EASTER EGG CERAMIC DISPLAY SET pastel speckled decorative eggs stand Costco RARE

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Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 193934516309 EASTER EGG CERAMIC DISPLAY SET pastel speckled decorative eggs stand Costco RARE. Check out our other new & used items>>>>>HERE! (click me) FOR SALE: A lovely, rare, Easter-themed "centertainment" set COSTCO 13-PIECE EASTER EGG DISPLAY DETAILS: The perfect Easter centerpiece set! This ceramic cottagecore style Easter egg display includes one Easter serving plate, six different egg holders (three baskets and three bunnies) and six different colored matte finish eggs. This versatile plate is both a delightful Easter egg display and a practical and elegant serving piece for your next springtime celebration. Display your own dyed Easter eggs in the bunny and basket egg holders atop the plate, or use the colorful reproduction eggs included inside. You can even arrange the egg holders around the base and use the plate to serve an Easter cake, candies, hors d'oeuvres, or any other Easter treat! The ceramic plate has a removable ribbon trim – you can use the included ribbon or change it out to give the tray a different look.  The stand that holds the plate is a brown bunny surrounded by leaves and flowers. A Costco exclusive! This beautiful, Easter-themed "centertainment" set was sold exclusively at Costco Warehouse stores. The set is a retired product and is now very hard to find. Manufactured date is unknown - our best guess is early to mid-2000s. CONDITION: Like-new; excellent pre-owned condition. All pieces appear new but the box has acquired some storage wear. Please see photos. *To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping.* THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs,[1] are eggs that are sometimes decorated. They are usually used as gifts on the occasion of Easter. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in coloured foil, hand-carved wooden eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate. However, real eggs continue to be used in Central and Eastern European tradition. Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth,[2] in Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus resurrected.[3][4][5] In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed as at that time of his crucifixion."[3][6] This custom of the Easter egg, according to many sources, can be traced to early Christians of Mesopotamia, and from there it spread into Eastern Europe and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches.[6][7][8][9] Other sources maintain that the custom arose in western Europe during the Middle Ages as a result of the fact that Western Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent, but were allowed to eat them when Easter arrived.... History The practice of decorating eggshells is quite ancient,[12] with decorated, engraved ostrich eggs found in Africa which are 60,000 years old.[13] In the pre-dynastic period of Egypt and the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete, eggs were associated with death and rebirth, as well as with kingship, with decorated ostrich eggs, and representations of ostrich eggs in gold and silver, were commonly placed in graves of the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians as early as 5,000 years ago.[14] These cultural relationships may have influenced early Christian and Islamic cultures in those areas, as well as through mercantile, religious, and political links from those areas around the Mediterranean.[15] Red-coloured Easter egg with Christian cross, from the Saint Kosmas Aitolos Greek Orthodox Monastery In Jewish tradition, a white egg is part of the Passover seder plate. According to many sources, the Christian custom of Easter eggs, specifically, started among the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who took the egg symbolism from Judaism and stained them with red colouring "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion".[7][16][6][8][9] The Christian Church officially adopted the custom, regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus, with the Roman Ritual, the first edition of which was published in 1610 but which has texts of much older date, containing among the Easter Blessings of Food, one for eggs, along with those for lamb, bread, and new produce.[8][9]     Lord, let the grace of your blessing + come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for your faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.[17] Sociology professor Kenneth Thompson discusses the spread of the Easter egg throughout Christendom, writing that "use of eggs at Easter seems to have come from Persia into the Greek Christian Churches of Mesopotamia, thence to Russia and Siberia through the medium of Orthodox Christianity. From the Greek Church the custom was adopted by either the Roman Catholics or the Protestants and then spread through Europe."[7] Both Thompson, as well as British orientalist Thomas Hyde state that in addition to dyeing the eggs red, the early Christians of Mesopotamia also stained Easter eggs green and yellow.[6][7] Peter Gainsford maintains that the association between eggs and Easter most likely arose in western Europe during the Middle Ages as a result of the fact that Catholic Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent, but were allowed to eat them when Easter arrived.[10][11] Influential 19th century folklorist and philologist Jacob Grimm speculates, in the second volume of his Deutsche Mythologie, that the folk custom of Easter eggs among the continental Germanic peoples may have stemmed from springtime festivities of a Germanic goddess known in Old English as Ēostre (namesake of modern English Easter) and possibly known in Old High German as *Ostara (and thus namesake of Modern German Ostern 'Easter'). However, despite Grimm's speculation, there is no evidence to connect eggs with Ostara.[11] The use of eggs as favors or treats at Easter originated when they were prohibited during Lent.[10][11] A common practice in England in the medieval period was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast.[11] Although one of the Christian traditions are to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jelly beans; as many people give up sweets as their Lenten sacrifice, individuals enjoy them at Easter after having abstained from them during the preceding forty days of Lent.[18] These eggs can be hidden for children to find on Easter morning, which may be left by the Easter Bunny. They may also be put in a basket filled with real or artificial straw to resemble a bird's nest. Traditions and customs Main articles: Egg decorating, Pisanica (Croatian), Pysanka, and Święconka Croatian Easter basket Blessing of Easter foods in Poland Red coloured Easter eggs Lenten tradition The Easter egg tradition may also have merged into the celebration of the end of the privations of Lent in the West. Historically, it was traditional to use up all of the household's eggs before Lent began. Eggs were originally forbidden during Lent as well as on other traditional fast days in Western Christianity (this tradition still continues among the Eastern Christian Churches). Likewise, in Eastern Christianity, meat, eggs, and dairy are all prohibited during the Lenten fast. This established the tradition of Pancake Day being celebrated on Shrove Tuesday. This day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins, is also known as Mardi Gras, a French phrase which translates as "Fat Tuesday" to mark the last consumption of eggs and dairy before Lent begins. In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, rather than Wednesday, so the household's dairy products would be used up in the preceding week, called Cheesefare Week. During Lent, since chickens would not stop producing eggs during this time, a larger than usual store might be available at the end of the fast. This surplus, if any, had to be eaten quickly to prevent spoiling. Then, with the coming of Easter, the eating of eggs resumes. Some families cook a special meatloaf with eggs in it to be eaten with the Easter dinner. One would have been forced to hard boil the eggs that the chickens produced so as not to waste food, and for this reason the Spanish dish hornazo (traditionally eaten on and around Easter) contains hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In Hungary, eggs are used sliced in potato casseroles around the Easter period. Symbolism and related customs Some Christians symbolically link the cracking open of Easter eggs with the empty tomb of Jesus.[19] In the Orthodox churches, Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal Vigil (which is equivalent to Holy Saturday), and distributed to the faithful. The egg is seen by followers of Christianity as a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.[3][4] Similarly, in the Roman Catholic Church in Poland, the so-called święconka, i.e. blessing of decorative baskets with a sampling of Easter eggs and other symbolic foods, is one of the most enduring and beloved Polish traditions on Holy Saturday. During Paschaltide, in some traditions the Pascal greeting with the Easter egg is even extended to the deceased. On either the second Monday or Tuesday of Pascha, after a memorial service people bring blessed eggs to the cemetery and bring the joyous paschal greeting, "Christ has risen", to their beloved departed (see Radonitza). In Greece, women traditionally dye the eggs with onion skins and vinegar on Thursday (also the day of Communion). These ceremonial eggs are known as kokkina avga. They also bake tsoureki for the Easter Sunday feast.[20] Red Easter eggs are sometimes served along the centerline of tsoureki (braided loaf of bread).[21][22] In Egypt, it is a tradition to decorate boiled eggs during Sham el-Nessim holiday, which falls every year after the Eastern Christian Easter. Coincidentally, every Passover, Jews place a hard-boiled egg on the Passover ceremonial plate, and the celebrants also eat hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt water as part of the ceremony. Colouring Easter eggs before and after colouring Heated wax paint used to decorate traditional Easter Eggs in the Czech Republic The dyeing of Easter eggs in different colours is commonplace, with colour being achieved through boiling the egg in natural substances (such as, onion peel (brown colour), oak or alder bark or walnut nutshell (black), beet juice (pink) etc.), or using artificial colourings. A greater variety of colour was often provided by tying on the onion skin with different coloured woollen yarn. In the North of England these are called pace-eggs or paste-eggs, from a dialectal form of Middle English pasche. King Edward I's household accounts in 1290 list an item of ‘one shilling and sixpence for the decoration and distribution of 450 Pace-eggs!’,[23] which were to be coloured or gilded and given to members of the royal household.[24] Traditionally in England, eggs were wrapped in onion skins and boiled to make their shells look like mottled gold, or wrapped in flowers and leaves first in order to leave a pattern, which parallels a custom practised in traditional Scandinavian culture.[25] Eggs could also be drawn on with a wax candle before staining, often with a person’s name and date on the egg.[26] Pace Eggs were generally eaten for breakfast on Easter Sunday breakfast. Alternatively, they could be kept as decorations, used in egg-jarping (egg tapping) games, or given to Pace Eggers. In more recent centuries in England, eggs have been stained with coffee grains[26] or simply boiled and painted in their shells.