40: Number of days of Lent, the period leading to Easter, and a season of self-examination, fasting and penance in preparation for Easter Day observance.
2006: Year that Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his first Papal Easter Day Mass as Pontiff at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
1400s: Era when the first Easter bunny legends were documented. The first written mention of the Easter Bunny was in Germany in the 15th Century. The tradition of Easter chocolate bunnies also began in Germany sometime during the 1800s.
90 million+: Estimated number of chocolate Easter bunnies made each year.
$5.6 million: Selling price of the Fabergé Winter Egg during a 1994 auction. The egg, studded with 3,000 diamonds, was created by Peter Carl Fabergé and was one of the annual Easter gifts for Tsarinas Maria and Alexandra by Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II.
30,000: Total number of tickets distributed each year by the Obama administration for the White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition started by former President Rutherford B. Hayes and held on the Monday after Easter at the White House. The activity involves rolling a hard-boiled colored egg on the lawn with a large serving spoon, among others. Each participant is given a commemorative wooden Easter egg signed by the President and the First Lady. Tickets are distributed through an online lottery.
Compiled by Schatzi Quodala, Inquirer Research
Source: catholic.org, christianity.com, christianity.about.com, nd.edu, saintpetersbasilica.org, associatedcontent.com, history.com, nationalgeographic.com, bbc.co.uk, whitehouseeastereggroll.com, time.com, PDI Archives