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Catch the spirit of Easter - this year observed on Sunday, April 8, 2012 - with our online guide to homemade Easter baskets, decorations, egg-dyeing projects and other fun activities, plus related Easter features and a complete Easter web guide to other top Web resources offering lesson plans and coloring pages, along with lots of Easter history, trivia & fun facts .....

All about Easter meaning and symbols

Although observed today by Christians in a joyous celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, historians point to the holiday's much earlier roots in ancient spring rituals.

The rabbit in ancient Egypt (today, it's the Easter bunny), for example, was recognized as a natural sign of renewal. This belief spread to the Greeks, and then to the Romans who shared it with the rest of Europe.

The Celts and other early European pagan groups, as well, celebrated the rabbit during the festival of Eastre, honoring the ancient goddess of the dawn and springtime.

Another animal associated with springtime, of course, is the lamb — connected to a Biblical description of Jesus as the Lamb of God — which, in turn, harks back to even more ancient Jewish sacrificial rituals! Today, modern Christian families will still sit down to an Easter feast based on a favorite roast leg of lamb recipe to reenact the ancient practice based in Biblical times.

Finally, what would Easter be without eggs? Another symbol of birth and renewal, the egg naturally represents new life and hope for the future. The symbol is still honored today by children worldwide in the tradition of learning to dye a batch of Easter eggs in a fun family get together.

On Easter Sunday, the entire family will dress up in their finest Easter clothes, attend church services, and exchange gifts of Easter flowers, chocolate, jelly beans and other fanciful treats to celebrate the day.

All told, even with its deeply solemn religious connotations Easter remains a thoroughly modern tradition celebrating life, hope, and renewal.

With best wishes for a Happy and Joyous Easter ....

Easter Clip Art Easter History Easter Egg Dyeing   Easter Crafts Easter Lilies Easter Party Ideas   Easter E-Cards Easter Recipes Easter Flowers   Easter Games Easter Trees Kids' Easter Clothes Easter Basket Cupcake Recipes Easy to make and even more fun to eat, these Easter basket cupcakes are sure to be hit with the kids this holiday season. Check out the complete recipe with ingredient list plus more ideas for dressing up Easter desserts .... Easter Peeps on Parade! Meet ya peeps - and get 'em while they're still bright, soft and marshmallowy - or allow them to air dry for a few days for that just right soft-crunchy Peeps goodness. Discover more about everybody's most popular edible Easter character with our Web tribute to gelatin, corn syrup & yellow dye #5 .... Easter Party Celebrations Easter can be a fun time of year to celebrate the renewed growth of spring no-matter what religious beliefs you may have. Here are some tips & ideas for making any spring Easter party celebration one to remember .... More Easter Story Articles: Adding Meaning to Your Easter Eggs-travagant Easter Eggs Easter Baskets Fun Greek Easter Traditions & Recipes Easter Bunny Story Jelly Bean Nests Easter Eggs: Tiny Works of Heart New York Easter Parade More about Easter around the Web: A Glorious Easter - Lots of devotional and religious resources marking the day, plus kid-friendly crafts, recipes, Easter plays and skits, puzzles and games and other fun stuff from teacherhelp.org. Mystical WWW: Easter - A deep dig to European folklore plus time-honored superstitions and traditions including choice tidbits on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter eggs, mummers, morris dancing, hot cross buns, animals, trees, birds and more associated with Easter Sunday. Happy Easter.com - Silly, flashy and lots of fun for kids of all ages featuring Easter facts, history and trivia, Easter craft ideas, a very cool interactive coloring page, sendable Easter e-cards and more. whyeaster?.com - A great overview beginning with Shrove Tuesday and Lenten traditions and highlighting traditional Easter celebrations, stories, crafts, coloring pages, recipes. Easter Dating Method - When is Easter in, say, 2024? For the quick answer to the moveable feast, simply scan the tables for pinpointing the date within the last 300 or next 300 years, or do the math with instructions for making precise calculations for any year from 326 A.D. to 4099. Easter Parades & Events 2012 New York Los Angeles Edinburgh San Francisco New Orleans Prague San Diego UK Sydney also see in Holidays -> Shrove Tuesday | Fat Tuesday | Ash Wednesday