[27] In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, with further symbolism being found in the hard shell of the egg symbolizing the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead. The tradition of red easter eggs was used by the Russian Orthodox Church.[28] The tradition to dying the easter eggs in an Onion tone exists in the cultures of Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Russia, Czechia, Romania, and Israel.[29] The colour is made by boiling onion peel in water.[30][31] Patterning When boiling them with onion skins leaves can be attached prior to dying to create leaf patterns. The leaves are attached to the eggs before they are dyed with a transparent cloth to wrap the eggs with like inexpensive muslin or nylon stockings, leaving patterns once the leaves are removed after the dyeing process.[32][33] These eggs are part of Easter custom in many areas and often accompany other traditional Easter foods. Passover haminados are prepared with similar methods. Pysanky[34] are Ukrainian Easter eggs, decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method. The word comes from the verb pysaty, "to write", as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax. Decorating eggs for Easter using wax resistant batik is a popular method in some other eastern European countries. Use of Easter eggs in decorations In some Mediterranean countries, especially in Lebanon, chicken eggs are boiled and decorated by dye and/or painting and used as decoration[35] around the house. Then, on Easter Day, young kids would duel with them saying 'Christ is resurrected, Indeed, He is', breaking and eating them. This also happens in Georgia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. In Easter Sunday friends and family hit each other's egg with their own. The one whose egg does not break is believed to be in for good luck in the future. In Germany, eggs decorate trees and bushes as Easter egg trees, and in several areas public wells as Osterbrunnen. There used to be a custom in Ukraine, during Easter celebrations to have krashanky on a table in a bowl with wheatgrass. The number of the krashanky equalled the number of departed family members.[36]     Ukrainian Easter eggs     Easter eggs from Sorbs     Easter eggs from Lithuania     Perforated egg from Germany, Sleeping Beauty     Norwegian Easter eggs     Easter eggs from Greece     Perforated eggs     Easter eggs from France     American Easter egg from the White House Washington, D.C.     Pace eggs boiled with onion skins and leaf patterns.     Easter eggs decorated with straw     Easter egg from Poland Easter egg games Eggs hidden for an Easter egg hunt Egg hunts An egg hunt is a game in which decorated eggs, which may be hard-boiled chicken eggs, chocolate eggs, or artificial eggs containing candies, are hidden for children to find. The eggs often vary in size, and may be hidden both indoors and outdoors.[37] When the hunt is over, prizes may be given for the largest number of eggs collected, or for the largest or the smallest egg.[37] The central European Slavic nations (Czechs and Slovaks etc.) have a tradition of gathering eggs by gaining them from the females in return of whipping them with a pony-tail shaped whip made out of fresh willow branches and splashing them with water, by the Ruthenians called polivanja, which is supposed to give them health and beauty. Cascarones, a Latin American tradition now shared by many US States with high Hispanic demographics, are emptied and dried chicken eggs stuffed with confetti and sealed with a piece of tissue paper. The eggs are hidden in a similar tradition to the American Easter egg hunt and when found the children (and adults) break them over each other's heads. In order to enable children to take part in egg hunts despite visual impairment, eggs have been created that emit various clicks, beeps, noises, or music so that visually impaired children can easily hunt for Easter eggs.[38] Egg rolling Egg rolling is also a traditional Easter egg game played with eggs at Easter. In the United Kingdom, Germany, and other countries children traditionally rolled eggs down hillsides at Easter.[39] This tradition was taken to the New World by European settlers,[39][40] and continues to this day each Easter with an Easter egg roll on the White House lawn. Different nations have different versions of the game. Egg tapping Eggs after an egg tapping competition (red wins) In the North of England, during Eastertide, a traditional game is played where hard boiled pace eggs are distributed and each player hits the other player's egg with their own. This is known as "egg tapping", "egg dumping", or "egg jarping". The winner is the holder of the last intact egg. The annual egg jarping world championship is held every year over Easter in Peterlee, Durham.[41] It is also practiced in Italy (where it is called scuccetta), Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia (where it is called turčanje or trkanje), Ukraine, Russia, and other countries. In parts of Austria, Bavaria and German-speaking Switzerland it is called Ostereiertitschen or Eierpecken. In parts of Europe it is also called epper, presumably from the German name Opfer, meaning "offering" and in Greece it is known as tsougrisma. In South Louisiana, this practice is called pocking eggs[42][43] and is slightly different. The Louisiana Creoles hold that the winner eats the eggs of the losers in each round. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, red eggs are also cracked together when people exchange Easter greetings. Egg dance Egg dance is a traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the ground or floor and the goal is to dance among them without damaging any eggs[44] which originated in Germany. In the UK the dance is called the hop-egg. Pace egg plays The Pace Egg plays are traditional village plays, with a rebirth theme. The drama takes the form of a combat between the hero and villain, in which the hero is killed and brought back to life. The plays take place in England during Easter. In some countries like Sweden, Norway, Poland and Germany eggs are used as a table decoration hanging on a tree-branch Variants Chocolate eggs Chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in Versailles and in 1725 the widow Giambone in Turin started producing chocolate eggs by filling empty chicken egg shells with molten chocolate.[45] In 1873 J.S. Fry & Sons of England introduced the first chocolate Easter egg in Britain. Manufacturing their first Easter egg in 1875, Cadbury created the modern chocolate Easter egg after developing a pure cocoa butter that could be moulded into smooth shapes.[46] In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone. Formerly, the containers Easter eggs were sold in contained large amounts of plastic, although in the United Kingdom this has gradually been replaced with recyclable paper and cardboard.[47]     Chocolate Easter egg     Chocolate Easter egg bunny     Easter egg with candy.     Gladys as a Chocolate Easter Bunny with Easter eggs     Kinder Surprise Egg, manufactured by Italian company Ferrero SpA Marzipan eggs In the Indian state of Goa, the Goan Catholic version of marzipan is used to make easter eggs. In the Philippines, mazapán de pili (Spanish for "pili marzipan") is made from pili nuts.     Marzipan easter eggs Artificial eggs The jewelled Easter eggs made by the Fabergé firm for the two last Russian Tsars are regarded as masterpieces of decorative arts. Most of these creations themselves contained hidden surprises such as clock-work birds, or miniature ships. In Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and other Central European countries' folk traditions, and making artificial eggs out of porcelain for ladies is common.[48]:45 Easter eggs are frequently depicted in sculpture, including a 8-metre (27 ft) sculpture of a pysanka standing in Vegreville, Alberta.     Fabergé egg     Giant easter egg, Bariloche, Argentina     Giant pysanka from Vegreville, Alberta, Canada     Giant easter egg or pisanica in Zagreb, Croatia     Easter egg sculpture in Gogolin, Poland     Giant easter egg in Suceava, Romania Legends Maria Magdalene, 1899 by Viktor M. Vasnetsov, depicted as one of the Myrrhbearers. Christian traditions While the origin of Easter eggs can be explained in the symbolic terms described above, among followers of Eastern Christianity the legend says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned bright red when she saw the risen Christ.[49] A different, but not necessarily conflicting legend concerns Mary Magdalene's efforts to spread the Gospel. According to this tradition, after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red.[50] Red Easter eggs, known as kokkina avga (κόκκινα αυγά) in Greece and krashanki in Ukraine, are an Easter tradition and a distinct type of Easter egg prepared by various Orthodox Christian peoples.[51][52][53][54] The red eggs are part of Easter custom in many areas and often accompany other traditional Easter foods. Passover haminados are prepared with similar methods. Dark red eggs are a tradition in Greece and represent the blood of Christ shed on the cross.[55] The practice dates to the early Christian church in Mesopotamia.[8][9] In Greece, superstitions of the past included the custom of placing the first-dyed red egg at the home's iconostasis (place where icons are displayed) to ward off evil. The heads and backs of small lambs were also marked with the red dye to protect them. Parallels in other faiths Eggs at the Iranian Nowruz The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chick hatches out.[2] Painted eggs are used at the Iranian spring holidays, the Nowruz that marks the first day of spring or Equinox, and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The painted eggs symbolize fertility and are displayed on the Nowruz table, called Haft-Seen together with various other symbolic objects. There are sometimes one egg for each member of the family. The ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs for Nowruz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the Spring equinox. The tradition continues among Persians of Islamic, Zoroastrian, and other faiths today.[56] The Nowruz tradition has existed for at least 2,500 years. The sculptures on the walls of Persepolis show people carrying eggs for Nowruz to the king.[citation needed] The Neopagan holiday of Ostara occurs at roughly the same time as Easter. While it is often claimed that the use of painted eggs is an ancient, pre-Christian component of the celebration of Ostara, there are no historical accounts that ancient celebrations included this practice, apart from the Old High German lullaby which is believed by most to be a modern fabrication. Rather, the use of painted eggs has been adopted under the assumption that it might be a pre-Christian survival. In fact, modern scholarship has been unable to trace any association between eggs and a supposed goddess named Ostara before the 19th century, when early folklorists began to speculate about the possibility.[57] There are good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and bird eggs, through folklore confusion between hares' forms (where they raise their young) and plovers' nests.[58] In Judaism, a hard-boiled egg is an element of the Passover Seder, representing festival sacrifice. The children's game of hunting for the afikomen (a half-piece of matzo) has similarities to the Easter egg hunt tradition, by which the child who finds the hidden bread will be awarded a prize. In other homes, the children hide the afikoman and a parent must look for it; when the parents give up, the children demand a prize for revealing its location." (wikipedia.org) "Easter,[nb 1] also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin)[nb 2] or Resurrection Sunday,[5][6] is a festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD.