Easter

Easter is a holiday in late March or early April, the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21st. Many people spend it with their family or have a short holiday/vacation. It is also an important Christian festival.
Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, is the end of Lent and the most important date in the Christian year. Many people who do not go to church at other times go on Easter Sunday. It was once common for women to wear new hats, called Easter bonnets. Today, people sometimes make elaborately decorated Easter bonnets for fun. A few people send Easter cards with religious symbols on them or pictures of chicks, lambs, rabbits and spring flowers, all traditionally associated with Easter.
The Friday before Easter Sunday is called Good Friday and is remembered as the day Christ was crucified (hung on a cross to die). On Good Friday many people eat hot cross buns (fruit buns decorated with a simple cross). The Monday after Easter is called Easter Monday. In Britain, Good Friday and Easter Monday are both bank holidays. In the US, each company decides for itself whether to close or remain open on those days.
Children look forward to Easter Sunday because they are given chocolate Easter eggs. These are also popular with adults and millions are sold in the weeks before Easter. Many are packed in coloured foil in brightlycoloured boxes decorated with pictures of cartoon characters. Others are decorated with sugar flowers and wrapped in clear paper tied with a ribbon. Some shops write the person’s name on the egg with icing. Inside each egg are sweets or chocolates. Smaller eggs with sweet cream inside are also popular. Eggs represent
new life and the start of spring, and children sometimes colour the shells of real eggs at home. In some parts of Britain Easter is a time for traditional events such as egg-rolling.

Some ideas about Easter customs and traditions in US:

• In the New Orleans, it is a trend of conducting an annual Easter carnival called 'Mardi Gras', which features lot of fun activities like parade, jazz music bands and a bumper party.
• A must play Easter game for American kids is Easter egg roll.
• A special dish for Easter springtime in USA is baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Another most demanding recipe is hot cross buns.
• It was in the early 1700's, when for the first time, eggs were dyed and the credit for starting this practice in America can be attributed to Pennsylvania Dutch (German) settlers.
• As a part of Easter traditions in the US, sunrise services are held and the prime motive is to include various Christian religious groups in this event.
• Painting the Easter eggs and then conducting Easter egg hunt games for the kids is what most American parents do on the Easter week.
• Like in every other part of the globe, Easter symbols like bunnies, Easter tree, Easter Eggs and Easter lamb make their presence felt in every corner of the street, churches, shops and homes.
• The popular Easter symbols like Easter bunny and egg tree were first brought in by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Eventually, American people accepted these crafts and made these symbols a vital part of their Easter celebrations.
• The book 'Egg Tree' by Katherine Milhous was credited with popularizing the custom of egg tree decoration in USA.
• Like most other countries, pre-Lent carnivals also form an integral part of Easter celebration in the USA.
• Easter celebrations cannot be complete without extensive feasting. During Easter, people in US binge on Easter delights like baked ham, potatoes, vegetables and other homemade delights.
• Easter parties are also a common sight during this holiday time where people come, feast and make merry.
• Easter wedding is a popular trend in USA. People in USA usually like to their tie nuptial knot on this propitious day. 

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