Easter is this coming Sunday.  For many, it’s about the Easter Bunny, colored eggs and springtime in general.  Of course, it’s a religious holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, yet even I (raised Catholic) was surprised to learn some other facts about it.  You might be too.

According to Wikipedia, Easter is actually an eight day feast called the Octave of Easter.  It also refers to the season of the church year from Easter, lasting 50 days to Pentecost (which celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit to Jesus’ apostles).  The word Easter itself is derived from the word Pesach, the Hebrew name for Passover for most Christian societies other than English, German and Slavic, where the word comes from the ancient name for the Anglo Saxon goddess, Eostre.

Most interestingly is the way that certain countries celebrate the holiday.

In Norway, Easter is the traditional time to solve murders.  Really.  Television stations and newspapers provide mysteries for people to solve.  (Although they do the whole Easter Bunny and egg thing, too.)

In Finland and Sweden, children dress up as witches and go door to door to exchange decorated pussy willow for Easter candy.

In the Netherlands, many light enormous Easter fires.  (Let’s just hope the Easter Bunny made it out of his burrow beforehand…)

And the most bizarre:

In the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, males throw water at females and spank them with a special homemade whip on Easter Monday - a legal holiday in many predominantly Christian countries.  (Can you imagine the office parties that day?)

Regardless of how it got its name and where it’s celebrated, the best part of Easter for many is that it marks the end of Lent, the practice of fasting and penitence that begins on Ash Wednesday – 40 days prior!