[7][8] It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as "Holy Week", which contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper,[9][10] as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.[11] In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the 40th day, the Feast of the Ascension. Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars which follow only the cycle of the Sun; rather, its date is offset from the date of Passover and is therefore calculated based on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. It has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March.[12] Even if calculated on the basis of the more accurate Gregorian calendar, the date of that full moon sometimes differs from that of the astronomical first full moon after the March equinox.[13] Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover (Hebrew: פֶּסַח pesach, Aramaic: פָּסחָא pascha) by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In most European languages the feast is called by the words for passover in those languages; and in the older English versions of the Bible the term Easter was the term used to translate passover.[14] Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,[15] and decorating Easter eggs (symbols of the empty tomb).[16][17][18] The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection,[19][20] traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide.[21] Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.[22][23][24] There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally.... Etymology Main articles: Ēostre and Names of Easter The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern Dutch ooster and German Ostern, developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ēastrun, -on, or -an; but also as Ēastru, -o; and Ēastre or Ēostre.[nb 3] Bede provides the only documentary source for the etymology of the word, in his Reckoning of Time. He wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English 'Month of Ēostre', translated in Bede's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".[25] In Latin and Greek, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Pascha (Greek: Πάσχα), a word derived from Aramaic פסחא (Paskha), cognate to Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt.[26][27] As early as the 50s of the 1st century, Paul the Apostle, writing from Ephesus to the Christians in Corinth,[28] applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual.[29] In most languages, Germanic languages such as English being exceptions, the feast is known by names derived from Greek and Latin Pascha.[4][30] Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.[31] Theological significance One of the earliest known depictions of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (Rabbula Gospel illuminated manuscript, 6th century) The resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is one of the chief tenets of the Christian faith.[32] The resurrection established Jesus as the Son of God[33] and is cited as proof that God will righteously judge the world.[34][35] For those who trust in Jesus's death and resurrection, "death is swallowed up in victory."[36] Any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".[37] Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation, being physically resurrected to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven.[35][38][39] Easter is linked to Passover and the Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings, and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection.[30] According to the three Synoptic Gospels, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the upper room during the Last Supper he prepared himself and his disciples for his death.[30] He identified the bread and cup of wine as his body, soon to be sacrificed, and his blood, soon to be shed. Paul states, "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed";[40] this refers to the Passover requirement to have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.[41] Early Christianity The Last Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples. The early Christians, too, would have celebrated this meal to commemorate Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection. The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew calendar.[nb 4] Jewish Christians, the first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, timed the observance in relation to Passover.[citation needed] Direct evidence for a more fully formed Christian festival of Pascha (Easter) begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referring to Easter is a mid-2nd-century Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one.[42] Evidence for another kind of annually recurring Christian festival, those commemorating the martyrs, began to appear at about the same time as the above homily.[43] While martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in the local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by means of the local Jewish[44] lunisolar calendar. This is consistent with the celebration of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest, Jewish, period, but does not leave the question free of doubt.[45] The ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of its custom, "just as many other customs have been established", stating that neither Jesus nor his Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. Although he describes the details of the Easter celebration as deriving from local custom, he insists the feast itself is universally observed.[46] Date A stained-glass window depicting the Passover Lamb, a concept integral to the foundation of Easter[30][47] Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the Council. No details for the computation were specified; these were worked out in practice, a process that took centuries and generated a number of controversies. (See also Computus and Reform of the date of Easter.) In particular, the Council did not decree that Easter must fall on Sunday. This was already the practice almost everywhere.[48][incomplete short citation] In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April,[49] within about seven days after the astronomical full moon.[50] The following day, Easter Monday, is a legal holiday in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar. Because of the thirteen-day difference between the calendars between 1900 and 2099, 21 March corresponds, during the 21st century, to 3 April in the Gregorian Calendar. Easter therefore varies between 4 April and 8 May in the Gregorian calendar (the Julian calendar is no longer used as the civil calendar of the countries where Eastern Christian traditions predominate). Also, because the Julian "full moon" is always several days after the astronomical full moon, the eastern Easter is often later, relative to the visible Moon's phases, than western Easter. Among the Oriental Orthodox some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter as for other fixed and moveable feasts is the same as in the Western church.[51] Computations Main article: Computus In 725, Bede succinctly wrote, "The Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after the equinox will give the lawful Easter."[52] However, this does not precisely reflect the ecclesiastical rules. The full moon referred to (called the Paschal full moon) is not an astronomical full moon, but the 14th day of a lunar month. Another difference is that the astronomical equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 19, 20 or 21 March,[53] while the ecclesiastical date is fixed by convention on 21 March.[54] In applying the ecclesiastical rules, Christian churches use 21 March as the starting point in determining the date of Easter, from which they find the next full moon, etc. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches continue to use the Julian calendar. Their starting point in determining the date of Orthodox Easter is also 21 March but according to the Julian reckoning, which in the current century corresponds to 3 April in the Gregorian calendar. In addition, the lunar tables of the Julian calendar are four days (sometimes five days) behind those of the Gregorian calendar. The 14th day of the lunar month according to the Gregorian system is figured as the ninth or tenth day according to the Julian. The result of this combination of solar and lunar discrepancies is divergence in the date of Easter in most years (see table). Easter is determined on the basis of lunisolar cycles. The lunar year consists of 30-day and 29-day lunar months, generally alternating, with an embolismic month added periodically to bring the lunar cycle into line with the solar cycle. In each solar year (1 January to 31 December inclusive), the lunar month beginning with an ecclesiastical new moon falling in the 29-day period from 8 March to 5 April inclusive is designated as the paschal lunar month for that year.[55] Easter is the third Sunday in the paschal lunar month, or, in other words, the Sunday after the paschal lunar month's 14th day. The 14th of the paschal lunar month is designated by convention as the Paschal full moon, although the 14th of the lunar month may differ from the date of the astronomical full moon by up to two days.[55] Since the ecclesiastical new moon falls on a date from 8 March to 5 April inclusive, the paschal full moon (the 14th of that lunar month) must fall on a date from 21 March to 18 April inclusive. The Gregorian calculation of Easter was based on a method devised by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius (or Lilio) for adjusting the epacts of the Moon,[56] and has been adopted by almost all Western Christians and by Western countries which celebrate national holidays at Easter. For the British Empire and colonies, a determination of the date of Easter Sunday using Golden Numbers and Sunday letters was defined by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 with its Annexe. This was designed to match exactly the Gregorian calculation. Controversies over the date Main article: Easter controversy A five-part Russian Orthodox icon depicting the Easter story. Eastern Orthodox Christians use a different computation for the date of Easter than the Western churches. The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter of contention. By the later 2nd century, it was widely accepted that the celebration of the holiday was a practice of the disciples and an undisputed tradition. The Quartodeciman controversy, the first of several Easter controversies, arose concerning the date on which the holiday should be celebrated. The term "Quartodeciman" refers to the practice of celebrating Easter on Nisan 14 of the Hebrew calendar, "the LORD's passover" (Leviticus 23:5). According to the church historian Eusebius, the Quartodeciman Polycarp (bishop of Smyrna, by tradition a disciple of John the Apostle) debated the question with Anicetus (bishop of Rome). The Roman province of Asia was Quartodeciman, while the Roman and Alexandrian churches continued the fast until the Sunday following (the Sunday of Unleavened Bread), wishing to associate Easter with Sunday. Neither Polycarp nor Anicetus persuaded the other, but they did not consider the matter schismatic either, parting in peace and leaving the question unsettled.