Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church.
In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus had been placed following his death by crucifixion on the previous Friday.
It signifies the end of the 40 days of Lent, meaning Christians who gave up something during lent to signify Jesus’ time in the wilderness, can indulge themselves again.
Easter Sunday is also when church bells will be rung again, having been silent during Lent.
Why is it called Easter?
The name Easter is derived from ‘Ostara’ or ‘Eostre’, a pagan goddess of fertility, whose feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox. The word East is also derived from her names, as is Oestrogen, the female hormone. In Saxon culture, the Hare was sacred to Ostara and the modern tradition of the Easter Bunny is a distant echo of that.
However, In most languages other than English and German, the holiday’s name is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked.
Easter depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar. Read more about the date of Easter.
Easter traditions
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is now an established part of the Easter traditions. In Europe and America, the Easter Bunny visits the garden of children leaving chocolate eggs and treats for the children to find on Easter Egg hunts.
Rabbits and hares don’t have any direct connection to any Christian tradition and it is interesting to note that the pagan goddess, Ostara was always traditionally accompanied by a hare. The modern tradition derives from a German custom that was first recorded in the 16th century. It may seem strange for a rabbit to be laying eggs, but as eggs were part of the foods banned during Lent, then the reintroduction of eggs would have been a welcome treat, no matter how they arrived in the garden.
It was once thought that hares could give birth without conceiving, which may have made them a way of explaining the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. It is also said that the sight of Rabbits appearing from their underground burrows is a reminder of Jesus appearing from the tomb after his resurrection on Easter morning.
Lamb
On Easter Sunday, the traditional meat for dinner is lamb. The lamb was a sacrifice during the Jewish Passover, and it became a symbol for Jesus. It is also seasonal as Spring lamb is particularly tender and noted for its subtle flavour.
Did you know?
Three facts about Easter Sunday
Though the method of calculating the date has changed, Easter first became an official Christian holiday in AD 325 at the first council of Nicaea presided over by Roman Emperor Constantine.
Easter is celebrated at different times by Eastern and Western Christians. It is because the dates for Easter in Eastern Christianity are based on the Julian calendar, while Western Christianity follows the Gregorian calendar.
The idea of the Easter bunny giving candies and eggs is said to have originated in Germany during the middle ages.
Did you know these 19 facts about the Christian holiday turned commercial powerhouse?
1. The tallest Easter egg chocolate was made in Italy in 2011. It stood at 10.39 meters and weighed an astounding 7,200 kg.
2. In the US, only 12 of the 50 states recognize Good Friday as a holiday.
3. The art of painting eggs is called pysanka, which originated in Ukraine. It involves using wax and dyes to color the egg.
4. The term Easter gets its name from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes the hare and the egg.
5. The exchange or giving of Easter eggs actually dates to before Easter and the giving of eggs is actually considered a symbol of rebirth in many cultures.
6. There used to be a tradition churches observed that resembled the game of “hot potato.” Here, the priest would toss a hard-boiled egg to one of the choir boys.
The boys would toss the egg amongst themselves and when the clock struck 12, whomever had the egg was the winner and got to keep the egg.
7. Peep peep… did you know Americans buy more than 700 million marshmallow Peeps during Easter? This makes Peeps the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy.
8. Americans consume more than 16 million jelly beans during this holiday. That is enough jelly beans to circle the globe not once, not twice, but three times.
9. Are you an ears, arms or tail person? Seventy-six percent of people eat the ears on the chocolate bunny first, 5 percent go for the feet and 4 percent for the tail.
10. During the holiday, more than 90 million chocolate bunnies, 91.4 billion eggs and 700 million Peeps are produced each year in the United States alone.
11. Next to Halloween, Easter is the biggest candy-consuming holiday of the year. Good thing they are almost six months apart, perfect for your yearly dentist check-ups!
12. An estimated $14.7 billion is spent in total for Easter in the US.
13. The Easter egg is said to symbolize and represent joy, celebration and new life.
14. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ; it is the oldest Christian holiday and one of the most important days of the year.
15. Half the states in the United States banned the dyeing of chicks on Easter; however, Florida recently overturned this law and now prevents the dyeing of all animals.
16. Not only did Florida overturn the dyeing of animals, but the state also held the largest Easter egg hunt, where 9,753 children searched for 501,000 eggs.
