158 Fun Facts About Easter

In Germany's Franconia, what is dressed with Easter eggs in the Osterbrunnen tradition?

Wells and fountains are decorated with painted eggs and greenery; the custom began in the early 20th century in Franconian Switzerland, and displays stay up from Good Friday until about two weeks after Easter.

The tradition of the Easter Bunny originated in which country?

The earliest known reference is from 1678, in a Latin treatise on Easter eggs by the physician Georg Franck von Franckenau in south-west Germany.

Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after what lunar event?

Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, the ecclesiastical full moon falling on or after 21 March, which is why the date can shift by up to five weeks from year to year.

In many cultures, what do Easter eggs symbolize?

Easter eggs symbolize rebirth and new life breaking out of a sealed shell; decorated ostrich eggs were placed in Sumerian and Egyptian graves some 5,000 years ago.

What is the name for the seven days leading up to Easter Sunday?

In Western churches it is the sixth and last week of the pre-Easter fast, and its final three days are known as the Easter Triduum.

Which sweet, spiced fruit bread is traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the UK?

Hot Cross Buns are sweet, spiced buns containing currants or raisins, and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in various Commonwealth countries.

On which day of the week before Easter is the Last Supper commemorated?

Maundy Thursday takes its name from the Latin 'mandatum', the new commandment Jesus gave at the Last Supper to love one another, and many churches re-enact his washing of the disciples' feet.

Which major U.S. city is famous for its elaborate Easter Parade, often featuring festive bonnets?

The annual Easter Parade in New York City, particularly on Fifth Avenue, is a long-standing tradition known for its creative hats and spring fashion.

In John's Gospel, who first saw the risen Jesus, at first mistaking him for the gardener?

Mary Magdalene recognised him only when he spoke her name and she answered 'Rabbouni', meaning teacher; later tradition honoured her as the 'Apostle to the Apostles'.

"Easter" is believed to derive from Eostre, a spring goddess of what ancient culture?

Many linguists believe the word "Easter" comes from "Eostre" or "Ostara," a Germanic goddess of spring and dawn, whose feast was celebrated around the vernal equinox.

What popular Easter activity involves searching for hidden decorated eggs?

Easter egg hunts are a widespread tradition where children search for hidden decorated eggs, often filled with candy or small toys.

What period of fasting and repentance precedes Easter in the Christian calendar?

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday in Western churches, and its 40 days echo the time Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before his public ministry.

How many marzipan balls traditionally top a British simnel cake?

The 11 balls stand for the apostles minus Judas; occasionally a twelfth is added for Jesus, and the cake also has a layer of marzipan baked through its middle.

On Easter Monday in Poland, the Śmigus-dyngus custom has people dousing one another with what?

Some scholars trace the soaking to Jerusalem, where water was supposedly used to break up crowds gathering to discuss the resurrection.

Cadbury Creme Eggs went on sale in 1963 under which sister brand's name, before being renamed in 1971?

Fry's Creme Eggs became Cadbury's Creme Eggs in 1971; the fondant centre is made to mimic the white and yolk of a soft-boiled egg, and Fry's had been a Cadbury sister brand since the firms merged in 1919.

What is the name of the day on which Jesus was crucified?

It is also called Great Friday or Holy Friday, and in some Eastern churches the Friday of the Passion of the Lord.

Many sources trace the Christian custom of decorated Easter eggs to early Christians of which region?

Sociologist Kenneth Thompson traces the custom from Persia into the Greek churches of Mesopotamia and on through Orthodoxy to Russia and Siberia.

Which tall, sweet yeast cake is a traditional Easter bake in Poland and Ukraine?

Babka is 'little grandmother', supposedly for its skirt-like fluted shape; the braided Jewish babka is a cousin, and the French baba au rhum is thought to descend from it.

In what year did the Council of Nicaea establish a method for determining the date of Easter?

The First Council of Nicaea met in 325 AD, convened by Constantine; it also settled the dispute over Christ's divine nature and produced the first form of the Nicene Creed.

Which feast falls on the Thursday 40 days after Easter Sunday?

Ascension Day falls 40 days after Easter, always a Thursday, commemorating Jesus being taken up into heaven before his disciples; Corpus Christi comes later, on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

Which U.S. president started the annual White House Easter Egg Roll tradition?

