Happy Easter to all my blog friends! I began writing this blog with the intention of sharing lots of table-scapes, decorating and food ideas but then began to wonder, ‘where did all these Easter traditions stem from?’ In one way or another, all the customs can be considered a “salute to spring”, marking re-birth. I Hope you enjoy!!!

The Easter Bunny!!!

The Bible makes no reference of a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers ornamented eggs to good little boys and girls on Easter Sunday. So how has the Easter bunny has become a symbol of Christianity’s greatest holiday?

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The exact origins of this legendary animal are uncertain but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an icon of fertility. The Easter Bunny first arrived in America in the 1700’s along with the German immigrants who brought their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.”

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Children would make nests for the hare to lay its colorful eggs. The tradition quickly spread across the U.S. and the rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries grew to include chocolate, candy and gifts. Nests were later replaced with decorated baskets. The cute ones above, made from egg cartons and paint, make a fun family craft project.

Leaving out carrots was quite the tradition in case the Easter Bunny got hungry from all of his hopping!

Decorating eggs for Easter is a ritual that dates back as far as the 13th century. Eggs, formerly a forbidden food during Lent, were painted and decorated to mark the end of the penance and fasting period and were joyfully brought out and eaten during the Easter celebration.

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Perhaps the most famous egg company, Fabergé hosts The Big Egg Hunt to raise money for charity in major cities worldwide. The first picture was hosted in NYC and had more than 260 massive egg sculptures hidden throughout the five boroughs where the first person or team to discover all the eggs won a big prize!!! The image above is from their London egg hunt!

Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are popular traditions. In the U.S., The White House Easter Egg Roll, dating back to 1878, is a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn each year. After wondering why I never have received an invite, I discovered it’s a lottery, raffle system.  Oh well – maybe next year. Although this event is not religious, some people consider egg rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus’ tomb being rolled away.

Although the most famous tree of this type is in Germany with over 10,000 hand painted eggs, I thought this one from Martha Stewart was more obtainable and adds such a pretty reminder of Easter to any front yard.

Easter Candy!!!

The first known reference to jelly beans was in the late 1800’s when Schrafft, a Boston candy maker, encouraged Americans to ship them to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. By the 1930’s, these colorful treats became an Easter choice because they look like eggs!!!

On average, US shoppers spend $14 billion dollars on Easter products each year! Chocolate eggs first appeared in early 19th century Europe and a are a world-wide favorite. This egg, made of 1950 kg of Belgian chocolate, took twenty-six craftsman working 525 hours each to build and holds the record for being the largest Easter egg!

What’s Cook’n?

Since we are remolding our kitchen there won’t be much cooking in the Sinclair household. I think I will make these Italian Easter Breads at my office in what I call our easy bake oven. I found the recipe from The Italian Dish and love how they are individually done.

To inspire me this year, I pulled up my picture of last years decorated Easter table. Always last minute, I was shocked I had all of these items lying around the house. Setting the table is always so much fun! For more Easter inspiration, check out my blog, Hunt for the Best of Easter, Egg-cellent Easter Decorations and An Elegant Easter, and my Pinterest board here! 

With all the flowers blooming and weather thawing, its easy to appreciate the new beginnings and rebirth Spring brings!  I hope you all have a wonderful Easter with its many blessings and enjoy time with  your family and friends. Hope to see you this week in Round Top on Tuesday and the day before Easter at Lam Bespoke.

Yahoo! Marburger Farms Antique Show is around the corner!!! I will be at Marburger Farms Antique Show, my favorite antique fair, opening day with the Segreto Book Series!! Join me in treasure hunting with the 350 international dealers they have and please stop by to say ‘hi’!!! Bonus! – If you bring this invitation you get 10% off your book purchase!!! Then, the Saturday before Easter, Lam Bespoke is hosting me for a  Celebrate Spring Event!! Stop by and bring your out of town family and friend for a definite treat!! Catch up on my last signing at this beautiful store here and I hope to see you all there!!! See both invites below!!!

Segreto Style!!!

So thankful! Fabulous California based design firm and blog, NousDecor was sweet enough to feature Segreto Style on their fun blog as ‘We Just Found Your Favorite New Coffee Table Book!‘. Check out their site to browse their favorite interiors and create your own style boards to achieve the look!!