Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and always falls on a spring Sunday. However, the exact date of this Christian holiday changes every year. Simply put, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. This year, in 2024, Easter falls on March 31. But as USA Today points out, the next time the celebration will fall on that same day will be in 2086—more than half a century in the future.

Most countries in the world use the Gregorian calendar, so Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. For them, Easter can occur anywhere (what in the Gregorian calendar would be) between April 4 and May 8. In 2024, the Eastern Orthodoxy celebrates Easter on April 16.

Vicky from Miss Maude’s Felted Floofs opened up to Bored Panda that her bonnet-wearing Easter bunny took a whopping 12 hours to make, from start to finish. She was also happy to share what her creative process looks like.

“It is needle felted, so it is sculpted from wool fibers using a barbed needle. I start by making the head and working on the face, and how that turns out usually dictates the type of character it turns into,” the felting expert shared with us.

“I then create the body and limbs and join the piece together. The last part is making the accessories and mounting the finished piece on a base. I created a tutorial on how to make them yourself, which is available on Amazon and Etsy.”

We were curious about where Vicky finds inspiration for her art projects. She told us that she finds it in all kinds of places. “My Easter bunny was obviously inspired by the upcoming holiday, but a lot of my pieces are inspired by nature and other needle felters. The needle felting community is incredibly supportive, and we are always finding inspiration in each other,” she said.

“Most of my pieces tend to be character-based, and I try to have a good idea of the type of character I’m creating before I start. My favorite part of the process is problem-solving how to make the various accessories out of wool and experimenting with various techniques.”

According to Vicky, felting gives her a creative outlet. “I’m always full of ideas for what to create next,” she told Bored Panda.

“Something about this particular art form just speaks to me and makes sense. I got started at the end of 2021 after seeing a few felted pieces on social media and ordering myself a cheap starter kit online. From there, I watched a lot of YouTube videos and bought some books and just went from there.” One channel that she recommends for beginners is Felts by Philipa and Lionsgate Farm.

“I’m not a huge fan of following tutorials directly, but they’re a great way to learn new skills to use in your own makes. If you’re new to felting, the best way to learn is by doing, whether that is following instructions or just experimenting on your own. I find the process of needle felting to be very relaxing and meditative, and it creates some soothing ASMR sounds!”

If you’re a fan of Vicky’s Easter bunny, be sure to check out Miss Maude’s Felted Floofs on Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy, as well as her books on Amazon.

When you stop and think about it, some of the decorations many of us put up during Easter make a lot of sense (e.g., eggs), while others are slightly confusing (bunnies). For example, the literal and metaphorical importance of eggs is easy enough to understand. They symbolize the promise of new life.

It’s thought that the tradition of decorating eggs for Easter dates all the way back to the 13th century. Back then, churches asked Christians to abstain from eating eggs during Lent. They were meant to be eaten again only starting from Easter. People would, therefore, decorate them to mark the end of the period of fasting and penance.

The Easter bunny, while widely known around the world for bringing chocolates for kids and even laying eggs, is a bit of a head-scratcher. How exactly did it come to be associated with the resurrection of Christ?

One theory is that rabbits are very good at procreating, so they’re a symbol of fertility and (just like eggs) of new life.

According to History.com, the Easter bunny arrived on the shores of the United States in the 1700s with German immigrants. After settling in Pennsylvania, the migrants then spread the tradition of the egg-laying hare far and wide.

Children would make nests for the ‘Osterhase’ or ‘Oschter Haws’ for it to lay colored eggs. Eventually, baskets replaced nests, while chocolates and gifts replaced eggs.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, jellybeans are also seen as a symbol of modern Easter. The candy became linked to the Christian holiday back in the 1930s due to how it’s shaped similarly to an egg.

The National Confectioners Association reported that a whopping 16 billion (yes, ‘billion’ with a ‘b’) jellybeans are made in the US for Easter every year. Another popular Easter treat is the marshmallow Peep. Easter is a fantastically profitable holiday for chocolate and candy manufacturers.

The odds are that if you take a closer look at how different families celebrate Easter, you’ll find a lot of variety. Holidays and how they’re celebrated don’t just evolve slowly over the decades in society; they can vary a lot from individual household to household.

For instance, one family might focus on decorating eggs or attending religious ceremonies. Meanwhile, another might see Easter as an excuse to go all-out and organize massive chocolate scavenger hunts for the entire neighborhood.

How you celebrate Easter (and other holidays) is less important than the fact that you do celebrate it.

Or, in other words, the fact that you have any family traditions is more important than the details of the traditions themselves. Traditions give us a sense of who we are and help nourish families. They’re what brings us together, year after year.

Tell us a bit about the Easter traditions that you have at home, dear Pandas. How do you celebrate the holiday? What activities do you focus on? How do you decorate your home? Did any of the photos in this post inspire you to try something new this year?

We’re always happy to hear from you, so if you happen to have a moment, let us know what you think in the comments!