10 Little Known Easter Fun Facts
Here are 10 little-known and fun facts about Easter that go beyond the bunnies and candy:
1. Easter Is Named After a Pagan Goddess
The word Easter likely comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. Her symbols included—yep—eggs and hares.
2. The Easter Bunny Was Once a Judge
In early German tradition, children left out hats for the Osterhase, who would judge if they were good or bad—like Santa Claus—and leave eggs accordingly.
3. Eggs Were Once Banned During Lent
In medieval Europe, people couldn’t eat eggs during Lent—so Easter became the first time in weeks they could enjoy them again. Hence, the egg feast!
4. Easter Eggs Were Originally Dyed Red
In some early Christian cultures, eggs were dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ. The egg itself symbolized the resurrection and new life.
5. Peeps Were Handmade Until the 1950s
Those marshmallow Peeps we see everywhere? They originally took 27 hours to make each—by hand! Now, a machine cranks them out in 6 minutes.
6. Americans Buy Over 16 Billion Jelly Beans for Easter
That’s enough jelly beans to circle the Earth more than three times!
7. Egg Rolling at the White House Started in 1878
President Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to allow children to roll eggs on the White House lawn—starting a tradition that still exists today.
8. The World’s Largest Chocolate Bunny Weighed Over 9,000 Pounds
Built in Brazil in 2017, it took eight professionals five days to sculpt the giant bunny from pure chocolate.
9. The UK Eats the Most Easter Chocolate
People in the United Kingdom eat more chocolate at Easter than any other country, averaging 9,000 calories worth per person!
10. Easter Is the Second-Best Selling Candy Holiday (After Halloween)
Yep—Easter candy sales beat out Valentine’s Day and Christmas in the U.S., making it a $2.6+ billion holiday for sweets.
