Easter Traditions in USA

Easter Traditions in USA

Easter is a major religious festival of Christians that is celebrated in a grand manner with a big party time celebration. Every nation has its own way of celebrating a particular festivity. Every country has some peculiar traditions and customs. For example it is the tradition of America to conduct special Easter parades, where men and women flaunt their special costumes and colorful bonnets. The person who leads the parade can be spotted holding Easter candle or cross in his/her hand. It is interesting to explore facts about Easter traditions in USA. Read further to know about Easter celebration in America…

 
Here are some ideas about Easter customs and traditions in US: -

• In the New Orleans, it is a trend of conducting an annual Easter carnival called 'Mardi Gras', which features lot of fun activities like parade, jazz music bands and a bumper party.
• A must play Easter game for American kids is Easter egg roll.
• A special dish for Easter springtime in USA is baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Another most demanding recipe is hot cross buns.
• It was in the early 1700's, when for the first time, eggs were dyed and the credit for starting this practice in America can be attributed to Pennsylvania Dutch (German) settlers.
• As a part of Easter traditions in the US, sunrise services are held and the prime motive is to include various Christian religious groups in this event.
• Painting the Easter eggs and then conducting Easter egg hunt games for the kids is what most American parents do on the Easter week.

Easter Traditions in USA

http://www.indobase.com/holidays/easter/easter-traditions-ar

Easter is a major religious festival of Christians that is celebrated in a grand manner with a big party time celebration. Every nation has its own way of celebrating a particular festivity. Every country has some peculiar traditions and customs. For example it is the tradition of America to conduct special Easter parades, where men and women flaunt their special costumes and colorful bonnets. The person who leads the parade can be spotted holding Easter candle or cross in his/her hand. It is interesting to explore facts about Easter traditions in USA. Read further to know about Easter celebration in America… 
 

 
Here are some ideas about Easter customs and traditions in US: -

• In the New Orleans, it is a trend of conducting an annual Easter carnival called 'Mardi Gras', which features lot of fun activities like parade, jazz music bands and a bumper party.
• A must play Easter game for American kids is Easter egg roll.
• A special dish for Easter springtime in USA is baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Another most demanding recipe is hot cross buns.
• It was in the early 1700's, when for the first time, eggs were dyed and the credit for starting this practice in America can be attributed to Pennsylvania Dutch (German) settlers.
• As a part of Easter traditions in the US, sunrise services are held and the prime motive is to include various Christian religious groups in this event.
• Painting the Easter eggs and then conducting Easter egg hunt games for the kids is what most American parents do on  
• the Easter week.

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http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/Holidays/celebrate/eastera.html 

The meaning of many different customs observed during Easter Sunday have been buried with time. Their origins lie in pre-Christian religions and Christianity. All in some way or another are a "salute to spring," marking re-birth. The white Easter lily has come to capture the glory of the holiday. The word "Easter" is named after Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.

People celebrate the holiday according to their beliefs and their religious denominations. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that He was resurrected. Protestant settlers brought the custom of a sunrise service, a religious gathering at dawn, to the United States.

Today on Easter Sunday children wake up to find that the Easter Bunny has left them baskets of candy. He has also hidden the eggs that they decorated earlier that week. Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny is a rabbit-spirit. Long ago, he was called the" Easter Hare." Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple births so they became a symbol of fertility. The custom of an Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in the grass. The Romans believed that "All life comes from an egg." Christians consider eggs to be "the seed of life" and so they are symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why we dye, or color, and decorate eggs is not certain. In ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals. In medieval Europe, beautifully decorated eggs were given as gifts.

Egg Rolling

In England, Germany and some other countries, children rolled eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World.

In the United States in the early nineteenth century, Dolly Madison, the wife of the fourth American President, organized an egg roll in Washington, D.C. She had been told that Egyptian children used to roll eggs against the pyramids so she invited the children of Washington to roll hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building! The custom continued, except for the years during the Civil War. In 1880, the First Lady invited children to the White House for the Egg Roll because officials had complained that they were ruining the Capitol lawn. It has been held there ever since then, only canceled during times of war. The event has grown, and today Easter Monday is the only day of the year when tourists are allowed to wander over the White House lawn. The wife of the President sponsors it for the children of the entire country. The egg rolling event is open to children twelve years old and under. Adults are allowed only when accompanied by children!

Traditionally, many celebrants bought new clothes for Easter which they wore to church. After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town. This led to the American custom of Easter parades all over the country. Perhaps the most famous is along Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Good Friday is a federal holiday in 16 states and many schools and businesses throughout the U.S. are closed on this Friday.

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http://www.midmanhattan.com/articles/aEaster03.htm 

NYC Easter Parade - Fashion Meets Fantasy  
 

The Easter Parade is a New York tradition that dates back to the middle of the 1800s. The social elite would attend services at one of the 5th Avenue churches and parade their new fashions down the Avenue afterwards.

The less well to do would come to see what the latest trends were. Many handy seamstresses found inspiration for their client's wardrobes at the parade. It was a combination of religious services and haute couture in the days before TV, when only the wealthiest New Yorkers could attend the hottest Paris fashion shows.

While there is still some fashion involved in the spectacle, the modern version tends to be more fantastic. Live birds nest in bonnets of real flowers and pets are dressed in the latest 5th Avenue doggy wear.

The flamboyant headgear and costumes are paraded down the Avenue to the delight of onlookers. You don't need a special outfit to join in the fun. Anyone can step out and stroll down the Avenue.

New York weather in April is anything but reliable. "Record April Snowfall, 10 Inches, and 60-Mile Gale Usher in New York's Easter," was a headline in the New York Times on April 4, 1915. While this is unusual, a rainy April day can make for soggy bonnet watching.

If good years, the weather is forecast will call for a wonderful spring day with temperatures around 60 degrees.

 

Easter Games

Any festivity celebration is incomplete without some sporty fun time activities. To commemorate this grand festival Easter, there must be a bumper party. To make the party really entertaining and exciting, there can be no better idea than hosting Easter's party games. Read further to learn about Easter games for kids…

 
Here are some Easter games: -

• KIDS EGG HUNT: its is a very easy to play game. All you need to do is to take a couple of eggs and hide them in the house. Now ask the kids to find them and the one who finds the maximum is the winner.
• EGG HEAD: you have to take five eggs. Now out of five leave three eggs raw and hard-boil the other two. Once the eggs are boiled, place these five eggs in a bowl. Now line up five kids and ask each child to pick up one egg from the bowl. Now the eggs need to be crushed by each child on their head and whoever has the hard boiled egg is the winner.
• REVERSE EGG HUNT: there is not much of a difference in this game when compared to egg hunt. The only difference lies in the fact, that this time, the kids will paint Easter eggs and hide them in the house and the parents are supposed to locate the eggs.
• EASTER GUESSING GAME: this game would be loved by all those who are fond of chocolates. Take a jar and fill it up with Easter eggs, jellybeans and chocolate Easter bunnies. Now people have to make guesses about the number of each item. The person who makes the closest guess if not the perfect one will win.
• EASTER MEMORY: take a couple of eggs and paint them but only on one side. Now once you have painted, hide these Easter eggs in the grass but take care the colored side should be facing the ground. Well kids, this is the game to test your memory and see whether you remember which color egg is hidden where.

I'm sure; playing these Easter party games would be great fun. So enjoy yourselves!!!