Easter in America

The non-religious parts of Easter in the USA are weird to say the least.

Easter is definitely not an American-only holiday, but there are some unusual traditions that non-religious Americans partake in. A great example is the “mascot” of Easter, the Easter Bunny. Somewhere down the road, companies decided to grab onto the whole bunny and eggs thing for Easter. I think it was because of some very old pagan tradition long ago. Many malls around the USA even have employees dress up in Easter Bunny outfits for the children to take pictures with — sort of like Santa Claus for Christmas. The difference is most kids are scared of giant rabbits.

So, for some reason, this giant rabbit hides colored eggs and other treats for children to find. Most treats are set in small baskets with plastic grass. Common treats include chocolate bunnies, Peeps (marshmallows covered in sugar in the shape of baby chickens or rabbits), jelly beans, and various chocolate sweets in the shape of eggs.

In addition to chocolate eggs, families hard boil chicken eggs and color them. Some may color them one by one in an artful manner, but most dye the entire egg using color tabs in vinegar. The egg coloring is usually done before Easter to allow the eggs to dry. When Easter comes around, adults hide the eggs outside for the kids to find in an Easter Egg Hunt. Some times plastic eggs are also hidden that contain other treats or money inside.

Most families get together for this holiday. Those that care about fashion, or are forced to wear certain things by their parents, wear spring-colored clothes. Spring colors usually include light blue, light yellow, light green, pink, and white.

These are common traditions Americans do for Easter each year, and of course the religious families go to church. Do you do the same traditions in your country? Leave a comment below!