The Cutest Easter Bells Ever!

The date of Christian Easter is as follows: according to the Gregorian calendar, we celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox.

However, there is an exception: since the Orthodox church still refers to the Julian calendar, Orthodox Easter happens 13 days after ours.

Wonder when is Easter 2010?

In some European countries, bells are the main Easter symbols.

Here is their history:

In the ancient times, the bells were ringing every day of the year to invite people to attend the mass, to celebrate the birth of a prince, or for any other public event.

On Good Friday, bells leave our countries and fly to Rome where they'll be blessed by the pope. They will come back the night of Easter Sunday, bringing eggs that they will distribute to our people.

During Good Friday till Saturday at midnight, bells don't ring any more... But on Easter Sunday, they ring to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Whether they're real eggs, boiled, made up of chocolate, sugar or anything else, children LOVE Easter eggs!

The use of eggs in celebration existed long before our modern day observance.

In ancient Egypt and Persia, people were used to dye eggs in the colors of the spring and gave them to their relatives to symbolize the renewal of life.

Today, easter egg coloring is one of the most popular Easter activities and eggs are used to hunt for hidden eggs in the yard or garden or even in public parks.

The hare symbolizes abundance, proliferation and renewal.

Rabbit was regarded as an animal very prolific, especially in the spring. In the ancient times, bunnies were already symbols of life and fertility.

In the XVth century, the hare and the rabbit were associated to Easter for the first time in the German communities.

Over the centuries, the Easter hare became then the Easter Bunny

Where do the eggs come from?

Yes, you're right, they come from the chicken... so, as the chicken gives their eggs (decorated or not) to our children on Easter, chicken became an essential Easter symbol.

The Easter chicken is popular in many countries even if it originated from Austria.

Depending of the country, the Easter chicken can be a chick, a cock, a stork, a cuckoo, etc.

Where does the "Easter lamb" come from?

In the New Testament, there is a parallel between Jesus' death and the paschal lamb giving his life in sacrifice. Jesus is the messiah who leads his people, the sheep of God. The lamb represents purity, innocence, justice.

And so, it's a custom in many Christian countries to eat lamb on the day of Easter. I generally cook a leg of lamb with garlic, green peas and gratin dauphinois.

The origins of the Easter Lily.

This beautiful flower is native to an island near Japan. There is a legend that says:

At the time Jesus went to a place, all the flowers, plants and animals bowed to his passage, except the lilies. Lilies were too proud to accept this. But when the lilies saw Jesus on the cross, their head bent and since that day, they continue to bend their head as a sign of respect.

What? Never heard about this "Easter Water"! It is an old, old, old custom that tends to disappear...

Early in the morning on the day of Jesus' resurrection and before the sun rises, our ancestors used to go to the river to take water.

This water was used to bless the house, what was being done with a branch that they received at the church on the Sunday before Easter Sunday.

The symbolic representation of the cross has been associated with Christianity and Easter in the early centuries after the death of Jesus. The cross was a symbol of Jesus, who passed to save all those that receive baptism, the cross represented the inhuman treatments of the Roman Empire as well.

Today those of the Christian faith consider the cross as a symbol of bravery and redemption.