Easter is one of the most popular and observed holidays, but many of the things that we associate with Easter seem somehow out of place or unusual. Children everywhere have heard how the Easter Bunny hides eggs for kids to find or gives out candy, but how did such a bizarre tradition begin? Here is some information on the origin of the Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, and the holiday itself. Hopefully, this will help answer some of your children’s questions, and maybe yours as well!

Easter

The main importance of Easter is as a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the Christian faith, Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, three days before Easter, and was resurrected on Easter Sunday. Although Easter is now a popular secular holiday, many people see it as primarily a religious celebration. Easter is closely associated with the Jewish tradition of Passover, an eight day feast commemorating the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

While most holidays, like the 4th of July in the United States or the Christian holiday of Christmas, occur on the same date every year, Easter has no fixed date, although it always falls on a Sunday. Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal, or Spring, equinox, March 21. This means that Easter can occur anytime between March 22 and April 25. However, some churches in Eastern countries choose to celebrate Easter based on the date of Passover instead of the previous formula.

The name Easter comes from the Norse goddesses “Ostra” or “Ostern,” who were feasted on the vernal equinox. The early Christian church adopted the name for this feast in order to placate Teutonic people who still wanted to observe the pagan fertility ritual, but were willing to recognize the Christian resurrection at the same time.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is the colorful and friendly rabbit that brings gifts, including decorated eggs and candy, on the night before Easter Sunday. While the true origin of the Easter Bunny is open to debate, one popular theory is that a man named Oschter Haws left colorful eggs for good children in the 18th century. This, in turn, led to Easter egg hunts.

The rabbit, a long-time symbol of fertility and spring, is a natural choice to be used for Easter decorating. There are cute stuffed bunnies, rabbit figurines, bunny coloring pages, and lots of other items with a rabbit theme. The Easter Bunny is a friendly symbol of spring, popular among children for hundreds of years.

The Easter Eggs

Spring is a time of renewal. New life and new growth are powerful themes. In addition to the aforementioned Easter Bunny, eggs are another important symbol of Easter. Easter eggs are the most used decoration for the occasion, but tiny baby chicks or plush ducks are also popular.

The egg tradition is not strictly related to the pagan celebration, but has ties to Christianity as well. It is said that when Jesus was on the cross, there were eggs at the base of the cross which were stained red with the blood of Christ. This is the presumed origin of painting eggs red, or other colors. Many Christians follow a tradition of praising the resurrection of Christ over the painted eggs.

Today, we paint the Easter eggs many different colors, even including pastel, multi-colored eggs. The tradition of tapping the eggs while saying an incantation praising the resurrection of Jesus Christ has become a game where people tap the eggs until the hardest egg is discovered. The egg that remains unbroken the longest is the winner.

That concludes this brief survey of the Easter tradition. As you can see, it has changed a lot over the years. Hopefully, this will answer any questions from the kids. Have fun decorating your house with painted eggs, stuffed bunnies, and plush chicks. Happy Easter!

by Iveta Volegna

It doesn’t matter that whether you and your boyfriend have been together for so long or not, you should focus your search for boyfriend gift ideas to just a few areas to begin with though. He still deserves a gift from you on his birthday, the idea of Boyfriend birthday gift are really great way in order to patch up a relationship at more warm level. If you start looking at too many different things you will find it harder to pick a good one and might even run out of time before the big day! If you are an intelligent gift selector, you can easily find a gift of his desires. As he celebrates his birthday, he typically expects something from you.

If you are thinking about his likes and dislikes then just think if he likes any particular sport or game, if he is a big fan of NASCAR you might even be able to get him a stock car driving experience. Give him something romantic for his birthday. If your boyfriend is sentimental then you could gift him flowers and if he likes the mushy stuff there are also a lot of different cute boyfriend gift ideas.

If you find flowers are only for women then you are wrong, he’ll probably never forget such day if you gift him a flower gift. To find the perfect boyfriend gift you need to take into account your boyfriends interests. If you would like to put on some efforts in order to select a gift then you might cook for him as well and then invite him for a dinner for two. If he is someone who likes sports, then tickets to a ball game or sports apparel might not be a bad choice.

Give him something that he wanted to own from a long time, it is always good to choose a boyfriend birthday gift that he is truly likes. No matters you need boyfriend birthday gift ideas or any other event ideas the first thing you need to decide is how much money you are willing to spend on this gift item. If he likes to own gadgets then you can get him something that he would truly love to have. If however, money is an issue you will have to be a little more creative. If he is a car lover you can buy something for his car.

If you are on the wilder side of imagination then you can give him something intimate yet an amusing gift. If money isn’t a concern and you just want to find something special and unique for your then you just need to find something that you think he will like. There are a lot of choices to think for so you need to just find the best one that can match your feelings of boyfriend gift, don’t get lost with all of the stores and online sites that you can search. The idea of a traditional gift basket is also nice you can fill it with sweets or personalized toiletries of his or your choice.

Source by Anand

This time of year our minds start preparing for the upcoming Holiday, EASTER!

The Easter tradition at our house included a personal visit by Peter Rabbit who left our full to the brim Easter Basket on the front steps (bunnies don’t do chimneys and can’t open the door my Mom said).  Along with the Easter basket he would scatter a trail of eggs for us to find before we began dressing in our Easter finery and heading off to church, our pockets full of chocolate that always melted before we could eat it.  Among the eggs was one special one that had the ‘big prize” of a roll of quarters!  What Easter traditions are you building?

As one who retails personalized gifts to Moms and Grandmothers for the kids, we see more and more that this holiday has become one of gift giving like its cousin Christmas, but the key finding gifts that fit into the Personalized Easter Basket.  Of course the basket is now larger and a container for many other gifts along with the candy eggs.  With the new economy, more parents are concerned about usability.  Can they use it several years, are the gifts something useful.  Remember the Easter Bunny might be on a budget too!!

We have found three favorites this year and the first is one that can be used and enjoyed right through the summer.  Our Sol Totes, “croc bag” is made of the same material as a croc shoe and will serve as their purse or beach tote all summer.  So in these days of watching the budget, it is a two fold gift that will be a hit and used all spring and summer on beach, lake or pool trips.  There are two sizes, the small is kid sized and perfect for the Easter Egg Hunts, but the large could be used by adults or at the kids summer Beach tote and there is plenty of room to fill the large with special Easter gifts and candies.  The bright colors definitely have the look of Spring and Easter.

Our next favorite is the traditional personalized large wicker Easter Basket for kids with the Chambray liner.  This is a traditional gift that will bring excitement to Easter morning.  Large, deep and lightweight this basket will become part of your Easter Tradition.  The Chambray liner brings a sense of style to the holiday.  This is the same material you would find in a preppy Oxford button down shirt.

Last but not least are our pesonalized Easter Basket bags that are the perfect size for filling and for the Easter Egg Hunt, it’s deep and sturdy and will be easier for the kids to keep the eggs in.  When the holiday is over, this bag can be “crushed flat” for storage until next year.  This is an Easter basket that can be used for years to come and definitely kid friendly and trendy.

So build those family Easter traditions, think of special ways the Easter Bunny can deliver his wares and happy Easter Basket filling and Easter Egg Hunts to all!

Source by Clay Spivey

Whether it’s the Christmas holiday season or the middle of summer, the necessity of having to shop for a birthday or anniversary present is inevitable. While it’s always a thrill to find just the right gift for a friend or associate, sometimes issues such as lack of time or the difficulty of trying to find a unique gift: how many ties can you buy your brother in law, make the buying experience stressful and a hassle. Unique gourmet gifts: salmon, lobster, crab and steak There’s really no need to buy yet another tie because what your brother in law really wants is a unique food gift such as an assorted steak box featuring specialty cuts of premium beef. This is a gift that he can take outdoors and grill on a nice summer evening or enjoy dining indoors. If you have a seafood lover to please, you can send them anything from smoked salmon gift baskets to a crab bake, lobster bake, or lobster gram. The last two are really fun because your lobster gifts come with live lobster, a pot, lobster bib and other items for a delightful lobster dinner. Crab bakes are generally the same idea only with live crab. Gifts for the dessert lover With so many choices in gourmet chocolates: in boxes, themed gifts baskets and more, you can send anything from romantic, fine chocolates to elegant, hand made chocolates to a colleague. Another popular idea for the confection lover is tower gifts: chocolate tower gifts and cookie tower gifts. These gifts are delivered in the mail and can make quite a presentation. Cookie bouquets are also fun gifts and great if you weren’t planning to spend a lot. Gifts for the food lover If you have a gourmand, and they’re hungry to sample different kinds of wine, cheeses, chocolates, coffees, teas and such look for a good food of the month club online. These clubs tend to include interesting choices and include information for your recipient to learn more about different kinds of cheeses, for example if it’s a cheese of the month club (see http://www.a1-food-gifts.com/unique-gifts.htm ). Also, with a monthly food gift plan your recipient is not likely to forget you as there is a reminder each month.

Whether it’s the Christmas holiday season or the middle of summer, the necessity of having to shop for a birthday or anniversary present is inevitable. While it’s always a thrill to find just the right gift for a friend or associate, sometimes issues such as lack of time or the difficulty of trying to find a unique gift: how many ties can you buy your brother in law, make the buying experience stressful and a hassle.

Unique gourmet gifts: salmon, lobster, crab and steak

There’s really no need to buy yet another tie because what your brother in law really wants is a unique food gift such as an assorted steak box featuring specialty cuts of premium beef. This is a gift that he can take outdoors and grill on a nice summer evening or enjoy dining indoors. If you have a seafood lover to please, you can send them anything from smoked salmon gift baskets to a crab bake, lobster bake, or lobster gram. The last two are really fun because your lobster gifts come with live lobster, a pot, lobster bib and other items for a delightful lobster dinner. Crab bakes are generally the same idea only with live crab.

Gifts for the dessert lover

With so many choices in gourmet chocolates: in boxes, themed gifts baskets and more, you can send anything from romantic, fine chocolates to elegant, hand made chocolates to a colleague. Another popular idea for the confection lover is tower gifts: chocolate tower gifts and cookie tower gifts. These gifts are delivered in the mail and can make quite a presentation. Cookie bouquets are also fun gifts and great if you weren’t planning to spend a lot.

Gifts for the food lover

If you have a gourmand, and they’re hungry to sample different kinds of wine, cheeses, chocolates, coffees, teas and such look for a good food of the month club online. These clubs tend to include interesting choices and include information for your recipient to learn more about different kinds of cheeses, for example if it’s a cheese of the month club (see http://www.a1-food-gifts.com/unique-gifts.htm ). Also, with a monthly food gift plan your recipient is not likely to forget you as there is a reminder each month.

Source by Jitesh

             A gift gives idea of our feelings, our thoughts towards the person. When we give gift to some one that person become happy and feels special.Buygiftsheretoday.com helps in getting information on gifts and which gift you should give to your special persons like mother, father, sister, brother, boyfriend, girlfriend and many more. Wonderful and unique gift for anyone but by understanding the interest and choice of the particular person is very important to keep him or her feel happy.         

                  In Buygiftsheretoday.com directory you can find many resources that are help you to know more about birthday gifts, wedding, anniversary gifts, gift ideas, gift basket and etc. Birthday is a special day in every one’s life. Especially 18th, 21st, 25th and 50th these are some very important years of life’s so gift is also very special and memorable.  Wedding change our life. It is a new start of our life so we can choose very special gift for wedding, anniversary. Mother and father are very important persons of our life. They take care of us more than there life’s so we have to feel special to them by giving them gifts on mother’s day , father’s day, birthday gifts for mom and dad. You can also choose Gifts like personalized jewelry-rings, bracelets, necklace and pocket watches. Gifts with personalized has become very precious for number of occasions and for special moments.            

               Gift baskets are very popular in markets. You can give gift baskets of flowers, chocolate, many small gifts and many things. Now a day’s gifts baskets are presents for men’s, women’s and children’s. Gift basket contains important and useful things such as watches, perfumes for men’s, perfumes, jewelry for women’s and lots of toys for children’s.  Diwali and Christmas are very important festivals and at that time many peoples are going each others house to give them best wishes. If we gave unique Christmas presents and diwali presents they feel very happy.            

                 Get well gift baskets to be sent to convey our best wishes for speedy recovery. Fresh Flower, fresh fruits, fresh strawberries with gourmet gift baskets can be nice gift for the recipients. Get well gift basket is a wonderful gift which will make a person feel better, if there are sick. Gift baskets include care & love for a sick person. It’s the perfect way to send your sentiments of get well wishes. Many times we are not understood which gift should be given but gift idea helps to get information about gift ideas for men, women, children’s and friends. You can also give green product gifts. A green gift means environmentally friendly products which are organic, all-natural, or eco-friendly product! Some Green gifts ideas may be of bamboo made articles like baby sets, grocery bags, yoga mats, Table Lamp, Envirocycle Composter etc.

            It’s difficult to buy gifts for men, because it is difficult to guess, one can get confused. You can find information about women buy gifts for men so it helps to know more about which gift is useful for men. For getting more information about gifts, ideas and many more you can check Buygiftsheretoday.com

Source by Rajshree P.

Humidor is a box or a room used to store cigars or tobacco. Humidors have a constant humidity that protects the cigars from becoming dry or infested with insects. It preserves and improve the cigars. It can be made of wood or acrylic box. It can be found in tobacco shops or in online stores like Engravedwell.com Personalized humidors are great gifts to your groomsmen, or to your cigar afficionado friends. Engravedwell.com carries humidors fit for any personality. * The Cabin Series Humidor, made of rustic wood, is perfect for those who love the outdoors, it is available in six outdoor designs. * Cigars will retain its freshness when properly monitored in the heirloom quality Cherry Wood Humidor. * Perfect for a vacation cabin or beach home, the Crab Shack humidor proclaims “Fresh Crabs Daily”, enticing your friends to come and enjoy the latest tasty catch. * The Golf Academy Humidor is a fun gift for any golfer. * For the cigar smoker who is also a football fan, the NFL Cherry Wood Humidor can honor both his passion for the cigar and football. The rich cherry wood humidor features the official NFL logo of his favorite team (teams currently available — Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Texas, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers) * For the rock and roll lover, get ready to rock with the Roadhouse Humidor. Humidors are a great investment for cigar loving people, as it preserves your cigars. Aside from the design, it is important to consider a few things when purchasing a humidor. How many cigars would you like to store? How many cigars do have on hand any time? The number of cigars to be placed in a humidor is important, because if there is too much dead space in the humidor, it can throw off the humidity and temperature level. A true cigar lover should choose a humidor that meets his needs.

Source by Francis Gilliland

Birthday Gift Ideas For Men – 50 Birthday Gifts -Gag Gifts for Men- Gifts.com
Need some help finding great birthday gift ideas for men? No need to give a tie this year – here are 5 great birthday gift recommendations for men that he’s sure to love:Visit Here now http://giftcardsweddinggifts.blogspot.com

1. Photo Gifts: Any man would love a birthday gift made from his favorite photo. Some of the most popular photo birthday gifts for men include coffee cups, mousepads, puzzles, luggage tags, and photo books. You can also order cards, golf balls, aprons, and U.S.postage stamps personalized with his favorite photo. These fun photo birthday gifts start at under $10.

Other popular photo birthday gift ideas for men are photo gadgets. This category includes digital photo keychains, clocks, and even digital photo watches. He’ll have a blast downloading his favorite photos onto these great photo gadgets!

2. Outdoor Living Gifts: Another fun category of birthday gift ideas for men is outdoor living gifts. Grilling gifts are some of the most in-demand gifts for men. Grilling gifts could include motorized grill brushes, grill accessories, and even grilling gift baskets loaded with fun grilling tools and spices.

An outdoor TV would be high on most men’s gift list. If you can’t quite swing the cost, perhaps he’d enjoy relaxing in a hammock, or listening to his favorite tunes on the wireless outdoor speakers you give him for his birthday gift?

3. Food and Wine Gifts: With so many choices these days, gift baskets are popular birthday gift ideas for men. You can choose from sports-themed gift baskets, wine gift baskets, beer gift baskets, cheese gift baskets…it seems like the list is endless!

Other creative gift ideas for men include in-home draft beer system (under $300!), personalized martini shakers and shot glasses, and gourmet-item-of-the-month clubs. You can’t go wrong with any of these great birthday gift suggestions.

4. Experiential Gifts: Some of the most thrilling birthday gifts for men include incredible experiences that you give as presents. You can find an experiential gift that’s as wild or as tame as he is. From Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp to hot air balloon rides to NASCAR race car driving experiences, he’s sure to remember this unique birthday gift!

5. Gadgets: Most men adore gadgets, so it’s easy to see why they are such popular men’s birthday gifts. How about a CarMD, the engine code reader that will diagnose car problems for him? The grill master might like a talking remote grill thermometer that tells him when the meat is done.

If he’s a sports fan, why not a wireless sportscaster so he can follow all the baseball or football news? For the golfer, range finders or putting trainers would be great birthday gift gadgets.

Hopefully you’ve found the perfect birthday gift you’re looking for, and won’t be reduced to giving him a tie this year. Unless, of course, it’s personalized with his favorite photo…yet another unique birthday gift suggestion! Visit Here now http://giftcardsweddinggifts.blogspot.com

Source by Divya gupta

The  gift basket business is steadily booming largely because the number of home based businesses is continuously increasing.   According to statistics, the industry is worth approximately 3.5 billion dollars a year. Although many traditional flower shops also sell gift baskets and there are many basket shops around the States and Canada, this business is ideally suited as a home-based business. Creating gift baskets is one of the fastest growing types of businesses today that you can start from home. The advantage of starting  your business from home is that you can have the freedom to operate as you see fit and design it to flow around your lifestyle and family life. Since the gift baskets will be assembled in and shipped directly out of your home, the space you have and the amount of money you want to make will decide how long you will be able to work out of your home. If you have a large garage to work in versus an 8×10 bedroom, it will make a difference in how much business you will seek out and how long you can remain a home based gift basket business.

To start off your gift basket business from home with a bang, once you have set up your work area, created your marketing tools: your website, your brochures and your business cards;  let your creative juices flow to plan a grand opening of your gift basket business from home that will attract everyone`s attention and everyone will know that you are now open for business and eager to make beautiful quality gift baskets for all.

You will get more bang out of your grand opening by positioning it before a major gift basket rush holiday.  For example, starting a shop in October would be perfect for a Christmas  Rush. Consider your home based business  Grand Opening as a gradual process where you will do a series of activities to spark attention in the community.

Kick off the publicity week by sending a press release to all the local media.  You need to come up with a newsworthy situation that will be of interest to the media while spreading your name in a positive way.  Perhaps you will be visiting people in hospitals and  donating holiday gift  baskets to bring cheer. Maybe you will be visiting a local old age home to bring gift baskets for the residents who don`t receive any visitors at Christmas…. You get the idea…Use your creativity and come up with something that you would enjoy doing, would be proud of and that will get the word out about your business.

Since you will be in operation out of your home, you probably don`t want swarms of people in your home and don`t necessarily want to have a visit by the mayor and ribbon cutting.  But there are other ways to get out into the community and make it your storefront. For starters, I would highly encourage you to be part of your local Chamber of Commerce or local Economic Development Association.

Through the Chamber of Commerce, you will most likely have access to events and occasions such as Business After Five or some other type of members and non-member occasions. There, you can present yourself and your business in motel ballrooms,  board rooms or community halls.

Home Shows, Christmas Gift Shows, Flea Markets, Fairs, Home Business Shows, Penny Sales, any kind of local activity that screams community presence….is a perfect occasion to create an attractive display to showcase your goods, show the community what you can do and  distribute pamphlets, business cards.  This will also allow you to meet countless people and spread the word about your new gift basket business.  Bring along an assistant or family member to cut the monotony of being stuck in a gym for 8 hrs and to help you out, especially in moral support.

Demonstrations are another great way to  attract a lot of attention to yourself and your business. You can establish yourself as a local expert by doing this at shows, in community halls or in schools. You could do a 30 minute demonstration at a show on how to make a pretty basket for Christmas Gift Giving. Make sure to give out your cards and pamphlets at any event like this..Also make sure to call the media in order to ensure that someone will be there to take a picture. Sooner or later by participating in these type of events, photographers and reporters will be flocking around you and you will be in local newspapers and maybe even local TV and radio programs.

Here are other ideas to get your gift basket business from home off to a remarkable start.

1. Have a contest. People love contests.  For Christmas and New Year, you could host a contest that will be well featured in the media.  Maybe it will be advertised through a local radio station or through a local newspaper and you will have ballot boxes in many stores around town. Draw a Basket of The Month Package which includes a $40 basket a month for a year.  Make sure to have a simultaneous campaign to sell the same monthly basket package where the recipient receives a basket every month for a whole year…whether it be a fruit basket, a fruit and candy basket, a gourmet basket or a health food basket.

2. On your website, you could have a separate contest where you draw a basket a month online so you get people to sign up to your sales and newsletter mailings.  Make sure your website is displaying your product line in an attractive manner. Include  prices variations of each product in small, medium and large versions of your baskets for increased sales.

3. Place low cost classified ads in your community newspapers, everyone looks at those…or almost.

4. Network with other businesses such as restaurants, hotels, real estate offices, hospitals, schools, daycares, wedding planners and so on, tell them you have gift baskets for any occasion.

5. Distribute pamphlets to local businesses, especially where people will have time on their hand while waiting for their appointment such as at the hairdressers, the doctor`s office, the chiropractors or optometrist.

To find more information on how to start a home based gift basket business check out my Squidoo pages.

Source by Sofia Rodriguez

Regular exercise is the perfect way to stay in shape and in the best of health. However, there are a number of questions that run though one’s mind before they decide on how to achieve this goal. For this reason, it is important that people should be more pro-active in this regard. So, the best thing for people who are unable to make up their mind or resolve to become healthier would be to join sports clubs. It would be apt since they would be among other enthusiasts who would certainly motivate them to strive and achieve their goal.

First Step

The best way to do away with a lazy attitude would be to join a club where one can engage in sports. Here, one wouldn’t be compelled to be at the gym since they would be in a position where they would be able to take up a number of sporting activities. The option of taking up group aerobics, sweating it out on the elliptical or engaging in some basket ball, it would help one get the requisite amount of exercise. Apart from that the environment would be supportive since each and every person at the club would be engaged in some activity or the other.

Inexpensive Option

Most people think twice before signing up for a gym membership since it is often quite expensive. However, when it comes to sports clubs they serve to be an inexpensive alternative where you would have more choices. This way, a person would be able to gain entry into the world of fitness at the same time they would be able to get more than just a complete body work out. It is because they would be able to meet other people who share the same concerns and this social aspect would help in the overall growth of an individual as well.

World of Options

The best thing about these clubs is the fact that there is a world of options that you can choose from. It means that one can take up basket ball, swimming, squash or soccer and even indoor wall climbing for that matter. Apart from that this would be an excellent idea for a beginner since this would be an excellent platform where one can learn about health care and exercise. This way, one would be able to chalk out an effective fitness plan that they can take up depending on their needs. There are several trainers and other experienced members would be able to guide one in the right direction.

Excellent Option

Regular exercise is an excellent option when it comes to improving one’s physique. According to research studies sweating it out at would help lower anxiety levels, depression and it can help build one’s confidence level as well. Apart from that one would be able to build their concentration as well as these exercises would help one focus on a particular activity. This in turn would help make one more efficient in their life as well. Endorphins, also known as feel good hormones are produced as a result of exercise.

Therefore, it goes without saying that joining one of these clubs would be an ideal option if you are thinking about kicking starting an exercise regime. There are innumerable benefits that you would stand to receive on taking up this option, which would be helpful in the long run as well.

Source by Jacob T John