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Easter

The word “Easter” is named after Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year. Since then people have celebrated the holiday according to their beliefs and their religions. Christians commemorate Good Friday as the day that Jesus Christ died and Easter Sunday as the day that he was resurrected..

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 eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

The Easter Bunny was called the Easter Hare. Hares and rabbits have frequent multiple birth, so they became a symbol of fertility.

The custom of Easter egg hunt began because children believed that hares laid eggs in 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.

In England, 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 where 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, DC.

The custom rolling hard-boiled eggs down the hilly lawn of the new Capitol building has been held there ever since then. The egg rolling event is open to children twelve years and under. Adults are allowed only when accompanied by children! 6. Halloween History

Halloween began more than 2,000 years ago among the Celtic people of Britain and France. As the days became colder and darker every autumn, the Celts made up a story to explain why winter came and all the crops and flowers die.

The Celts believed in a sun god who made the crops grow. But each year the sun god was attacked and held prisoner for six months by an evil power called Samhain. Samhain- also known as the "Lord of the Dead” and as the "Prince of Darkness- brought the cold and darkness of winter days.

On October 31, Celtic priests (called Druids) held a new year’s ceremony to mark the weakening of the sun god and the triumph of Samhain. These priests wore long, flowing white robes and met on hilltops to light bonfires. Sometimes the Druids hurled animals or prisoners into the fires to please the cruel Samhain. It was strong and hot like the sun, and Druids felt sure that evil spirits would fear the fire. The priests thanked the sun god fot the last good harvest, and at the midnight they asked Samhain to let brightness and warmth return to the Earth.

The Celtic people, meanwhile, feared the night of October 31th more than any other night of the year. They were sure that evil spirits lurked everywhere and they started fires in their homes to keep the evil spirits from coming inside. They believed that Samhain called dead people together and turned them into other forms, especially cats. To keep Samhain happy and the evil spirits away, the Celts put on frightening costumes made of animal skins. Often this festival to honour Samhain thought that those spirits were everywhere, and they started fires in their homes to keep the evil spirits from coming inside. They believed that Samhain called dread people together and turned them into other forms, especially cats.

To keep Samhain happy and to keep the evil spirits away, the Celts would put on frightening costumes made of animal skins and had a kind of festival which sometimes lasted three days.

When the Romans conquered Britain and France, they added to the Celtic Samhain festival. The Romans had two festivals called Feralia and Pomona Day that gradually blended with the Samhain festival. Feralia was a festival to honour to the dead. On Pomona Day Romans spread out apples and nuts to show their thanks for a good harvest.

The Catholic Church contributed the name «Halloween» to all three traditions.

The first of November is the Catholic holiday of "All Saints’ Day,” which honors all saints who died for their faith. The night before All Saints Day - the 31-st of October - was called "All Hallow Eve.” Eventually this name became shortened to "Halloween.”