[citation needed] Controversy arose when Victor, bishop of Rome a generation after Anicetus, attempted to excommunicate Polycrates of Ephesus and all other bishops of Asia for their Quartodecimanism. According to Eusebius, a number of synods were convened to deal with the controversy, which he regarded as all ruling in support of Easter on Sunday.[57] Polycrates (circa 190), however, wrote to Victor defending the antiquity of Asian Quartodecimanism. Victor's attempted excommunication was apparently rescinded, and the two sides reconciled upon the intervention of bishop Irenaeus and others, who reminded Victor of the tolerant precedent of Anicetus. Quartodecimanism seems to have lingered into the 4th century, when Socrates of Constantinople recorded that some Quartodecimans were deprived of their churches by John Chrysostom[58] and that some were harassed by Nestorius.[59] It is not known how long the Nisan 14 practice continued. But both those who followed the Nisan 14 custom, and those who set Easter to the following Sunday had in common the custom of consulting their Jewish neighbors to learn when the month of Nisan would fall, and setting their festival accordingly. By the later 3rd century, however, some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with the custom of relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of Easter. The chief complaint was that the Jewish communities sometimes erred in setting Passover to fall before the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox.[60][61] The Sardica paschal table[62] confirms these complaints, for it indicates that the Jews of some eastern Mediterranean city (possibly Antioch) fixed Nisan 14 on dates well before the spring equinox on multiple occasions.[63] Because of this dissatisfaction with reliance on the Jewish calendar, some Christians began to experiment with independent computations.[nb 5] Others, however, believed that the customary practice of consulting Jews should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error. First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) Main article: First Council of Nicaea This controversy between those who advocated independent computations, and those who wished to continue the custom of relying on the Jewish calendar, was formally resolved by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which endorsed changing to an independent computation by the Christian community in order to celebrate in common. This effectively required the abandonment of the old custom of consulting the Jewish community in those places where it was still used. Epiphanius of Salamis wrote in the mid-4th century:     the emperor ... convened a council of 318 bishops ... in the city of Nicea ... They passed certain ecclesiastical canons at the council besides, and at the same time decreed in regard to the Passover that there must be one unanimous concord on the celebration of God's holy and supremely excellent day. For it was variously observed by people[66] That the older custom (called "protopaschite" by historians) did not at once die out, but persisted for a time, is indicated by the existence of canons[67] and sermons[68] against it. Dionysius Exiguus, and others following him, maintained that the 318 Bishops assembled at the Nicene Council had specified a particular method of determining the date of Easter; subsequent scholarship has refuted this tradition.[69] In any case, in the years following the council, the computational system that was worked out by the church of Alexandria came to be normative. It took a while for the Alexandrian rules to be adopted throughout Christian Europe, however. The 8-year cycle originally employed was replaced by (or by the time of) Augustalis's treatise on the measurement of Easter, after which Rome used his 84-year lunisolar calendar cycle until 457. It then switched to an adaptation by Victorius of the Alexandrian rules.[70][71] Because this Victorian cycle differed from the Alexandrian cycle in the dates of some of the Paschal Full Moons, and because it tried to respect the Roman custom of fixing Easter to the Sunday in the week of the 16th to the 22nd of the lunar month (rather than the 15th to the 21st as at Alexandria), by providing alternative "Latin" and "Greek" dates in some years, occasional differences in the date of Easter as fixed by Alexandrian rules continued.[70][71] The Alexandrian rules were adopted in the West following the tables of Dionysius Exiguus in 525. From this time, therefore, all discrepancies between Alexandria and Rome as to the correct date for Easter cease, as both churches were using identical tables. Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used an 84-year cycle. From the 5th century onward this cycle set its equinox to 25 March and fixed Easter to the Sunday falling in the 14th to the 20th of the lunar month inclusive.[72][73] This 84-year cycle was replaced by the Alexandrian method in the course of the 7th and 8th centuries. Churches in western continental Europe used a late Roman method until the late 8th century during the reign of Charlemagne, when they finally adopted the Alexandrian method. Since 1582, when the Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar while the Eastern Orthodox and most Oriental Orthodox Churches retained the Julian calendar, the date on which Easter is celebrated has again differed. The Greek island of Syros, whose population is divided almost equally between Catholics and Orthodox, is one of the few places where the two Churches share a common date for Easter, with the Catholics accepting the Orthodox date—a practice helping considerably in maintaining good relations between the two communities.[74] Reform of the date See also: Reform of the date of Easter The congregation lighting their candles from the new flame, just as the priest has retrieved it from the altar – note that the picture is flash-illuminated; all electric lighting is off, and only the oil lamps in front of the Iconostasis remain lit. (St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Adelaide). In the 20th century, some individuals and institutions have propounded changing the method of calculating the date for Easter, the most prominent proposal being the Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite having some support, proposals to reform the date have not been implemented.[75] An Orthodox congress of Eastern Orthodox bishops, which included representatives mostly from the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Serbian Patriarch, met in Constantinople in 1923, where the bishops agreed to the Revised Julian calendar.[76] The original form of this calendar would have determined Easter using precise astronomical calculations based on the meridian of Jerusalem.[77][78] However, all the Eastern Orthodox countries that subsequently adopted the Revised Julian calendar adopted only that part of the revised calendar that applied to festivals falling on fixed dates in the Julian calendar. The revised Easter computation that had been part of the original 1923 agreement was never permanently implemented in any Orthodox diocese.[76] In the United Kingdom, the Easter Act 1928 set out legislation to change the date of Easter to be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April (or, in other words, the Sunday in the period from 9 to 15 April). However, the legislation has not been implemented, although it remains on the Statute book and could be implemented subject to approval by the various Christian churches.[79] At a summit in Aleppo, Syria, in 1997, the World Council of Churches (WCC) proposed a reform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced the present divergent practices of calculating Easter with modern scientific knowledge taking into account actual astronomical instances of the spring equinox and full moon based on the meridian of Jerusalem, while also following the Council of Nicea position of Easter being on the Sunday following the full moon.[80] The recommended World Council of Churches changes would have sidestepped the calendar issues and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, but it was not ultimately adopted by any member body. In January 2016, Christian churches again considered agreeing on a common, universal date for Easter, while also simplifying the calculation of that date, with either the second or third Sunday in April being popular choices.[81] Table of the dates of Easter     See also: Western vs Eastern dates, in a wider timeframe (2001–2041) The WCC presented comparative data of the relationships: Table of dates of Easter 2001–2025 (in Gregorian dates)[82] Year     Full Moon     Jewish Passover [note 1]     Astronomical Easter [note 2]     Gregorian Easter     Julian Easter 2001     8 April     15 April 2002     28 March     31 March     5 May 2003     16 April     17 April     20 April     27 April 2004     5 April     6 April     11 April 2005     25 March     24 April     27 March     1 May 2006     13 April     16 April     23 April 2007     2 April     3 April     8 April 2008     21 March     20 April     23 March     27 April 2009     9 April     12 April     19 April 2010     30 March     4 April 2011     18 April     19 April     24 April 2012     6 April     7 April     8 April     15 April 2013     27 March     26 March     31 March     5 May 2014     15 April     20 April 2015     4 April     5 April     12 April 2016     23 March     23 April     27 March     1 May 2017     11 April     16 April 2018     31 March     1 April     8 April 2019     20 March     20 April     24 March     21 April     28 April 2020     8 April     9 April     12 April     19 April 2021     28 March     4 April     2 May 2022     16 April     17 April     24 April 2023     6 April     9 April     16 April 2024     25 March     23 April     31 March     5 May 2025     13 April     20 April Jewish Passover is on Nisan 15 of its calendar. It commences at sunset preceding the date indicated (as does Easter in many traditions).     Astronomical Easter is the first Sunday after the astronomical full moon after the astronomical March equinox as measured at the meridian of Jerusalem according to this WCC proposal. Position in the church year Further information: Liturgical year Western Christianity Easter and other named days and day ranges around Lent and Easter in Western Christianity, with the fasting days of Lent numbered In Western Christianity, Easter is preceded by Lent, a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days (not counting Sundays). The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very special in the Christian tradition. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday, with the Wednesday before Easter being known as Spy Wednesday. The last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus's entry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum (Latin for "Three Days"). Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called the Easter Vigil. The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with "Easter", e.g. Easter Monday (a public holiday in many countries), Easter Tuesday (a much less widespread public holiday), etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Eastertide, or Paschaltide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of Pentecost, seven weeks later. Eastern Christianity In Eastern Christianity, the spiritual preparation for Easter begins with Great Lent, which starts on Clean Monday and lasts for 40 continuous days (including Sundays). The last week of Great Lent (following the fifth Sunday of Great Lent) is called Palm Week, and ends with Lazarus Saturday. The Vespers which begins Lazarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast continues through the following week. After Lazarus Saturday comes Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and finally Easter itself, and the fast is broken immediately after the Paschal Divine Liturgy. The Paschal Vigil begins with the Midnight Office, which is the last service of the Lenten Triodion and is timed so that it ends a little before midnight on Holy Saturday night. At the stroke of midnight the Paschal celebration itself begins, consisting of Paschal Matins, Paschal Hours, and Paschal Divine Liturgy.