Holiday Redux
Easter & Earth Day -- Jelly Bean Evolution & Green Revolution!
Easter (April 4th)
How to reconcile a crucifixion with jelly beans and bunnies? According to the New Testament, in 30 A.D., Jesus Christ and his disciples went to Jerusalem to observe Passover (a.k.a. the Last Supper). Jesus was arrested that night for blasphemy and crucified the next day (Good Friday). Two days later, on Easter Sunday, he rose from the dead.
As Christianity replaced Paganism throughout Europe, residual Pagan symbols and customs related to Estra, the goddess of spring and fertility, became associated with Easter. Among them were eggs and fertile rabbits as symbols for birth and new life. In the 19th century, European chocolatiers began making eggs and bunnies as Easter treats, and in the 1930's another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became an Easter staple.
Earth Day (April 22nd)
Pre 1970, factories belched black smoke and dumped toxins into waterways without legal consequence, and recycling was virtually unheard of. Inspired by the Vietnam War protests on college campuses, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a massive grassroots demonstration against the degradation of America's natural resources and to thrust environmental issues into the political spotlight.
April 22, 1970, 20 million people participated in inaugural Earth Day activities around the U.S., and later that year the Environmental Protection Agency was formed. For Earth Day's 20th anniversary in 1990, the action went global with 200 million participants in 140 countries. As Earth Day turns 40, an estimated 1 billion people are expected to participate in Earth Day activities around the globe.
