This Sunday is Easter, so we combed through the Internet to unearth some interesting Easter facts and stats that you might not know. Here are the highlights:
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1. Easter marks the remembrance of Jesus Christ's resurrection . . . and it also marks the day when EVERYONE desperately struggles to find that last, hard-boiled egg before it spends the next month rotting away in the living room.
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A new survey asked if Easter is now celebrated more because it's a proper special occasion, or because of pressure from corporate America . . . and 61% said it's still true to its purpose, while 26% said it's become overly commercialized.
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2. People are spending money though. 45% of Americans are planning to spend more on Easter this year than in 2021. And a total of $20.8 BILLION will be spent on Easter this year, which breaks down to $170 per person celebrating it.Â
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3. $3 billion will be spent on candy alone . . . while $3.4 billion will be spent on Easter CLOTHING. I guess this includes a lot of kids clothes for church and / or Instagram photos.
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4. 60% of parents say they even plan on sending Easter baskets to their kids who have MOVED OUT. The most popular basket items are: Chocolate bunnies, followed by individually-wrapped candy . . . arts and crafts . . . loose, chewy candy . . . and bunny stuffed animals.
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5. I could get onboard with this: Some people celebrate Easter with SOFT PRETZELS. The idea is that the twists of the pretzel sort of look like arms crossed in prayer.Â
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6. Decorating eggs comes from a Ukrainian tradition: Ornate eggs were called "pysankas," which were made by using wax and dyes. And it wasn't until Ukrainian immigrants came to the U.S. that the custom caught on.
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7. Despite the importance of Easter, a lot of people still don't know how the date is determined. It falls on the first Sunday AFTER the first full moon . . . AFTER March 21st. There's a PINK full moon this weekend, which you can see tonight and tomorrow night.
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8. Passover begins this evening, and runs through Saturday, April 23rd. It celebrates the Exodus, the liberation of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Passover usually begins with the Passover Seder, a ritual feast.
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(WalletHub / WalletHub / House Beautiful / National Today / Wikipedia)