[83] Placing the Paschal Divine Liturgy at midnight guarantees that no Divine Liturgy will come earlier in the morning, ensuring its place as the pre-eminent "Feast of Feasts" in the liturgical year. The liturgical season from Easter to the Sunday of All Saints (the Sunday after Pentecost) is known as the Pentecostarion (the "50 days"). The week which begins on Easter Sunday is called Bright Week, during which there is no fasting, even on Wednesday and Friday. The Afterfeast of Easter lasts 39 days, with its Apodosis (leave-taking) on the day before the Feast of the Ascension. Pentecost Sunday is the 50th day from Easter (counted inclusively).[84] Liturgical observance The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, fresco by Piero della Francesca, 1463 Western Christianity The Easter festival is kept in many different ways among Western Christians. The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among Roman Catholics, Lutherans,[85] and some Anglicans begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil which follows an ancient liturgy involving symbols of light, candles and water and numerous readings form the Old and New Testament.[86] Services continue on Easter Sunday and in a number of countries on Easter Monday. In parishes of the Moravian Church, as well as some other denominations such as the Methodist Churches, there is a tradition of Easter Sunrise Services[87] often starting in cemeteries[88] in remembrance of the biblical narrative in the Gospels, or other places in the open where the sunrise is visible.[89] Eastern Christianity Icon of the Resurrection by an unknown 17th-century Bulgarian artist Eastern Catholics and Byzantine Rite Lutherans have a similar emphasis on Easter in their calendars, and many of their liturgical customs are very similar.[90] Preparation for Easter begins with the season of Great Lent, which begins on Clean Monday.[91] While the end of Lent is Lazarus Saturday, fasting does not end until Easter Sunday.[92] The Orthodox service begins late Saturday evening, observing the Jewish tradition that evening is the start of liturgical holy days.[92] Boris Kustodiev's Pascha Greetings (1912) shows traditional Russian khristosovanie (exchanging a triple kiss), with such foods as red eggs, kulich and paskha in the background. The church is darkened, then the priest lights a candle at midnight, representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Altar servers light additional candles, with a procession which moves three times around the church to represent the three days in the tomb.[92] The service continues early into Sunday morning, with a feast to end the fasting. An additional service is held later that day on Easter Sunday.[92] Non-observing Christian groups Many Puritans saw traditional feasts of the established Anglican Church, such as All Saints' Day and Easter, as an abomination.[93] The Puritan rejection of Easter traditions was (and is) based partly upon their interpretation of 2 Corinthians 6:14–16 and partly upon a more general belief that, if a religious practice or celebration is not actually written in the Christian Bible, then that practice/celebration must be a later development and cannot be considered an authentic part of Christian practice or belief—so at best simply unnecessary, at worst actually sinful. Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as part of their historic testimony against times and seasons, do not celebrate or observe Easter or any traditional feast days of the established Church, believing instead that "every day is the Lord's day",[94] and that elevation of one day above others suggests that it is acceptable to do un-Christian acts on other days.[95] During the 17th and 18th centuries, Quakers were persecuted for this non-observance of Holy Days.[96] Groups such as the Restored Church of God and the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland reject the celebration of Easter, seeing it as originating in a pagan spring festival taken over by the "Roman" Catholic Church.[97][98] Jehovah's Witnesses maintain a similar view, observing a yearly commemorative service of the Last Supper and the subsequent execution of Christ on the evening of Nisan 14 (as they calculate the dates derived from the lunar Hebrew Calendar). It is commonly referred to by many Witnesses as simply "The Memorial".[99] Jehovah's Witnesses believe that such verses as Luke 22:19–20 and 1 Corinthians 11:26 constitute a commandment to remember the death of Christ though not the resurrection,[99] and they do so on a yearly basis just as Passover is celebrated annually by the Jews. Some Christian groups feel that Easter is something to be regarded with great joy: not marking the day itself, but remembering and rejoicing in the event it commemorates—the miracle of Christ's resurrection. In this spirit, these Christians teach that each day and all Sabbaths should be kept holy, in Christ's teachings. Hebrew-Christian, Sacred Name, and Armstrong movement churches (such as the Living Church of God) usually reject Easter in favor of Nisan 14 observance and celebration of the Christian Passover. This is especially true of Christian groups that celebrate the New Moons or annual High Sabbaths in addition to seventh-day Sabbath. They support this textually with reference to the letter to the Colossians 2:16–17: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's." Easter celebrations around the world Main article: Easter customs In Christian countries where Christianity is a state religion, or where the country has large Christian population, Easter is often a public holiday. As Easter always falls on a Sunday, many countries in the world also have Easter Monday as a public holiday. Some retail stores, shopping malls, and restaurants are closed on Easter Sunday. Good Friday, which occurs two days before Easter Sunday, is also a public holiday in many countries, as well as in 12 U.S. states. Even in states where Good Friday is not a holiday, many financial institutions, stock markets, and public schools are closed. The few banks that are normally open on regular Sundays are closed on Easter. In the Nordic countries Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays,[100] and Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays.[101] In Denmark, Iceland and Norway Maundy Thursday is also a public holiday. It is a holiday for most workers, except those operating some shopping malls which keep open for a half-day. Many businesses give their employees almost a week off, called Easter break.[102] Schools are closed between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday. According to a 2014 poll, 6 of 10 Norwegians travel during Easter, often to a countryside cottage; 3 of 10 said their typical Easter included skiing.[103] In the Netherlands both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are national holidays. Like first and second Christmas Day, they are both considered Sundays, which results in a first and a second Easter Sunday, after which the week continues to a Tuesday.[104] Even though Good Friday is an official national holiday, it is not a mandatory day off for commercial companies. In Commonwealth nations Easter Day is rarely a public holiday, as is the case for celebrations which fall on a Sunday. In the United Kingdom both Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays.[105] In Canada, Easter Monday is a statutory holiday for federal employees. In the Canadian province of Quebec, either Good Friday or Easter Monday are statutory holidays (although most companies give both). In some countries Good Friday is a public holiday as well. In Australia, because of its location in the southern hemisphere, Easter takes place in autumn. Hence, Australian Easter is associated with harvest time, rather than with the coming of spring as in the northern hemisphere. The religious aspect of Easter remains the same.[106] Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays across all states and territories. "Easter Saturday" (the Saturday before Easter Sunday) is a public holiday in every state except Tasmania and Western Australia, while Easter Sunday itself is a public holiday only in New South Wales. Easter Tuesday is additionally a conditional public holiday in Tasmania, varying between award, and was also a public holiday in Victoria until 1994.[107] In the United States, because Easter falls on a Sunday, which is already a non-working day for federal and state employees, it has not been designated as a federal or state holiday. Easter parades are held in many American cities, involving festive strolling processions,[108] with the New York City parade being the best known. Easter eggs Main article: Easter egg The egg is an ancient symbol of new life and rebirth. In Christianity it became associated with Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection.[109] The custom of the Easter egg originated in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion.[110][111] As such, for Christians, the Easter egg is a symbol of the empty tomb.[17][18] The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute decorated chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans; as many people give up sweets as their Lenten sacrifice, individuals enjoy them at Easter after having abstained from them during the preceding forty days of Lent.[112] Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Poland and other Slavic countries' folk traditions. A batik-like decorating process known as pisanka produces intricate, brilliantly-colored eggs. The celebrated House of Fabergé workshops created exquisite jewelled Easter eggs for the Russian Imperial family from 1885 to 1916.[113]     Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb, are a popular cultural symbol of Easter.[16]     Marshmallow rabbits, candy eggs and other treats in an Easter basket Manufacturing their first Easter egg in 1875, British chocolate company Cadbury sponsors the annual Easter egg hunt which takes place in over 250 National Trust locations in the United Kingdom.[114][115] On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn for young children.[116] Easter Bunny In some traditions the children put out their empty baskets for the Easter bunny to fill while they sleep. They wake to find their baskets filled with candy eggs and other treats. A custom originating in Germany, the Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture. Many children around the world follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. Since the rabbit is a pest in Australia, the Easter Bilby is available as an alternative." (wikipedia.org) "Eastertide (also known as Eastertime or the Easter season) or Paschaltide (also known as Paschaltime or the Paschal season) is a festal season in the liturgical year of Christianity that focuses on celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It begins on Easter Sunday, which initiates Easter Week in Western Christianity, and Bright Week in Eastern Christianity.