mpet shape alludes to the trumpets, mentioned in the Bible, which will sound before Christ’s second coming: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Aside from being adorable and born in spring, the lamb has been a symbol of Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible, Christ is called the “Lamb of God,” a reference to his innocence of sin.
For example, John 1:29 says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!”
Hot cross buns
The longtime tradition of eating hot cross buns during Holy Week, and especially on Good Friday, is first documented in a 16th or 17th century text reading, “Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs, with one or two a penny hot cross buns.”
Some, however, claim the tradition is even older and may have its roots in Christian-appropriated pagan traditions.
The cross on top of the bun symbolizes Jesus Christ’s cross, and though it originally was just made with knife indentations, now it often is made with frosting or chocolate.
Enjoying ham for Easter dinner is a tradition thought to date back to the time before refrigeration.
Animals were slaughtered in fall, and the meat that wasn’t going to be immediately consumed often was cured or smoked to preserve it.
So, ham was a natural fit for the springtime holiday because it was still good at a time when fresh meat was hard to come by.
(Sources: The American Bible Society, discovery.com, history.com, catholicculture.org, mormon.org, smithsonian.com, allthingsgerman.com, mentalfloss.com.)