Children had rolled eggs on the Capitol grounds until Congress banned it in 1876 to protect the lawn; Hayes opened the White House grounds instead in 1878.

Which marshmallow candy shaped like chicks and bunnies is a popular US Easter treat?

Peeps are marshmallow candies, typically shaped as chicks or bunnies, that are particularly popular during the Easter season in the United States.

What is the traditional Easter greeting in many Christian denominations, and its response?

The greeting "Christ is risen!" / "He is risen indeed!" echoes the angel's words at the empty tomb, and 'risen indeed' matches the disciples' report in Luke 24:34.

What is the main liturgical color for Easter Sunday in many Christian churches?

Some churches, including many Lutheran synods, use gold in place of white for Easter, while purple or violet is worn through the preceding fast.

In Sweden and Finland, children go door to door before Easter dressed as which figures?

The custom grows out of an old Swedish legend that witches flew on brooms to Blåkulla on the Thursday before Easter, so doors and chimney dampers were once secured against them.

What is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday called, when Christians remember Jesus's body lying in the tomb?

Holy Saturday is the final day before Easter; its night-time vigil, kept after dark, is traditionally the first celebration of the resurrection, so Easter begins in darkness.

Which biblical garden is associated with Jesus's arrest before his crucifixion?

Gethsemane sits at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and four different denominations each claim a nearby spot as the exact place where Jesus prayed on the night of his arrest.

What city is home to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem is venerated as the site of Jesus's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

What type of meat is a traditional main course for Easter dinner in many Western countries?

The choice mirrors the Passover meal, and in Christian symbolism the Paschal Lamb represents the sacrifice of Jesus for humanity's sins.

What is the name of the Easter-eve liturgy that begins in darkness with the kindling of a new fire?

The Paschal Vigil, also called the Easter Vigil, is regarded as the most important liturgy of the Christian year and the first official celebration of the resurrection.

Jacob Roggeveen named Easter Island after sighting it on Easter Sunday of which year?

Roggeveen sighted the island on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1722, and called it Paasch-Eyland while searching for the phantom 'Davis Land'; its nearest inhabited neighbour, Pitcairn, is over 2,000 km away.

In Australia, chocolate versions of which endangered marsupial rival the Easter Bunny?

The Easter Bilby exists because rabbits are an invasive pest in Australia; Rose-Marie Dusting's 1979 children's story 'Billy the Aussie Easter Bilby' popularised the idea, and from the early 1990s chocolate bilbies raised money for bilby conservation.

Which Russian jeweller made Easter eggs for the Imperial family from 1885?

Some 50 Imperial eggs left the House of Fabergé between 1885 and 1917.

What color are Easter eggs traditionally dyed in Greece?

Greek Easter eggs are dyed red for the blood of Christ, traditionally on the Thursday before Easter using onion skins and vinegar, and are cracked against each other in a game called tsougrisma.

Lent's 40 days echo the fasts of Jesus, Elijah and which other biblical figure?

Moses fasted 40 days on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34), Elijah 40 days on the way to Horeb (1 Kings 19) and Jesus 40 days in the wilderness; the Latin name Quadragesima means 'fortieth'.

Which Italian city hosts a spectacular 'Scoppio del Carro' (Explosion of the Cart) on Easter Sunday?

Florence, Italy, celebrates Easter Sunday with the unique 'Scoppio del Carro,' where a cart filled with fireworks is ignited in front of the Duomo.

Which 1739 Charles Wesley Easter hymn is famous for the 'Alleluia' sung after every line?

'Christ the Lord Is Risen Today' appeared in Wesley's 1739 Hymns and Sacred Poems; the 'Alleluia' after each line was added later by an unknown hand, probably to fit the tune known as 'Easter Hymn'.

Which apostle refused to believe in the resurrection until he saw Jesus's wounds himself?

The Apostle Thomas is famously known as "Doubting Thomas" for his initial skepticism about Jesus's resurrection, requiring physical proof.

What is the centuries-old UK name for rolling decorated Easter eggs down hills?

Pace-egging, from an old northern word for Easter, is said to symbolise the angel rolling the stone from the tomb; Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh and hills across Lancashire are traditional sites.

Which Neapolitan tart of cooked wheat, ricotta and orange-flower water is traditionally eaten at Easter?

