Proof 129959 MSH March flip

10
Uncle Tom Cobley
DOWN UNCLE TOM’S WAY
All over the world, people celebrate Easter in accordance to their beliefs. The
origins of Easter lie within Christian religions and commemorate the
resurrection and return of Jesus Christ. Easter is also a time in which many
celebrate the return of spring! In fact, the word ‘Easter’ is derived from Eastre,
the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring.
Amongst children (but not exclusively!), Easter egg hunts are a very popular
and fun way to celebrate Easter. Many children will awake on Easter morning to
find the Easter Bunny has visited and left a trail of chocolate eggs for them to
find. So where exactly does the tale of our Easter Bunny originate?
The story takes us back to the 19 th century, where originally, the Easter Bunny
was actually the Easter Hare. Hares and rabbits are famous for giving birth to
large litters of babies, so overtime they became a symbol of fertility – some
children even believed they laid eggs in the grass. This led to the legend of the
Easter Bunny, who lays, decorates and hides eggs as a symbol of new life.
He’s got some friends to help him with the workload – in parts of Germany, an
Easter Fox delivers the eggs and in Switzerland, a cuckoo bird takes care of the
job!
Another lesser-known way to celebrate Easter is egg rolling. This is exactly
what it sounds like – on Easter morning traditionally in the USA, England,
Germany and some other countries, children gather together and roll Easter
eggs down a hill. The game is associated with the rolling away of the rock
covering Jesus Christ’s tomb when he was resurrected. Dolly Madison, the wife
of James Madison (the fourth American president) organised an egg rolling
event in Washington D.C and invited the children of Washington to roll
hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building!
This Easter, be sure to impress your friends and family with you’re newfound
Easter knowledge!
That’s all from me, have a great month.
Uncle Tom ©