17. The White House of tradition of the Easter Egg Roll started back in 1878, with President Rutherford B. Hayes!
18. Workers in Birmingham, who make the famous Cadbury Creme Egg, produce more than 1.5 million egg delights a year.
19. The idea of the Easter bunny giving candies and eggs is said to have originated in Germany during the middle ages.
No matter how old you are or where you are in the world, Easter is a fun family tradition that never gets old.
From the Easter egg hunts to the taking your first bite into that chocolate bunny, it is not only a special religious holiday that marks an end to Lent, but one that represents the resurrection of Christ, too.
For those who aren’t so religious, Easter marks a long weekend, filled with fun.
COVID-19 can live on surfaces for up to three days.
Sure, you know that you don’t want to grab the seat at the coffee shop next to someone who’s coughing away, but have you stopped to think about who was sitting at your table before you… even as long as three days ago? The truth is, coronavirus can live on surfaces long after an infected person has left. A new study from the National Institutes of Health, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that coronavirus can live on plastic and stainless steel for as long as three days.
Welcome to the third month of the year—or, if you were born before 150 B.C., the first! According to the oldest Roman calendars, one year was ten months long, beginning in March and ending in December. It may sound crazy, but you can still see traces of this old system in our modern calendar: because December was the tenth month, it was named for the number ten in Latin (decem), just like September was named for seven (septem). So, what about January and February? They were just two nameless months called “winter,” proving that winter is literally so awful it doesn’t even deserve a spot on the calendar. Check out these vintage photos that prove winter was way worse in the past.
2. It’s the best month for basketball (but worst for productivity)
For civilians, on the other hand, March is known for one thing above all others: brackets. March Madness, as the NBA calls it, runs from March 11 to April 2 this year, and the safest bet you can make is that lots and lots of people will be distracted. One number-crunching firm predicted last year that American companies would lose $1.9 billion in wages paid to unproductive workers spending company time on betting pool priorities. (Suffice it to say, March is not a productive month—this is the single most productive hour and month of the year.) How to recoup these costs? Go into gambling. According to the American Gaming Association, fans wagered more than $2 billion on March Madness brackets for the 2015 tournament. Each one of those 70-million-or-so brackets has a one in 9.2 quintillion (that’s 9 followed by 18 zeroes) chance of predicting the correct winners of every game. Good luck!
3. It’s also the best month for vasectomies
March Madness is a cherished time to reacquaint oneself with the couch, especially during the early tournament days when dozens of games unfold consecutively. In other words, it’s the perfect week to recover from a vasectomy!
According to doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, the number of vasectomies surges by 50 percent during the first week of March Madness. Why? Patients typically need “at least a day with ice” to keep swelling down, says urologist Stephen Jones, MD, “So if they’re going to spend a whole day doing nothing, it’s not hard to figure out that they’d want to do it on a day they’d like to be sitting in front of the television.”
Smart clinics even offer incentives, like the Cape Cod urologists who offered a free pizza with every vasectomy in March 2012. That deal is certainly a cut above the rest!
4. March was named for war—and lives up to its title
So, if so many months were named for their Latin numbers, why wasn’t March called… unumber? Firstly, because that sounds ridiculous, and secondly, because the Gods had dibs on it. March was actually named for the Latin Martius—aka Mars, the Roman God of war and a mythical ancestor of the Roman people via his wolf-suckling sons, Romulus and Remus. With the winter frosts melting and the ground becoming fertile for harvest again in the Northern hemisphere, March was historically the perfect month for both farmers to resume farming, and warriors to resume warring.
Incidentally, the Pentagon still seems to agree with this Roman tradition: with the exception of the recent War on Afghanistan, almost all major US-NATO led military operations since the invasion of Vietnam have begun in the month of March. You can see a full list here, but to name a few: Vietnam (initiated March 8, 1965), Iraq (March 20, 2003), and Libya (March 19, 2011) all follow the trend.
5. Beware The Ides of March unless you’re a cat
We’ve all heard it uttered, but what does “beware the Ides of March” actually mean? On the Roman calendar, the midpoint of every month was known as the Ides. The Ides of March fell on March 15th. This day was supposed to correlate with the first full moon of the year (remember, winter didn’t count then) and marked by religious ceremonies, but thanks to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar we know it for another reason. Supposedly, in 44 BC, a seer told Julius Caesar that his downfall would come no later than the Ides of March. Caesar ignored him, and when the fated day rolled around he joked with the seer, “The Ides of March have come.” The seer replied, “aye, Caesar; but not gone.” Caesar continued on to a senate meeting at the Theatre of Pompey, and was summarily murdered by as many as 60 conspirators. Ironically, the spot where Caesar was assassinated is protected in today’s Rome as a no-kill cat sanctuary.