One Neapolitan legend credits the siren Parthenope, who passed gifts of ricotta, flour, eggs, milk and sugar to the gods, who turned them into the first pastiera.

The hooded penitents' processions staged across Spain in the week before Easter go by what name?

Semana Santa, Spanish for Holy Week, sees Catholic brotherhoods called cofradías carry heavy floats through the streets while hooded penitents hide their faces under conical capirotes.

Which white, trumpet-shaped flower, native to Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, is forced into bloom as the classic Easter plant?

The Easter Lily blooms irregularly in the wild, which is exactly what lets growers force it to flower on cue for a holiday whose date moves every year.

Under biblical rules, the Jewish paschal sacrifice had to be an unblemished young sheep or which other animal?

Exodus 12 allows a year-old male taken from the sheep or the goats; the animal was set apart on the 10th of Nisan, slaughtered at dusk on the 14th, then roasted and eaten that night.

What is the name for the fourteen images of Jesus's final day, the Via Dolorosa, that worshippers move along in prayer?

Stations of the Cross grew from pilgrims retracing the route through Jerusalem, and some modern versions add a fifteenth station for the resurrection.

What is the large decorated taper lit from a new fire on the night before Easter Sunday called?

The Paschal candle is usually the largest candle in the church and is traditionally made mostly of beeswax, once said to symbolise the pure flesh of Christ.

In which British Overseas Territory do people fly kites on Good Friday to symbolise the resurrection?

Traditional Bermuda kites are built on a hexagonal or octagonal frame and have held world records for altitude and flight duration.

Which confetti-filled eggs get cracked over heads at Easter in Mexico and US border towns?

Cascarones, named from the Spanish for 'shell', are mostly a Carnival custom in Mexico, but along the border the two cultures merged them into an Easter tradition.

Which day commemorates Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey?

Palm Sunday recalls the crowds waving palm branches; in many churches the palms blessed that day are burned to make the ashes for the following year's Ash Wednesday.

Which apostle betrayed Jesus, leading to his arrest?

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the religious authorities with a kiss, identifying him to the armed party that arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

What ancient Jewish spring festival is closely related to Easter?

In most European languages Easter and Passover share the same name, and older English Bibles even used 'Easter' to translate Passover.

In Matthew's Gospel, Pilate's wife sent him a message during the trial urging him to do what?

Matthew 27:19 has her warn, 'Have nothing to do with that innocent man', because she had suffered a great deal that day in a dream about him; Pilate then washed his hands before the crowd.

According to the Gospels, what does the name Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion, mean?

The Latin equivalent, Calvary, comes from calvaria, also meaning skull. Two rebels were crucified there beside Jesus, one on each side.

Matthew records that at the moment Jesus died, what happened to the curtain of the temple?

Matthew 27:51 says of the temple curtain that it was torn in two from top to bottom; the same verses add that the earth shook, rocks split and tombs opened as Jesus died.

In Matthew, what did the chief priests and Pharisees do to the tomb the day after the burial?

Matthew 27 says they sealed the stone and posted a guard after telling Pilate they feared his followers would fake a rising on the third day; Matthew is the only Gospel to mention the guard.

After the resurrection, Matthew says the guards were paid a large sum to spread which story?

Matthew 28 says the soldiers were paid to report that the disciples stole the body while they slept, and adds that this story was circulating among Jews in his own day.

In John's Gospel, what was the name of the high priest's servant whose ear Peter cut off?

John 18:10 names the servant as Malchus; only John gives the name, and only Luke records that Jesus healed the ear. Jesus was then taken first to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas.

According to John, what did the soldiers do with Jesus's seamless undergarment rather than tear it?

The soldiers cast lots for it rather than tear the seamless tunic, which John presents as fulfilling Psalm 22; Pilate's notice above the cross read 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews'.

In John's Gospel, what does the risen Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to do?

John 20:17 has Jesus tell her not to hold on to him ('Do not hold on to me', the Vulgate's noli me tangere) because he had not yet ascended; he then sends her to tell the disciples.

In John's Gospel, Peter and another disciple run to the empty tomb on Easter morning; who gets there first?

The one whom Jesus loved outran Peter, looked in and waited; Peter went in first to find the linen strips and the folded face cloth. Tradition says the runner was John himself.

