Happy  Easter

Excitement is all around as people are planning their Easter Festivities. Age old customs come into play and the children can hardly await the coming of the Easter bunny who brings all those delicious and varied eggs.

The custom of having Easter eggs goes right back to pagan times,  when people wanted to celebrate the end of the long, harsh winter, when the earth lay 'dead' and people and animals waited for Spring. The hare was the messenger and heralded the awakening from the long 'sleep'. Thus the Easter bunny came into being. The egg itself was the symbol of new life. The two combined into the Easter legend and the hare or Easter bunny would hide the eggs in the grass or bushes, for children and adults to find.
There are coloured and decorated eggs as well as chocolate eggs to be found and no=one is ever too old to enter into the spirit of the egg hunt or even egg rolling. What fun!


The church too began to celebrate the fact that Jesus arose from the dead at Easter. During Lent the church was decked in somber colours but burst into a bright  array of glorious colours and beautiful flowers to celebrate life.


The Jewish religion celebrate the Exodus from Egypt and slavery to a new life in the promised land. The stories about this event is celebrated every Spring and children ask questions about the origin and the meaning of this special celebration


The Eastern religions too choose this time to celebrate in various ways.


What ever the occasion, everyone celebrates by feasting, wearing special apparel or Easter bonnets in a parade giving presents and generally making merry.


I hope the Easter Bunny is kind to you and that you will have a really good, fun festival.

Happy Easter to You All