrators.
Senior Ada Erdahl at Concordia College expressed her appreciation for the holiday, saying, “We have an Easter egg hunt each year; however, it’s my mom’s Italian Easter bread she makes that I look forward to the most.” Erdahl described how her parents like to include traditions from their Italian and Norwegian descent.
While some are incorporating traditions from their heritage into the holiday or perhaps just awaiting special time with family, Samuel Deneen, a first-year student at Concordia is anticipating his annual Easter egg fight.
“We all paint Easter eggs, and then we make a bracket with everyone’s name,” said Deneen
He identified the goal of the fight being to smash another’s egg while keeping your own egg intact. The winner of the game is awarded the honor of signing their name to a wooden chicken and having it in possession until the next Easter arrives.
Concordia senior Aera Moscho excitedly described her family’s Easter traditions, exclaiming how each Easter morning she and her siblings would wake up to an Easter egg hunt. Some of her family eagerly anticipated the event so much that one hunt just did not satisfy.
“My siblings like to wake up early and rehide the easter eggs,” Moscho mentioned with a laugh.
Haley Walsh, a first-year student at Concordia explained how her Easters are filled with themed games, fun word searches and many jokes.
“We have Easter egg decorating contests with categories of silliest, cutest and prettiest,” said Walsh.
The college’s Easter interim offers students the chance to get fresh eggs before ending the year with rotten finals.