Luke says Pilate sent Jesus to which ruler, and that the two men became friends that very day?

Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and happened to be in Jerusalem. He hoped to see a miracle, got silence, and sent Jesus back in an elegant robe.

In Luke, what did the risen Jesus eat in front of the startled disciples to show he was not a ghost?

Luke 24:42-43 says they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he ate it in front of them, after he had invited them to touch his hands and feet to prove he was flesh and bone.

Luke places Emmaus, where two disciples met the risen Jesus, about how many miles from Jerusalem?

They only recognised him when he broke bread, then hurried back the same evening. The site of Emmaus has never been identified for certain.

Mark identifies Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to carry the cross, as the father of which two men?

Mark 15:21 calls Simon 'the father of Alexander and Rufus', a detail suggesting Mark's first readers knew the sons; Mark also notes that Jesus refused wine mixed with myrrh.

In Mark, which woman joined Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James to buy spices on Easter morning?

Mark 16:1 names Salome alongside the two Marys; on the way they wondered who would roll the stone away, and Mark says they fled and told no one, because they were afraid.

In Luke's Gospel, what does Jesus promise the repentant criminal crucified beside him, who asked only to be remembered?

That he would be with him in paradise that day is the promise, and Luke alone records it; the same Gospel has 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'

What Latin term denotes the reckoning of the date of Easter?

Computus, Latin for 'computation', was the medieval name for the Easter reckoning and a core subject of monastic learning; the Eastern Orthodox equivalent is the paschalion.

What is the latest calendar date on which Western Easter can fall?

Western Easter can fall no later than 25 April, as in 1943 and next in 2038, and no earlier than 22 March, which last happened in 1818 and next occurs in 2285.

The Easter computation relies on a 19-year cycle named after which ancient astronomer?

The Metonic cycle assumes 19 tropical years equal 235 synodic months.

Which 6th-century monk built a famous Paschal table covering the years 532 to 626?

Dionysius Exiguus extended Cyril of Alexandria's table with a 95-year cycle for 532 to 626 and, in numbering its years from the Incarnation, introduced Anno Domini dating.

What is the 'golden number' in Easter reckoning?

It gives a year's position in the 19-year lunar cycle.

To what would the 1928 UK Easter Act fix the feast, if ever brought into force?

The Easter Act 1928 fixes Easter as the day after the second Saturday in April, so between 9 and 15 April; Parliament passed it, but the commencement order it needed was never made.

Which early practice kept Easter on the Jewish Passover date, whatever the weekday?

Quartodecimanism takes its name from the Latin for 'fourteenth', because Passover falls on 14 Nisan (Leviticus 23:5); the practice was condemned at the Council of Nicaea.

Where in 664 did King Oswiu rule that Northumbria would calculate Easter the Roman way?

The Synod of Whitby met at Hilda's monastery of Streonshalh; Oswiu sided with Wilfrid's Roman party against the Iona custom brought north by Irish monks.

Which 8th-century monk recorded that April was once named for the goddess Ēostre?

His work The Reckoning of Time is the only early source for the goddess.

Which pope's 1582 calendar reform is why Western and Orthodox Easter usually fall on different days?

Gregory XIII's 1582 reform, the Gregorian calendar, dropped ten days and changed the leap-year rule; Orthodox churches kept the Julian reckoning for Easter, so the two feasts usually fall on different Sundays.

Perhaps the earliest surviving reference to Easter is a 2nd-century homily attributed to whom?

Melito of Sardis's homily Peri Pascha, dated to around 160-170, treats the Easter celebration as already well established; it survived mainly in papyrus copies recovered in the 20th century.

What is the period from Maundy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday evening called?

The Paschal Triduum, Latin for 'three days', runs from the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper to Easter evening and reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil.

What is the sung Easter Proclamation delivered before the paschal candle at the Vigil called?

The Exsultet takes its name from its opening Latin word, 'Rejoice'; it is ideally sung by a deacon after the candle procession and before the Vigil readings.

Which Marian antiphon replaces the Angelus during the Easter season?

It is used from Easter Sunday until Pentecost.

In Eastern Christianity, what are the seven days beginning on Easter called?

Bright Week runs from Easter Sunday to the Saturday before Thomas Sunday; Easter Monday is 'Bright Monday', and the royal doors of the iconostasis are kept open all week.

What word precedes 'Sunday' in the nickname for the eighth day of Eastertide?

Low Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, is so called possibly in contrast to the 'high' feast a week earlier; other names include Quasimodo Sunday, White Sunday and, in the East, Thomas Sunday.

Which pope designated the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday?

John Paul II made the designation on 30 April 2000, the day he canonised Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun whose visions inspired the Divine Mercy devotion.

In the Western church calendar, which season follows Eastertide?

Ordinary Time resumes on the Monday after Pentecost and runs until the Saturday before Advent, making it the longest season of the church year.

Which New Testament books are the only ones to actually describe the Ascension?

Luke and Acts, both by the same author, narrate the Ascension near Bethany (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11); Mark's disputed longer ending mentions it in a sentence and elsewhere it is more assumed than described.

What is the day commemorating Judas's bargain with the priests nicknamed?

Spy Wednesday, the Wednesday of Holy Week, recalls Judas agreeing to hand Jesus over; 'spy' here means a lurker or ambusher, and many Western churches hold a Tenebrae service that day.

In Eastern Christianity, which feast falls on the day before Palm Sunday?

It celebrates the raising of Lazarus of Bethany.

What does the British monarch distribute at the Royal Maundy service?

'Maundy money' is legal tender but rarely circulates because of its silver content.

The Roman Rite celebrates no Mass between which two liturgies?

No Mass is celebrated between Maundy Thursday evening and the Vigil; the Good Friday service is a Liturgy of the Word with communion from hosts consecrated the night before.

Where does the Holy Fire ceremony take place each year on Great Saturday?

The Holy Fire emerges from the Edicule, the tomb shrine of the Sepulchre church, Jerusalem, where the Greek Orthodox Patriarch leads the rite and believers hold that the flame is lit miraculously.

Which denomination held the first recorded Easter sunrise service, in 1732?

It began at Herrnhut in Saxony and spread with Moravian missionaries.

The Easter Sepulchre, a chancel recess used in Holy Week, was peculiar to which liturgical use?

The Sarum Use, the medieval Salisbury liturgy followed across most of England, prescribed the Easter Sepulchre, in which a crucifix and the consecrated host were 'buried' from Good Friday until Easter morning.

Which physician's 1678 work De ovis paschalibus contains the earliest reference to the Easter Hare?

The book's title means 'About Easter Eggs' and describes a hare hiding eggs in gardens.

In Christian symbolism, Easter eggs represent what?

The egg stands for the empty tomb, a sealed shell from which life breaks out; the oldest tradition, strong in Central and Eastern Europe, is to dye chicken eggs.

Ukrainian pysanky are decorated with dyes and which resist material?

Pysanky are made by drawing designs in melted beeswax with a stylus called a kistka, dyeing from lightest to darkest, then melting the wax off; the name comes from pysaty, 'to write'.

What Easter game involves knocking the ends of two hard-boiled eggs together?

Egg tapping, also called jarping or dumping, is won by the egg whose shell survives unbroken; cheats have been caught using eggs with cement, alabaster and even marble cores.

What is the goal of the traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the floor?

The goal is to dance among them, breaking few; in the version Pieter Aertsen painted in 1552, players instead had to flip a bowl over an egg using only their feet.

On which part of the White House grounds is the Easter Egg Roll held?

The Egg Roll takes place on the South Lawn, where children push eggs through the grass with long-handled spoons; it was suspended during both world wars and resumed in 1953 under Eisenhower.

The Leicestershire village of Hallaton stages a hare pie scramble and what other Easter Monday ritual?

Hallaton's bottle kicking pits the village against neighbouring Medbourne in a no-rules scrum to carry small wooden casks over a stream; the hare pie is scattered before the game begins.

On which Greek island do rival parishes fire thousands of rockets at each other's churches at Easter?

The Rouketopolemos, or 'rocket war', is fought in Vrontados on Chios between the parishes of Agios Markos and Panagia Erithiani, each aiming at the other's bell tower.

In Czech and Slovak tradition, what is the pomlázka?

The pomlázka is a decorated willow whip, braided from rods and tied with ribbons; on Easter Monday men lightly whip women with it, or splash them with water, supposedly to keep them healthy for the year.