[3] There are several Eastertide customs across the Christian world, including sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church,[4] and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb.[1][5][6] The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection,[2][7] traditionally serve as the chancel flowers that decorate the chancel area of churches throughout Eastertide.[8] Other Eastertide customs include egg hunting, eating special Easter foods and watching Easter parades.... Western Christianity Eastertide is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.[11] It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, called the "great Lord's Day".[12] Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. In some traditions, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday of Eastertide and the following Sunday (Low Sunday) is the second Sunday of Eastertide and so on;[13] in other traditions, following the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, concluding with Pentecost Sunday.[14] Easter Sunday and Pentecost correspond to pre-existing Jewish feasts: The first day of Pesach (פסח) and the holiday of Shavu'ot (שבועות). In the Jewish tradition, the 49 days between these holidays are known as Counting of the Omer (ספירת העומר)‎.[15] The first eight days constitute the Octave of Easter and are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord.[16] Since 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. The name "Low Sunday" for this Sunday, once common in English, is now used mainly in the Church of England. The solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated on the 40th day of Eastertide (a Thursday), except in countries where it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. In such countries it is celebrated on the following Sunday (the 43rd day of Eastertide).[17] The nine days from that feast until the Saturday before Pentecost (inclusive) are days of preparation for the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,[18] which inspired the form of prayer called a novena. Before the 1969 revision of the calendar, the Sundays were called First Sunday after Easter, Second Sunday after Easter, etc. The Sunday preceding the feast of the Ascension of the Lord was sometimes, although not officially, called Rogation Sunday, and when the Ascension had an octave, the following Sunday was called Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension.[19] When this octave was abolished in 1955, it was called Sunday after the Ascension.[20] Pentecost was followed by an octave, which some reckoned as part of Eastertide. When the Anglican and Lutheran churches implemented their own calendar and lectionary reforms in 1976, they adopted the same shortened definition of the Easter season as the Roman Catholic Church had promulgated six years earlier. In the Church of England, the Easter season begins with the Easter Vigil and ends after Evening Prayer (or Night Prayer) on the Day of Pentecost. Some Anglican provinces continue to label the Sundays between Easter and the Ascension "Sundays After Easter" rather than "Sundays of Easter"; others, such as the Church of England and ECUSA, use the term "Sundays of Easter". Paschal Tide is a season of joy. The colour for the Office de tempore is white; the Te Deum and Gloria are recited every day even in the ferial Office. On Sundays the "Asperges" is replaced by the "Vidi Aquam" which recalls the solemn baptism of Easter eve. There is no feast day from Easter until Ascension. The Armenians during this period do away even with the abstinence on Fridays. Prayers are said standing, not kneeling. Instead of the "Angelus" the "Regina Caeli" is recited. From Easter to Ascension many churches, about the tenth century, said only one Nocturn at Matins; even some particular churches in the city of Rome adopted this custom from the Teutons (Bäumer, "Gesch. des Breviers", 312). Pope Gregory VII limited this privilege to the week of Easter and of Pentecost. Some dioceses in Germany however, retained it far into the nineteenth century for 40 days after Easter. In every Nocturn the three psalms are said under one antiphon. The Alleluia appears as an independent antiphon; an Alleluia is also added to all the antiphons, responsories and versicles, except to the versicles of the preces at Prime and Compline. Instead of the "suffragia sanctorum" in the semidouble and ferial Offices, a commemoration of the Holy Cross is used. The iambic hymns have a special Easter doxology. The feasts of the holy Apostles and martyrs have their own commune from Easter to Pentecost. At Mass the Alleluia is added to the Introit, Offertory and Communion; in place of the Gradual two Alleluias are sung followed by two verses, each with an Alleluia; there is also a special Preface for Paschal Time. Paschal Tide was the period during which every member of the faithful who has attained the year of discretion was bound by the positive law of the Church to receive Holy Communion (Easter duty). During the early Middle Ages from the time of the Synod of Agde (508), it was customary to receive Holy Communion at least three times a year—Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. A positive precept was issued by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) and confirmed by the Council of Trent (Sess. XIII, can. ix). According to these decrees the faithful of either sex, after coming to the age of discretion, must receive at least at Easter the Sacrament of the Eucharist (unless by the advice of the parish priest they abstain for a while). Otherwise during life they are to be prevented from entering the church and when dead are to be denied Christian burial. The paschal precept is to be fulfilled in one's parish church. Although the precept of the Fourth Lateran to confess to the parish priest fell into disuse and permission was given to confess anywhere, the precept of receiving Easter Communion in the parish church was still in force where there are canonically-erected parishes. The term Paschal Tide was usually interpreted to mean the two weeks between Palm and Low Sundays (Synod of Avignon, 1337); by St. Antonine of Florence it was restricted to Easter Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; by Angelo da Chiavasso it was defined as the period from Maundy Thursday to Low Sunday. Eugene IV, 8 July 1440, authoritatively interpreted it to mean the two weeks between Palm and Low Sundays.[21] In later centuries the time has been variously extended: at Naples from Palm Sunday to Ascension; at Palermo from Ash Wednesday to Low Sunday. In Germany, at an early date, the second Sunday after Easter terminated Paschal Tide, for which reason it was called "Predigerkirchweih", because the hard Easter labour was over, or "Buch Sunday", the obstinate sinners putting off the fulfillment of the precept to the last day. In the United States upon petition of the Fathers of the First Provincial Council of Baltimore Paschal Tide was extended by Pius VIII to the period from the first Sunday in Lent to Trinity Sunday (II Plen. Coun. Balt., n. 257); in Canada the duration of the Paschal Tide is the same as in the United States. In England it lasts from Ash Wednesday until Low Sunday; in Ireland from Ash Wednesday until the octave of SS. Peter and Paul, 6 July.[22] Liturgical aspects This tide was called by the older liturgists "Quinquagesima paschalis" or "Quin. laetitiae". The octave of Easter which closes after Saturday has its own peculiar Office. Since this octave is part and complement of the Easter Solemnity, Paschal Tide in the liturgical books commences with the First Vespers of Low Sunday and ends before the First Vespers of Trinity Sunday. On Easter Sunday the Armenian Church keeps the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and on Saturday of Easter Week the Decollation of St. John. The Orthodox (Greek) Church celebrates on Friday of Easter Week the feast of Our Lady, the Living Fountain (shrine at Constantinople). The Sundays from Easter to Ascension Day, besides being called the First, Second (etc.) Sunday in Easteride or after Easter Sunday, have their own peculiar titles.[13] First Sunday Main article: Easter Sunday Second Sunday Main article: Second Sunday of Easter The second is the Feast of Mercy,[23][24] also known as "Dominica in albis", or Low Sunday. In the Dioceses of Portugal and Brazil (also in the ecclesiastical province of St. Louis, Mo.) on the Monday after Low Sunday is celebrated the feast of the Joys or Exultation of Mary at the Resurrection of her Son (double of the second class). The Russians, on Tuesday of this week, celebrating Radonitsa, go in procession to the cemeteries and place Easter eggs on the graves[25] Third Sunday Main article: Misericordias Domini In the Latin Church the third Sunday is called from its Gospel the Sunday of the Good Shepherd and from the Introit "Misericordias Domini"; in many dioceses (Seville, also with the order of the Capuchins) it is called the feast of Our Lady Mother of the Good Shepherd (double second class); at Jerusalem and in the churches of the Franciscans it is called the feast of the Holy Sepulchre of Christ; in the Greek Church it is called ion myrophoron (Sunday of the women who brought ointments to the sepulchre of Christ); the Armenians celebrate on this Sunday the dedication of the first Christian church on Mount Sion. Fourth Sunday Main article: Jubilate Sunday The fourth Sunday of Eastertide is called from the Introit "Jubilate";[26] the Latin Church has assigned to it the feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph (double second class); the Greeks call it the Sunday of the Paralytic, from its Gospel. Fifth Sunday Main article: Cantate Sunday The Oriental Churches on Wednesday after the third Sunday celebrate with a very solemn Office and an octave, the Mesopentekoste, the completion of the first half of Paschal Tide; it is the feast of the manifestation of the Messiah, the victory of Christ and the Church over Judaism ["Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie" (1895), 169-177]; the Slav nations in this day have a solemn procession and benediction of their rivers.[27] The fifth Sunday is called Cantate Sunday;[28] by the Orientals it is called Sunday of the Samaritan Woman. Sixth Sunday The sixth Sunday, "Vocem jucunditatis" in the Orient, Sunday of the Man Born Blind. In the Latin Church follow the Rogation Days; in the Greek Church on Tuesday is kept the apodosis or conclusion of the feast of Easter. The Greeks sing the Canons of Easter up to this Tuesday in the same manner as during Easter Week, whilst in the Latin Church the specific Easter Office terminates on Saturday following the feast. Thursday is the feast of the Ascension. The Friday of this week, in Germany, is called "Witterfreitag"; the fields are blessed against frost and thunderstorms. Seventh Sunday Sunday within the octave of Ascension is called "Exaudi" from the Introit; in some dioceses it is called Feast of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles (double major) or of the Cenacle (Charleston and Savannah, first class); in Rome it was called Sunday of the Roses ("Pascha rosarum" or "rosatum"), since in the Pantheon rose-leaves were thrown from the rotunda into the church; in the Greek and Russian Churches it is the feast of the 318 Fathers of the first Nicene Council; the Armenians call it the "second feast of the flowers", a repetition of Palm Sunday. By older liturgists the week before Pentecost is called "Hebdomada expectationis", week of the expectation of the Holy Ghost. On the Vigil of Pentecost the baptismal water is blessed in the Latin Church; in the Oriental Churches it this Saturday is the psychosabbaton (All Soul's Day); on this day the Greeks bless wheat cakes and have processions to the cemeteries. Eastern Christianity Byzantine Rite Bright Week procession (Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church in Guslitsa) Main article: Pentecostarion In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pascha begins on Easter Sunday at Matins which is normally celebrated at midnight and continues for forty days through the ninth hour on the day before the Ascension. East Syriac Rite The East Syriac Rite refers to Eastertide as the Season of Resurrection, also known by the Syriac transliteration Qyamta. In this rite, the following feasts are fixed to various days of the Season of Resurrection:[29][30]     Friday after Easter: All Saints' Day     Fourth Sunday after Easter ("Fifth Sunday of Resurrection"): Mar Addai     Sixth Thursday after Easter: Ascension of Our Lord The Second Sunday of Resurrection is also known as "New Sunday."" (wikipedia.org) "A centrepiece or centerpiece is an important item of a display, usually of a table setting.