Happy Easter

Easter is a symbol of hope, renewal and new life. May you have the opportunity to share Easter with the ones you hold dear and enjoy your time filled with peace and joy.

Below are some Easter facts to share during your celebration:

• The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes dawn and spring.

• The annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the front lawn was started by United States President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.

• After Halloween, Easter is the top-selling candy holiday.

• More than 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are manufactured each year.

• Easter is a "movable feast" that is set according to the phases of the moon between March 22 and April 25.

• In the 13th century, the church prohibited the eating of eggs during the Holy Week. Marking the eggs laid during the week began the custom of decorating eggs.

• It is believed that an Italian baker made the pretzel to look like arms crossed in prayer during the Passover season sometime between the 300s and the 600s.

• Americans consume over 16 million jellybeans on Easter, enough to circle the globe more than three times.

• Households spend on average $131 on Easter each year, with $14.7 billion spent totally.

• Good Friday is an official holiday in 12 U.S. states.

• Peeps are the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. Americans buy more than 700 million of these marshmallow treats during the Easter holiday.

• It should not come as a surprise, but, Easter Sunday is a boon for church attendance. Many congregations nearly double. Google searches for "Church" spike twice a year as well, Christmas and Easter.