Which US city's Polish community has celebrated Dyngus Day since 1961?

Buffalo's Dyngus Day began in 1961 when the Chopin Singing Society organised the first party; the city bills itself as the Dyngus Day capital of the world.

Which Egyptian spring festival always falls on Orthodox Easter Monday?

Sham Ennessim, whose name is traced to the ancient Egyptian harvest season Shemu, is a national holiday kept by Egyptians of all religions with outdoor picnics, coloured eggs and spring onions.

What is the traditional Egyptian spring-festival food made from fermented grey mullet?

Fesikh is grey mullet dried in the sun and then fermented in salt for weeks; it is eaten with lettuce, green onions and lupin beans, and badly prepared batches have caused botulism.

How long is the Lenten fast leading up to Fasika, the Ethiopian Easter?

The Ethiopian Great Lent, Abiy Tsom or Hudade, runs 55 days, taking in Holy Week and a preparatory week; no meat or animal products of any kind, including milk and butter, are eaten.

The Filipino pre-dawn ritual Salubong reenacts an encounter between the risen Christ and whom?

Salubong ('meeting') brings images of the risen Christ and the Virgin Mary together at dawn, when a child dressed as an angel lifts the black veil of mourning from Mary's image.

What are the sawdust carpets laid for Guatemala's Holy Week processions called?

Alfombras, Spanish for 'carpets', are made from dyed sawdust, flowers and pine needles, most famously in Antigua Guatemala; each takes hours and is destroyed as the procession walks over it.

The Oberammergau Passion Play was born from a 1633 vow to be spared from what?

After bubonic plague reached Oberammergau in 1633, the villagers vowed to stage the Passion every ten years if spared; the first performance followed in 1634.

In which city did Handel's Messiah premiere on 13 April 1742?

The premiere at the Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin, raised money for charities including the relief of imprisoned debtors; Handel had arrived in Ireland the previous November.

How quickly did Handel compose the music for Messiah?

Handel wrote the score in 24 days, from 22 August to 14 September 1741; Charles Jennens compiled the text from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter.

Bach's St Matthew Passion sets which two chapters of Matthew's Gospel?

The St Matthew Passion sets Matthew chapters 26 and 27, from the plot against Jesus to the sealing of the tomb; the 1727 work uses a libretto by Picander with double choir and double orchestra.

Irving Berlin's melody for 'Easter Parade' was first published in 1917 under what title?

'Smile and Show Your Dimple' was a 1917 wartime song urging girls to cheer up; Berlin reused its melody with new Easter lyrics for the 1933 revue As Thousands Cheer.

Which actor was originally cast opposite Judy Garland in the 1948 film Easter Parade before breaking his ankle?

Gene Kelly broke his ankle shortly before filming and suggested Fred Astaire, who came out of a two-year retirement to take the part.

The 1916 Easter Rising was led by which schoolmaster and Irish-language activist?

Patrick Pearse read the Proclamation of the Republic outside the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916 and was shot at Kilmainham Gaol on 3 May.

How many leaders of the Easter Rising were executed by the British?

Sixteen were put to death: fourteen shot at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Thomas Kent shot in Cork, and Roger Casement hanged at Pentonville Prison in London that August.

The term 'Easter egg' for a hidden video-game message was coined around 1980 at which company?

Atari manager Steve Wright used the term for Warren Robinett's hidden credit in the 1980 game Adventure, after the company decided the secret room was a feature for players to hunt.

The Peeps maker Just Born is based in which Pennsylvania city?

Just Born moved from Brooklyn to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1932 and acquired Peeps' original maker, the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster, in 1953.

In which decade did jelly beans first become associated with Easter in the United States?

The Easter link dates from the 1930s, helped by the beans' egg-like shape; an 1861 advert by Boston confectioner William Schrafft urging people to send them to Union soldiers is their earliest known mention.

In what year did the Cadbury Brothers first make filled chocolate eggs?

Cadbury first made filled chocolate eggs in 1923; the fondant-filled Creme Egg, with its mock white and yolk, followed forty years later in 1963.

In 2012 which country's Supreme Court ruled that only Lindt could sell a gold bunny with a red ribbon there?

Austria's Supreme Court sided with Lindt against the rival confectioner Hauswirth, whose sitting bunny also wore a ribbon; two months later Lindt lost its bid for Europe-wide trademark protection at the European Court of Justice.

