Each year Easter Sunday is celebrated on a different day. You can thank the moon for that. This year the first full moon that we will see in the spring is also a blue moon. The first full moon of the new season also called the vernal equinox.

Easter celebrates the end of Holy Week celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Good Friday marks the day that Jesus was crucified and rose again on Easter, three days later from his tomb. However, the bible tells us that Jesus didn’t come alone.

Matthew 27:52-53, “And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

Easter is this coming Sunday, with the Holy Week starting last Sunday, Palm Sunday, however, there are lots more fun and interesting Easter tidbits that you probably weren’t aware of.

Find an egg with a double yolk on Easter and you will have good luck according to Folklore, which also says that if you get up early on Easter Sunday you will be greeted with the sun dancing for joy.

In ancient Egypt, the rabbit was used to symbolize the moon. The moon determined what day Easter falls on and represented Eostre, the goddess of fertility. However, the humble Easter Bunny seems to have started in Germany as a spring Santa Claus who delivered Easter baskets full of goodies for the children.

Known as Osterhase, German children would welcome Osterhas with handmade baskets filled with eggs to welcome the, “Easter Bunny.”

Symbolizing creation, fertility, and rebirth the ancient Egyptians and Persians would exchange colored eggs to welcome the spring equinox. Greeks and Romans soon adopted the ancient custom by enlarging the palette of colors because the Persians and Egyptians only exchanged red eggs.

Eggs were off limits in Medieval Europe during lent, but all that changed when Easter Sunday arrived. Natural dyes were once used to dye the eggs and were made from herbs and plants. Red onionskin gave the egg a light violet hue while carrots would produce eggs that were yellow with cherry juice producing red eggs. Pysanka is Russian for egg.

During the 19th century, Easter eggs were on birth certificates because families couldn’t get to a town hall. Birth certificates had to be filed at the town hall and if the family couldn’t get there, an egg was used for identification the egg was dyed and inscribed with the date and the person’s name and was accepted by the courts and authorities.

The English open windows and doors on Easter Sunday. This ancient custom is meant to drive out evil spirits inside the home during sunlight. If it is raining on Easter, the rain will continue every Sunday for seven weeks, at least according to Folklore.

The very first Easter Sunday sunrise service was held back in 1773 so that the Moravian church could watch the suns rise together as a congregation. Taking place in Winston-Salem, North Caroline, the service celebrates the empty tomb that Mary saw when the dawn broke on Easter Sunday. Today, celebrations are held all over the world and in the United States at scenic venues that include the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles California and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

This Easter Sunday when you enjoy the company of your friends and family, take time to remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the real reason everyone is gathered together to celebrate. It really is more than Easter eggs and baskets.

Knoxweb would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter!