EASTER IS ON THE WAY

***FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT EASTER***

This weekend, some people will be going to church for Easter services, and some will just be eating WAY too much candy.

Whatever you're doing this holiday weekend, here are five Easter facts that most people don't know . . .

#1.) 16 BILLION JELLY BEANS ARE MADE EACH YEAR. So many, in fact, that if you strung them together, they'd wrap around the Earth almost three times. 90 million chocolate bunnies and 5 million marshmallow Peeps are also made each year for Easter.

#2.) PRETZELS WERE ORIGINALLY ASSOCIATED WITH EASTER. In Europe, pretzels used to be handed out to the poor on the days during Lent, and they were supposed to represent two arms crossed in prayer.

#3.) THE POLITICALLY CORRECT NAME FOR EASTER IS "SPRING HOLIDAY". Instead of "Merry Christmas," we're supposed to say "Happy Holidays," and ever since a 1999 court case in Indiana, we're supposed to say "Spring Holiday" too. But don't worry. The PC term is mostly used by government institutions.

#4.) THE LARGEST EASTER EGG IN HISTORY WAS 48 FEET TALL. The record was set in Portugal last year. The largest CHOCOLATE egg ever made stood 25 feet tall, weighed 8,968 pounds, and was so big, it needed a steel frame to help support it.

#5.) WHY IS IT THE EASTER *BUNNY*? The rabbit has been a symbol of fertility for many religions, and it's association with Easter started in Germany in the 16th century. Then, when Germans settled in Pennsylvania, they brought the Easter Bunny with them. In fact, the Germans first called it the "EASTER HARE". But by the 19th century, the Easter HARE was gone, and the Easter BUNNY had taken over. (The Complete Sheet)