For which day was simnel cake originally baked?

The fourth Sunday in Lent is Laetare, Refreshment or Mothering Sunday, when the fast was relaxed and servants visiting their mothers brought the cake; only later did it shift to Easter itself.

What does the seasoning inside a hot cross bun traditionally signify?

They stand for the spices used to embalm Jesus at his burial, just as the cross on top represents the crucifixion; the bun is traditionally eaten on Good Friday.

What is kulich?

Its cylindrical shape recalls the church practice of baking artos.

The Ukrainian Easter bread paska takes its name ultimately from which word?

Paska comes via Greek Pascha from Pasḥa, the Aramaic for Passover, the same root that names Easter in most European languages.

What is the Greek Easter variation of the sweet bread tsoureki called?

The dough is often flavoured with mastic resin or mahleb.

Colomba pasquale, Italy's Easter counterpart to panettone, is baked in the shape of what?

A dove is what colomba means, and the shape is the whole point; it is topped with pearl sugar and almonds, with candied peel inside and usually no raisins.

Which Greek soup of lamb offal and greens breaks the fast after the midnight Easter liturgy?

Magiritsa uses the offal of the lamb roasted on Easter Sunday, thickened with avgolemono (egg and lemon), and is eaten straight after the midnight Resurrection service.

According to the Gospels, whom did the crowd choose to be pardoned instead of Jesus?

Barabbas, whom Mark calls an insurrectionist who had committed murder, was freed under a Passover custom that let Pilate release one prisoner by popular acclaim.

For how many pieces of silver did Judas agree to betray Jesus, per Matthew's Gospel?

Matthew 26:15 gives the price as thirty pieces of silver, echoing the thirty shekels of Zechariah 11:12; Judas later threw the coins back into the temple.

According to all four Gospels, what sound reminded Peter of his three denials?

All four Gospels record a rooster crowing after Peter's third denial; Jesus had predicted it at the Last Supper, and Mark alone specifies that it crowed twice.

According to John's Gospel, the inscription on the cross was written in Hebrew, Greek and which language?

The Latin abbreviation INRI stands for 'Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum'.

According to Mark and Luke, Joseph of Arimathea was a member of which council?

Mark 15:43 and Luke 23:50 call Joseph a respected member of the Council, the Sanhedrin, and Luke adds that he had not consented to its decision against Jesus.

In which 12th-century writer's work does Joseph of Arimathea first receive the Holy Grail?

Robert de Boron's verse romance Joseph d'Arimathie, written around 1200, first makes the Grail the vessel of the Last Supper and has Joseph's followers carry it to Britain.

Which Roman official appointed Caiaphas high priest, according to Josephus?

Josephus records that Valerius Gratus, Pilate's predecessor as prefect, appointed Caiaphas around AD 18; an ornate ossuary bearing the family name was found in Jerusalem in 1990.

Under which Roman emperor did Pontius Pilate govern Judaea?

Tiberius reigned from AD 14 to 37; Pilate, the fifth governor of Judaea, served under him from about 26 to 36 and was recalled to Rome shortly before the emperor's death.

Which body venerates Pontius Pilate as a saint, believing he became a Christian?

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church keeps a feast for Pilate and his wife, drawing on the Gospels' reluctant Pilate and on apocryphal texts in which he repents and converts.

Where did Pilate make his primary residence, going to Jerusalem mainly for major feasts?

Caesarea Maritima was the seat of Rome's governors of Judaea; the 'Pilate stone', a dedication inscription found in its theatre in 1961, confirms Pilate's existence and his title of prefect.

Which French king built the Sainte-Chapelle to house the Crown of Thorns?

Louis IX (Saint Louis) bought the relic in 1239 from the indebted Latin emperor Baldwin II and consecrated the Sainte-Chapelle in 1248 as its reliquary.

The Holy Lance is also known as the Spear of which saint?

Longinus is the name the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus gives the soldier who pierced Jesus's side with a spear; later legend made him a convert and martyr.

In which Vienna palace is a famous Holy Lance relic displayed with the Imperial Regalia?

The Vienna lance sits in the Imperial Treasury (Schatzkammer) of the Hofburg alongside the crown of the Holy Roman Empire; other major lance relics are kept in Rome and at Vagharshapat, Armenia.