So, if someone tells you “beware the Ides of March,” they are probably just being a jerk, or letting you know they’ve read Shakespeare. Don’t miss more facts about the Ides of March you should know.
Need more reasons to love March? Here are a dozen.
6. March 1: As the saying goes, March comes “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” That was certainly true on March 1st, 2007, when a detachment of 170 Swiss infantrymen accidentally invaded neighboring Liechtenstein when they got lost on a training mission.
7. March 2: NASA astronaut Scott Kelly returned from space after one full year, setting a new record for the longest uninterrupted trip to space.
8. March 5: Thirsty bros observe Cinco De Marcho, initiating a 12-day drinking regimen for anyone who wishes to “train one’s liver for the closing ceremonies on St. Patrick’s Day.” By the way, this is why we wear green for St. Patrick’s Day.
9. March 6: The Day of The Dude encourages participants to honor The Big Lebowski by takin’er easy all day, man.
10. March 13: Daylight saving time begins, freeing American city-dwellers from the constant refrain of “it’s dark before I even leave work.” Don’t miss these other daylight saving time facts you probably didn’t know.
11. March 14: Pi Day celebrates the annual occurrence of 3/14 with math jokes, pi-reciting competitions, and (of course) freshly baked pie.
12. March 17: St. Patrick’s Day turns the Chicago River green, and too many livers cirrhosis-damage-brown. (You’ll want to check out these St. Patrick’s Day “facts” that are actually false.) And on this day in 1973, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of The Moon” first hits the Billboard Top 200 chart at number 95. A mere 14 years later (736 chart weeks, to be exact), it finally leaves the top 200 for the first time, setting a still-unbroken world record. (You’ve got a long way to go, Adele.)
13. March 20: The sun shines on the equator for the Vernal Equinox, giving us a near 50-50 split of day and night.
14. March 21: The 10th anniversary Twitter founder Jack Dorsey inaugurating the social media site with its profound first tweet: “just setting up my twttr”
15. March 27: Easter Sunday
16. March 28: Gorge Yourself on Discount Easter Candy Monday
The Coronavirus (CoV) is a large virus family with 7 known types.
Coronavirus got its name from the Latin word corona which means ‘crown’ or ‘halo.’
As a zoonotic virus, CoV can be transmitted among animals and people.
Coronavirus infections are rampant in the fall or winter seasons.
For now, the only treatment options for CoV patients are supportive care and symptom relief
From the 1960s, the identification of CoV is under human pathogens.
Coronaviruses in humans affect upper respiratory cells and gastrointestinal tract cells.
Around ⅓ of common cold cases traces its causes to coronaviruses.
Agricultural records showed that some CoVs also infected birds, cats, cattle, dogs, pigs, and rodents.
As per investigations, civet cats appeared to have transmitted SARS-CoV to humans.
Dromedary camels were the culprits of MERS-CoV transmission to humans.
Usually, general symptoms surface 2-14 days post-exposure.
To this date, vaccines for coronavirus protection are still not available.
As of February 3, 2020, the new nCoV has already killed over 360 people in China.
More than 17,000 patients suffer from the nCoV in over 25 countries.
A new strain called Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) has just been recently found in humans.
SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and nCoV are the human CoVs known to spread through contact from infected animals to humans.
In March 2003, the SARS-CoV was officially diagnosed as a global threat.
One known vital driver of SARS and MERS epidemiology is a nosocomial transmission
.
As of February 3, 2020, the source of infection of the nCoV is still unknown.
The most prominent symptoms of coronaviruses are respiratory symptoms.
Alongside it is breathing difficulties, cough, fever, and shortness of breath. However, severe cases could eventually lead to pneumonia, kidney failure, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and worst, death.
Respiratory droplets carry human coronaviruses from an infected person to people nearby.
By coughing or sneezing, an infected person could transmit the disease via close personal contact. Another way is when a person touched a contaminated object or surface and then touched the eyes or mouth afterward.
Image by Luisella Planeta Leoni from Pixabay
It is advisable to avoid close contact with people who are showing symptoms.
Other preventive measures that you can do are covering your mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing, properly cooking eggs and meat, and washing your hands regularly.
