Shannon
Spring is finally here, and with it comes one of America’s brightest colored holidays: Easter! Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, but many Easter traditions are unrelated to the religious remembrance. Easter celebrations occur throughout the world, but they take on a special flavor in the United States. We encourage all our families and au pairs to discuss how this holiday is (or isn’t!) celebrated in their homes.
The most prominent symbol of the Easter holiday is the Easter Bunny. It is believed that the Easter bunny was introduced to America by German immigrants who brought over stories of an egg-laying hare. The decoration of eggs is believed to date back to the 13th century, and the Easter parade may date back even further. Other common traditions, such as consuming and sharing Easter candy, are likely modern additions to the celebration of the spring holiday.
In the United States, children prepare for the Easter holiday by dying eggs. The Easter Bunny visits the night before Easter, while the children sleep, and hides these eggs (or their plastic, candy-filled counterpart) outside in the garden or inside around the house. The next morning, children wake for a traditional Easter egg hunt; armed with woven baskets, the youngest members of the family will run through their home until the eggs are collected and shared over breakfast. It is not uncommon for the Easter Bunny to arrange large community Easter egg hunts to bring local families together.
Candy is a big part of the Easter Holiday, and introduces many unique sweet treats to foreign visitors such as: jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, and marshmallow peeps. Much like Halloween, there is generally lots of candy to be shared around and after this holiday!
There is a lot of excitement and sugar left over after an Easter celebration! GreatAuPair recommends considering some of these other Spring and Easter activities and crafts to help kids celebrate.