[1] Centrepieces help set the theme of the decorations and bring extra decorations to the room. A centrepiece also refers to any central or important object in a collection of items.[2] Traditional types for the very formal dining table include the epergne, with branching arms ending in bowls, and the surtout de table, in English reserved for a long tray, often with mirrors as the surface, on which candles, sculptures and other objects are placed. Purpose On the table, a centrepiece is a central object which serves a decorative purpose.[2] However, centrepieces are often not too large, to avoid difficulty with visibility around the table and to allow for the easier serving of dishes. Other centrepieces are often made from flowers, candles, fruit, or candy.[3] Centrepieces are a major part of the decoration for a wedding reception, being used widely at wedding receptions with flowers being the most popular form of centrepieces. Weddings, baby showers, engagement parties, anniversary parties and birthdays often have some form of centrepiece. Formal functions in Europe can sometimes have very elaborate centrepieces, which can span the entire length of the table. At holiday times, including Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, homes are often decorated with holiday centrepieces." (wikipedia.org) "The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide.[1] The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy, and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus or the Christkind, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays. The custom was first[2][unreliable source?] mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus[3] ('About Easter Eggs') in 1682, referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter eggs for the children.... Symbols Rabbits and hares Inflatable Easter bunny in front of San Francisco City Hall The hare was a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times, it was widely believed (as by Pliny, Plutarch, Philostratus, and Aelian) that the hare was a hermaphrodite.[4][5][6] The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring in illuminated manuscripts and Northern European paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child. It may also have been associated with the Holy Trinity, as in the three hares motif.[4][7] Eggs Main articles: Easter egg and Egg decorating Eggs have been used as fertility symbols since antiquity.[8] Eggs became a symbol in Christianity associated with rebirth as early as the 1st century AD, via the iconography of the Phoenix egg, and they became associated with Easter specifically in medieval Europe, when eating them was prohibited during the fast of Lent. A common practice in England at that time was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast.[9] As a special dish, eggs would probably have been decorated as part of the Easter celebrations. Later, German Protestants retained the custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, though they did not continue the tradition of fasting.[10] Eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes, and some over time added the custom of decorating the eggs.[11] Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red,[12] the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long-dead time of winter. The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs for Easter, known as pysanky, dates to ancient, pre-Christian times. Similar variants of this form of artwork are seen amongst other eastern and central European cultures.[13] The idea of an egg-giving hare went to the U.S. in the 18th century. Protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws"[14]). Hase means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.[15]     Dreihasenfenster (Window of Three Hares) in Paderborn Cathedral in Paderborn, Germany     Easter bunnies and Easter eggs as Easter biscuits     Marshmallow bunnies and candy eggs in an Easter basket     A bunny and decorated Easter eggs     Chocolate Easter Bunny molds from Alsace Musée du pain d'épices Alleged association with Ēostre In his 1835 Deutsche Mythologie, Jacob Grimm states "The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me, but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara". This proposed association was repeated by other authors including Charles Isaac Elton[16][page needed] and Charles J. Billson.[17] In 1961 Christina Hole wrote, "The hare was the sacred beast of Eastre (or Ēostre), a Saxon goddess of Spring and of the dawn."[18][page needed] The belief that Ēostre had a hare companion who became the Easter Bunny was popularized when it was presented as fact in the BBC documentary Shadow of the Hare (1993).[19] The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore however states "... there is no shred of evidence" that hares were sacred to Ēostre, noting that Bede does not associate her with any animal." (wikipedia.org) "Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (along with the hare) of the order Lagomorpha (along with the pika). Oryctolagus cuniculus includes the European rabbit species and its descendants, the world's 305 breeds[1] of domestic rabbit. Sylvilagus includes 13 wild rabbit species, among them the seven types of cottontail. The European rabbit, which has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica, is familiar throughout the world as a wild prey animal and as a domesticated form of livestock and pet. With its widespread effect on ecologies and cultures, the rabbit (or bunny) is, in many areas of the world, a part of daily life—as food, clothing, a companion, and a source of artistic inspiration. Although once considered rodents, lagomorphs like rabbits have been discovered to have diverged separately and earlier than their rodent cousins, and have a number of traits rodents lack, like two extra incisors.... Terminology Male rabbits are called bucks; females are called does. An older term for an adult rabbit is coney (derived ultimately from the Latin cuniculus), while rabbit once referred only to the young animals.[2] Another term for a young rabbit is bunny, though this term is often applied informally (particularly by children) to rabbits generally, especially domestic ones. More recently, the term kit or kitten has been used to refer to a young rabbit. A group of rabbits is known as a colony or nest (or, occasionally, a warren, though this more commonly refers to where the rabbits live).[3] A group of baby rabbits produced from a single mating is referred to as a litter,[4] and a group of domestic rabbits living together is sometimes called a herd.[5] Taxonomy Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order Rodentia (rodent) until 1912, when they were moved into a new order, Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). Below are some of the genera and species of the rabbit.     Brachylagus Idahoensis     Pygmy rabbit     Nesolagus netscheri     Sumatran Striped Rabbit     (Model)     Oryctolagus cuniculus     European rabbit     (Feral Tasmanian specimen)     Pentalagus furnessi     Amami rabbit     (Taxidermy specimen)     Romerolagus diazi     Volcano rabbit     (Taxidermy specimen)     Sylvilagus aquaticus     Swamp rabbit     (Juvenile)     Sylvilagus audubonii     Desert cottontail     Sylvilagus bachmani     Brush rabbit     Sylvilagus brasiliensis     Tapeti     (Taxidermy specimen)     Sylvilagus palustris     hefneri     Lower Keys     marsh rabbit Order Lagomorpha     Family Leporidae     Genus Brachylagus         Pygmy rabbit, Brachylagus idahoensis     Genus Bunolagus         Bushman rabbit, Bunolagus monticularis     Genus Lepus ← NOTE: This genus is considered a hare, not a rabbit     Genus Nesolagus         Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri         Annamite striped rabbit, Nesolagus timminsi     Genus Oryctolagus         European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus     Genus Pentalagus         Amami rabbit / Ryūkyū rabbit, Pentalagus furnessi     Genus Poelagus         Central African Rabbit, Poelagus marjorita     Genus Prolagidae ← NOTE: This genus is extinct.     Genus Romerolagus         Volcano rabbit, Romerolagus diazi     Genus Sylvilagus         Swamp rabbit, Sylvilagus aquaticus         Desert cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii         Brush rabbit, Sylvilagus bachmani         Forest rabbit, Sylvilagus brasiliensis         Mexican cottontail, Sylvilagus cunicularis         Dice's cottontail, Sylvilagus dicei         Eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus         Tres Marias rabbit, Sylvilagus graysoni         Omilteme cottontail, Sylvilagus insonus         San Jose brush rabbit, Sylvilagus mansuetus         Mountain cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii         Marsh rabbit, Sylvilagus palustris         New England cottontail, Sylvilagus transitionalis Family Ochtonidae     Genus Ochoronidae ← NOTE: This genus is considered a pika, not a rabbit Hare Johann Daniel Meyer (1748) Rabbit Johann Daniel Meyer (1748) Differences from hares Main article: Hare Hares are precocial, born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision, while rabbits are altricial, born hairless and blind, and requiring closer care. Hares (and cottontail rabbits) live a relatively solitary life in a simple nest above the ground, while most rabbits live in social groups in burrows or warrens. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with ears that are more elongated, and with hind legs that are larger and longer. Hares have not been domesticated, while descendants of the European rabbit are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets. Domestication Main article: Domestic rabbit Rabbits have long been domesticated. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the European rabbit has been widely kept as livestock, starting in ancient Rome. Selective breeding has generated a wide variety of rabbit breeds, of which many (since the early 19th century) are also kept as pets. Some strains of rabbit have been bred specifically as research subjects. As livestock, rabbits are bred for their meat and fur. The earliest breeds were important sources of meat, and so became larger than wild rabbits, but domestic rabbits in modern times range in size from dwarf to giant. Rabbit fur, prized for its softness, can be found in a broad range of coat colors and patterns, as well as lengths. The Angora rabbit breed, for example, was developed for its long, silky fur, which is often hand-spun into yarn. Other domestic rabbit breeds have been developed primarily for the commercial fur trade, including the Rex, which has a short plush coat. Biology Evolution Development of the rabbit heart (wax models) Because the rabbit's epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather. Rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other. This way they can be distinguished from rodents, with which they are often confused.