FACTS ABOUT EASTER

FACTS ABOUT EASTER

(parkrideflyusa.com) Easter Sunday is this weekend, and while you are coloring eggs, eating chocolate bunnies and searching your home for hidden treats, here are some facts to share with your family and friends.

1. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ three days after his death. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year.

2. Christians consider Easter eggs to symbolize joy and celebration, new life and resurrection.

3. Households spend $131 on Easter each year, $14.7 billion in total.

4. After Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy consuming holiday. 120 million pounds of candy are bought each year, enough to fill four dump trucks.

5. 90 million chocolate bunnies, 91.4 billion eggs and 700 million peeps are produced each year in the United States.

6. 76% of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.

7. Americans consume over 16 million jellybeans on Easter, enough to circle the globe three times over.

8. Half of the states in the United States have banned the practice of dyeing chicks for Easter. However, Florida recently overturned the 45-year-old law of preventing the dyeing of animals, which will come into effect July 1st.

9. When coloring Easter eggs, it is recommended to use food grade dyes, commercial egg dyes, fruit-drink powders or liquid food coloring.

10. To help Americans in need, egg farmers across the country are donating more than 11 million eggs to food banks across the nation.

11. The White House hosts an Easter Egg Roll on the front lawn each year. This tradition was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.

12. Good Friday is an official holiday in 12 U.S. states (and if you're in one of those states, enjoy the long weekend).

13. There's a link between Easter and Passover and in some countries and languages, the words for the two feasts are related.

14. The largest Easter egg ever made was around 9,000 pounds. It needed a steel frame for internal support.