Happy Easter 2013: Easter Bunny, Egg Hunts, Jellybeans, Peeps, Other Fun Facts and Trivia about Springtime Holiday, Sunday March 31 2013

It's that time of year again - chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, eggs hunts, and more candy... lots of candy. Easter is celebrated on Sunday, March 31, 2013 this year, and in honor of this springtime holiday, here are some fun facts and trivia about the Easter Bunny, candy Peeps, and more. Happy Easter from Mstars!

- The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.

- About 90 million chocolate bunnies are made during Easter time every year.

- The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans - the egg represented the symbol of life and rebirth.

- Easter Egg painting is commonly referred to as Pysanka.

- Jellybeans did not become an Easter tradition until the 1930s. Jellybeans were probably first made in America by Boston candy maker William Schrafft, who ran advertisements urging people to send jellybeans to soldiers fighting in the Civil War.

- In ancient times, people recognized the link between the cycles of women that were linked with childbirth and the cycles of the moon. In the oldest records from civilizations in Asia, the hare was the symbol of the moon, therefore the moon and the rabbit both became the symbol of rebirth or life after death. Today, Easter is celebrated around the time of the Paschal Moon. The Easter bunny first became a symbol of the holiday in Germany.

- Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. Yellow Peeps are the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue, and white.

- Hot cross buns were among the earliest Easter treats, made by European monks and given to the poor during Lent.

- Easter Bonnets are a throwback to the days when the people denied themselves the pleasure of wearing fine angels for the duration of Lent. 

- Children's shoes were not big enough to hold all of the goodies, so Easter baskets became the popular place to hide holiday Easter treats. 

Happy Easter!