EASTER ( PASCOA in Portuguese)
Christians across the world celebrate Easter, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. The celebration of Easter is preceded by the forty days of Lent, a period of prayer and fasting during which they abstain from meat.
Easter doesn't fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. It is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year.
Easter traditions are similar in most of the countries. The origin of the ancient custom of decorating eggs is not known. In ancient times the real eggs were boiled with some flowers to change their colour.
These days decorative chocolate eggs wrapped in colourful foils are used instead. The first mass-produced chocolate egg appeared in England in 1873 when Cadbury debuted their first Easter egg. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that milk chocolate Easter eggs became available.
Saturday is traditionally spent decorating Easter eggs and hunting for them with children on Sunday morning, by which time they have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and garden.
Traditions involve parents telling their children that eggs and other treats such as chocolate eggs or rabbits, and marshmallow chicks and jelly beans, have been delivered by the Easter Bunny in an Easter basket, which children find waiting for them when they wake up.
