Easter in the western Christian church can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. It is observed on the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (a fixed spring date set by the church). This Christian holy day celebrates the resurrection of Christ after his Crucifixion and was probably the earliest of the church’s annual festivals. Folk customs attached to the festival date from pre-Christian times. Eggs, traditionally forbidden during Lent, symbolize new life. The Easter Bunny recalls the hare, the Egyptian symbol of fertility. Easter may have derived its name from the Saxon goddess Eostre, whose feast was celebrated each spring at about this time. Or it may have derived from the word oster, meaning “rising.” Learn more at www.almanac.com/easter
1820s
1840s
- DIED 1841: NINTH U.S. PRESIDENT WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON DIED OF PNEUMONIA A MONTH AFTER INAUGURATION
- 1841: JOHN TYLER FIRST US VICE PRESIDENT TO TAKE OVER AFTER A PRESIDENT DIED
1880s
1910s
- BORN 1913: JULES LÉGER (CANADIAN STATESMAN)
- 1915: FIRST ONE-WAY RADIO TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION, NEW YORK TO DELAWARE
- BORN 1915: MUDDY WATERS (MUSICIAN)
1940s
1950s
1960s
- 1960: BEN HUR WON 11 ACADEMY AWARDS
- 1964: THE BEATLES OCCUPIED ALL THE TOP 5 POSITIONS ON THE BILLBOARD SINGLES CHART IN THE U.S.
- BORN 1965: ROBERT DOWNEY JR. (ACTOR)
- DIED 1968: U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
- 1969: THE WORLD’S FIRST TOTALLY ARTIFICAL HEART WAS IMPLANTED IN A HUMAN BY US SURGEON DR. DENTON A. COOLEY. THE PATIENT, HASKELL KARP, LIVED ONLY A FEW DAYS, DYING OF PNEUMONIA AND KIDNEY FAILURE.
1970s
2000s
2010s
- 2010: A 7.2-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRUCK JUST SOUTH OF THE U.S. BORDER NEAR MEXICALI
- DIED 2013: ROGER EBERT (FILM CRITIC)
- 2015: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.
COURTESY www.almanac.com
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say great blog!