Spring is starting to emerge and chocolate eggs and bunnies fill the supermarket shelves, this can only mean it is Easter time! Most people nowadays see EasterEaster as a time to eat lots of chocolaty treats and look at cute pictures of fluffy baby animals, but we can do that any time! Easter is more of a spiritual event than we give it credit for these days.

What Is Easter About?

Easter is traditionally a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after he was put to death on a crucifix. He was thought to be the son of God by the Christian religion and as such, this was a miracle to behold. Churches and schools across the country hold ceremonies to remember all that Jesus did for them in dying for their sins. In the leading up to Easter Christian also celebrate Holy week in which they celebrate the last weeks of Jesus’ life before re-birth and tell the stories from the Bible about his last supper and his betrayal from Judas.

Long before Jesus’ time some European countries worshiped the Goddess of Spring, whose name was Eostre. Their belief was that the sun died in the winter and was born again in spring time and that this was the goddesses doing. Some believe that is was after her that Easter was named.

The custom of giving eggs over Easter is because they are an ancient symbol of fertility and Spring is considered to bring new life. That is also why you see so many images of baby animals such as lambs, chicks and bunnies at Easter. These have since evolved into mascots for the season like the Easter Bunny, a rabbit that hides sweet eggs for children to find.

When Is Easter?

The official day of Easter always falls on a Sunday; however, it is not always on the same date each year and differs depending on what part of the world you live in. Here in the UK Easter Sunday will be the 5th April this year. Deciding the day of Easter was no easy feat though, due to differences in the solar and lunar calendars there was no way to fix a day for the celebration, so it was decided that it would be held on the Sunday that followed the first full moon after the first day of Spring. This means that Easter can fall on any date from 22nd March all the way up to the 25th April.

What To Wear?

If you’re doing something special for Easter be sure to pop in to Hollywood and see our range of cute decorations including some fun themed balloons. For those of you holding egg hunt events make sure you come in for your bunny and chicken fancy dress costumes too! We have a stunning range for men, women and children alike as well as plenty of fun accessories.

 

Hollywood Opening Times

All of our Hollywood branches will be open as usual in the lead up to Easter, but will be closed Easter Sunday and for the Bank Holiday Monday. We're going to need a little time to recover from all of the Easter Egg hunts! We'll back to business as usual on Tuesday, full of chocolate and ready to fulfil your fancy dress needs!