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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:
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.
2. 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. $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.
3. 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.
4. 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. (Seems like a bit of a stretch, but I'm not arguing.)
5. 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.
6. Despite the importance of Easter, a lot of people – including me -- 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.
7. 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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