Diagnosis of coronavirus infections requires special laboratory tests.
These tests involve blood or respiratory samples and are more ideal for people with severe symptoms. In cases of infection from uncommon CoV strains like MERS, the tests should also be recommended.
The Coronaviridae family has a subfamily named Orthocorinavirinae.
Further, this subfamily has four CoV genera classifications namely Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Gammacoronavirus.
4 out of the 7 CoV types cause respiratory infection.
The KHU1, 229E, OC43, and NL63 are more common than you might think. Their effects could range from mild to moderate infections like that of the common cold.
2 out of the 7 CoV types can cause severe respiratory infections.
These are the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus or SARS-CoV, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus or the MERS-CoV.
The discovery of the 7th type was not until 2019.
The Novel Coronavirus or 2019-nCoV first appeared in Wuhan of Hubei Province in China. Until now, public health officials are still figuring out the recently discovered coronavirus and its corresponding infection.
SARS-CoV surfaced in China back in 2002.
The SARS-causing virus immediately spread to over 24 countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America. Thankfully, SARS cases dwindled until there are no longer reported cases from all over the world since 2004.
SARS-CoV most likely originated from bats.
Image by Salmar from Pixabay
However, it spread to Chinese ferret badgers, Himalayan palm civets, and raccoon dogs at the Guangdong wet markets. Handlers or consumers got infected as well, further spreading the virus via human-to-human transmission.
Bats reportedly contain a broad range of coronaviruses.
It is crucial in the evolution of viruses, particularly the alpha- and betacoronavirus lineages. Still, there are other animal species that serve as intermediate hosts and animal reservoirs.
MERS-CoV cases trace back to residence or travels in and near the Arabian Peninsula.
First discovered in 2012, this type of coronavirus infection recorded around 2,500 infected people.
The main source for MERS-CoV was dromedary camels.
These virus animal reservoirs served as the intermediate host source for human infections of the same strain. For MERS, there have been no documented human-to-human transmission or community outbreaks apart from close contacts.
Image by Wolfgang_Hasselmann from Pixabay
The majority of MERS-CoV cases sprung from human-to-human infections in healthcare settings.
Whether the transmission is airborne, ingestion or via droplet, the accurate routes are still unclear apart from close contact. Zoonotic infections reportedly came from the consumption of raw camel milk and other camel products.
MERS-CoV could thrive on plastic and metal surfaces for up to 48 hours.
It represents the universal environmental conditions in indoor spaces like a hospital ward, especially when at 20°C and 40% relative humidity. Also, bacterial culture from air and surfaces show that MERS could survive on surfaces even several days past contact with an infected patient.
The coronaviruses are sensitive to heat.
Ultraviolet light, non-ionic detergents, liquid solvents, and oxidizing agents also affect the virions adversely. Moreover, higher temperatures or increased levels of relative humidity also decrease viability.
The H5N1 or bird flu is another type of virus that humans acquire from animals.
As the name suggests, the bird flu is an influenza virus that causes severe respiratory disease in birds. The ‘avian influenza,’ as it is also called, is highly infectious. Occasional human bird flu cases occur, but the human-to-human transmission of the infection is difficult.
Image by Bernd Focken from Pixabay
The U.S. government issued a traffic advisory at level 4 for the 2019-nCoV.
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency and an international concern. Hence, government officials advised residents not to travel to China.
Airlines from all over the world imposed a travel ban in an attempt to contain the spread of the 2019-nCoV from Wuhan.
Asian, European, and North American airlines canceled flights to China. Some of the institutions on the list are Air Asia, Air India, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, IndiGo, Lufthansa, and United Airlines. While some either minimized or stopped flying to China entirely, others offered refunds to customers.
Queen Mary I, first queen of England, also known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants was born in Palace of Placentia, Greenwich. She ruled from 1553 until her death in 1558.
1930: Pluto is discovered
Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Initially considered the ninth planet in the Solar System, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet by International Astronomical Union in 2006.
2001: Dale Earnhardt dies in crash
Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., considered as one of the greatest car racers, died at the age of 49 in an accident during the 43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
2003: South Korean subway fire
South Korean rescue workers inspect a subway train destroyed by a fire at a subway station in Daegu, 200 miles southeast of Seoul, South Korea. About 120 people were killed and at least 135 injured after a man ignited a milk carton filled with flammable material.
Mws R Writings 