How many sayings of Jesus on the cross are traditionally counted across the four Gospels?

Only Luke records the forgiveness of his killers and the promise to the penitent thief.

For roughly how long do the synoptic Gospels say darkness covered the land during the crucifixion?

Darkness lasted three hours: Mark, Matthew and Luke place it from the sixth hour, about noon, to the ninth hour, when Jesus died.

The Veil of Veronica is linked to which Station of the Cross?

Veronica wiping Jesus's face is the sixth of the fourteen traditional stations, between Simon of Cyrene taking the cross and the second fall; the episode comes from legend, not the Gospels.

According to Matthew, Judas's returned silver was used to buy what?

Matthew 27:7 says the priests bought the potter's field as a burial ground for foreigners, hence its name Field of Blood; Matthew credits the prophecy to Jeremiah, though the words resemble Zechariah 11.

On Corfu, what do islanders hurl from balconies at 11 a.m. on Holy Saturday?

Corfiots throw large clay pots called botides, often filled with water, from balconies as the 'first Resurrection' bells ring at 11 a.m. on Holy Saturday; shards are kept for luck.

Which of these countries has never had a national public holiday on Easter Monday?

The United States has never made Easter Monday a federal holiday, unlike Germany (Ostermontag), Australia and New Zealand, where it is a nationwide day off.

The Easter rule attributed to Nicaea fixes the Paschal moon relative to what?

The vernal equinox rule is why Easter wanders between 22 March and 25 April; the council wanted every Christian keeping Pascha on the same day.

Which Bishop of Laodicea first proposed an Easter method based on the 19-year cycle, around 277?

Anatolius of Laodicea, an Alexandrian-trained scholar, proposed a 19-year Easter cycle around 277; the Alexandrian method that built on it became authoritative only in the late 4th century.

The Easter Rising was the most significant Irish uprising since the rebellion of which year?

The 1798 rebellion of the United Irishmen, crushed at Vinegar Hill, was the last comparable rising; the Easter Rising was also the first armed conflict of the Irish revolutionary period.

Which pope prohibited copies of the Veil of Veronica in 1616 unless made by a canon of St Peter's?

Paul V issued the 1616 ban on copies not made by a canon of St Peter's; in 1629 Urban VIII went further and ordered existing copies destroyed.

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians break the Fasika fast with which spicy chicken stew?

Doro wat, chicken stewed in berbere sauce with hard-boiled eggs, is the centrepiece of the Fasika feast eaten after the midnight liturgy, ending the long fast from meat and dairy.

How did a Jewish crowd protest at Pilate's residence over his military standards?

The episode is one of several clashes recorded by Josephus.

The White House Easter Egg Roll was moved to the Washington Monument in which wartime year?

It was cancelled from 1918 to 1920 over food shortages and influenza concerns.

What role did the Easter Hare originally play for children in German folklore?

A judge of children's behaviour, like Santa with his list: the hare decided whether a child had been good enough for eggs at the start of Eastertide.

Where did Pennsylvania Dutch children make the nests in which the 'Oschter Haws' left coloured eggs?

The nests were made in their caps and bonnets, boys using caps and girls bonnets, hidden in the house, barn or garden; German immigrants had carried the egg-giving hare to Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

The oft-repeated tale of Eostre turning a frozen bird into an egg-laying hare dates only from which year?

It has no basis in authentic pre-Christian myth and was first published in German by K. A. Oberle.

In Lancashire, annual egg-rolling contests are held at Holcombe Hill and at which Preston site?

Avenham Park, Preston's riverside park, hosts one of England's best-known Easter Monday egg rollings, while Holcombe Hill above Ramsbottom draws rolling crowds over the Easter weekend.

In which Shakespeare play does Mercutio mock Benvolio over a new doublet worn before Easter?

In Romeo and Juliet (Act 3, Scene 1) Mercutio teases Benvolio about quarrelling with a tailor 'for wearing his new doublet before Easter', reflecting the custom of new clothes at Easter.

Which firm made Britain's first chocolate Easter egg in 1873, two years before Cadbury?

J.S. Fry & Sons of Bristol sold Britain's first chocolate Easter egg in 1873; Cadbury followed in 1875, and the two firms merged in 1919.