Anyway, how do you eat one: ears first, feet first, tail first or butt first … or does it really matter at all in the grand scheme of life? Or are you allergic to chocolate … Easter … or both? According to one poll, 76% of Americans feel the ears should be eaten first. So there you go ...
How do your Easter baskets stack up? Do you have grown kids who still secretly love their Easter baskets? Do you have young kids who are still eligible to go on an Easter egg hunt, or do you have to rely on your grandkid's generosity to get your peeps fix? I know I used to buy candy I didn't like for all occasions just so I wouldn't be tempted to eat it … although I would buy a small stash of my absolute favorites to reward myself when I felt worthy. Do you have a favorite brand of chocolate? Do you love jelly bellies and hate those big fat jelly beans?
Easter Candy Facts
Americans buy over 120 million pounds of candy for Easter …. Enough to max out over 4,615 dump trucks
16 billions jelly beans are made for Easter … stacked end to end this would circle the globe almost 3 times
70% of Easter candy we buy is chocolate … adults prefer milk chocolate (65%), to dark chocolate (27%)
Ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year
Peeps are the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy … over 700 million of them bought
*4.2 million Marshmallow Peeps, bunnies and other shapes can be made each day
*in 1953 it took 27 hours to create a peep ... today it takes 6 minutes
*yellow peeps are most popular followed by pink, lavender, blue and white
Comparison of holidays:
Halloween: 90 million pounds of chocolate
Easter: 71 million pounds of chocolate
Valentine's: 48 million pounds of chocolate
Older traditions:
Hot cross buns were among the earliest Easter treats, made by European monks and given to the poor during Lent.
Pretzels were originally associated with Easter. The twists of a pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossed in prayer.
Of course, to avoid sugar overload, we can always fill our kid's Easter baskets with non-food items like crayons, movie passes, jump rope, baseball cards, videos, stencils, markers, paperback books, chalk, Playdoh, stuffed animals or balls … or better yet, money. But where's the fun in that ... unless you also include massage gift certificates as well?