[6] Carl Linnaeus originally grouped rabbits and rodents under the class Glires; later, they were separated as the scientific consensus is that many of their similarities were a result of convergent evolution. However, recent DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor has supported the view that they do share a common lineage, and thus rabbits and rodents are now often referred to together as members of the superorder Glires.[7] Morphology Skeleton of the rabbit Since speed and agility are a rabbit's main defenses against predators (including the swift fox), rabbits have large hind leg bones and well developed musculature. Though plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade form. Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense.[8] Each front foot has four toes plus a dewclaw. Each hind foot has four toes (but no dewclaw).[9] Melanistic coloring Oryctologus cuniculus European rabbit (wild) Most wild rabbits (especially compared to hares) have relatively full, egg-shaped bodies. The soft coat of the wild rabbit is agouti in coloration (or, rarely, melanistic), which aids in camouflage. The tail of the rabbit (with the exception of the cottontail species) is dark on top and white below. Cottontails have white on the top of their tails.[10] As a result of the position of the eyes in its skull, the rabbit has a field of vision that encompasses nearly 360 degrees, with just a small blind spot at the bridge of the nose.[11] Hind limb elements This image comes from a specimen in the Pacific Lutheran University natural history collection. It displays all of the skeletal articulations of rabbit's hind limbs. The anatomy of rabbits' hind limbs are structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contribute to their specialized form of locomotion. The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones (the femur, tibia, fibula, and phalanges) as well as short bones (the tarsals). These bones are created through endochondral ossification during development. Like most land mammals, the round head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum of the ox coxae. The femur articulates with the tibia, but not the fibula, which is fused to the tibia. The tibia and fibula articulate with the tarsals of the pes, commonly called the foot. The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs. This allows them to produce their hopping form of locomotion. Longer hind limbs are more capable of producing faster speeds. Hares, which have longer legs than cottontail rabbits, are able to move considerably faster.[12] Rabbits stay just on their toes when moving this is called Digitigrade locomotion. The hind feet have four long toes that allow for this and are webbed to prevent them from spreading when hopping.[13] Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion. Instead, they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection.[14] Musculature The rabbits hind limb (lateral view) includes muscles involved in the quadriceps and hamstrings. Rabbits have muscled hind legs that allow for maximum force, maneuverability, and acceleration that is divided into three main parts; foot, thigh, and leg. The hind limbs of a rabbit are an exaggerated feature, that are much longer than the forelimbs providing more force. Rabbits run on their toes to gain the optimal stride during locomotion. The force put out by the hind limbs is contributed to both the structural anatomy of the fusion tibia and fibula, and muscular features.[15] Bone formation and removal, from a cellular standpoint, is directly correlated to hind limb muscles. Action pressure from muscles creates force that is then distributed through the skeletal structures. Rabbits that generate less force, putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction.[16] In rabbits, the more fibers in a muscle, the more resistant to fatigue. For example, hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails. The muscles of rabbit's hind limbs can be classified into four main categories: hamstrings, quadriceps, dorsiflexors, or plantar flexors. The quadriceps muscles are in charge of force production when jumping. Complementing these muscles are the hamstrings which aid in short bursts of action. These muscles play off of one another in the same way as the plantar flexors and dorsiflexors, contributing to the generation and actions associated with force.[17] Ears A Holland Lop resting with one ear up and one ear down. Some rabbits can adjust their ears to hear distant sounds. Within the order lagomorphs, the ears are utilized to detect and avoid predators. In the family Leporidae, the ears are typically longer than they are wide. For example, in black tailed jack rabbits, their long ears cover a greater surface area relative to their body size that allow them to detect predators from far away. Contrasted to cotton tailed rabbits, their ears are smaller and shorter, requiring predators to be closer to detect them before they can flee. Evolution has favored rabbits having shorter ears so the larger surface area does not cause them to lose heat in more temperate regions. The opposite can be seen in rabbits that live in hotter climates, mainly because they possess longer ears that have a larger surface area that help with dispersion of heat as well as the theory that sound does not travel well in more arid air, opposed to cooler air. Therefore, longer ears are meant to aid the organism in detecting predators sooner rather than later in warmer temperatures.[18] The rabbit is characterized by its shorter ears while hares are characterized by their longer ears.[19] Rabbits' ears are an important structure to aid thermoregulation and detect predators due to how the outer, middle, and inner ear muscles coordinate with one another. The ear muscles also aid in maintaining balance and movement when fleeing predators.[20] Anatomy of mammalian ear Outer ear The auricle, also known as the pinna, is a rabbit's outer ear.[21] The rabbit's pinnae represent a fair part of the body surface area. It is theorized that the ears aid in dispersion of heat at temperatures above 30 °C with rabbits in warmer climates having longer pinnae due to this. Another theory is that the ears function as shock absorbers that could aid and stabilize rabbit's vision when fleeing predators, but this has typically only been seen in hares.[22] The rest of the outer ear has bent canals that lead to the eardrum or tympanic membrane.[23] Middle ear The middle ear is filled with three bones called ossicles and is separated by the outer eardrum in the back of the rabbit's skull. The three ossicles are called hammer, anvil, and stirrup and act to decrease sound before it hits the inner ear. In general, the ossicles act as a barrier to the inner ear for sound energy.[23] Inner ear Inner ear fluid called endolymph receives the sound energy. After receiving the energy, later within the inner ear there are two parts: the cochlea that utilizes sound waves from the ossicles and the vestibular apparatus that manages the rabbit's position in regards to movement. Within the cochlea there is a basilar membrane that contains sensory hair structures utilized to send nerve signals to the brain so it can recognize different sound frequencies. Within the vestibular apparatus the rabbit possesses three semicircular canals to help detect angular motion.[23] Thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the process that an organism utilizes to maintain an optimal body temperature independent of external conditions.[24] This process is carried out by the pinnae which takes up most of the rabbit's body surface and contain a vascular network and arteriovenous shunts.[25] In a rabbit, the optimal body temperature is around 38.5–40℃.[26] If their body temperature exceeds or does not meet this optimal temperature, the rabbit must return to homeostasis. Homeostasis of body temperature is maintained by the use of their large, highly vascularized ears that are able to change the amount of blood flow that passes through the ears. Rabbits use their large vascularized ears which aid in thermoregulation to keep their body temperature at an optimal level. Constriction and dilation of blood vessels in the ears are used to control the core body temperature of a rabbit. If the core temperature exceeds its optimal temperature greatly, blood flow is constricted to limit the amount of blood going through the vessels. With this constriction, there is only a limited amount of blood that is passing through the ears where ambient heat would be able to heat the blood that is flowing through the ears and therefore, increasing the body temperature. Constriction is also used when the ambient temperature is much lower than that of the rabbit's core body temperature. When the ears are constricted it again limits blood flow through the ears to conserve the optimal body temperature of the rabbit. If the ambient temperature is either 15 degrees above or below the optimal body temperature, the blood vessels will dilate. With the blood vessels being enlarged, the blood is able to pass through the large surface area which causes it to either heat or cool down. During the summer, the rabbit has the capability to stretch its pinnae which allows for greater surface area and increase heat dissipation. In the winter, the rabbit does the opposite and folds its ears in order to decrease its surface area to the ambient air which would decrease their body temperature. Ventral view of dissected rabbit lungs with key structures labeled. The jackrabbit has the largest ears within the Oryctolagus cuniculus group. Their ears contribute to 17% of their total body surface area. Their large pinna were evolved to maintain homeostasis while in the extreme temperatures of the desert. Respiratory system The rabbit's nasal cavity lies dorsal to the oral cavity, and the two compartments are separated by the hard and soft palate.[27] The nasal cavity itself is separated into a left and right side by a cartilage barrier, and it is covered in fine hairs that trap dust before it can enter the respiratory tract.[28][27] As the rabbit breathes, air flows in through the nostrils along the alar folds. From there, the air moves into the nasal cavity, also known as the nasopharynx, down through the trachea, through the larynx, and into the lungs.[28][29] The larynx functions as the rabbit's voice box, which enables it to produce a wide variety of sounds.[28] The trachea is a long tube embedded with cartilaginous rings that prevent the tube from collapsing as air moves in and out of the lungs. The trachea then splits into a left and right bronchus, which meet the lungs at a structure called the hilum. From there, the bronchi split into progressively more narrow and numerous branches. The bronchi branch into bronchioles, into respiratory bronchioles, and ultimately terminate at the alveolar ducts. The branching that is typically found in rabbit lungs is a clear example of monopodial branching, in which smaller branches divide out laterally from a larger central branch.[30] Rabbits breathe primarily through their noses due to the fact that the epiglottis is fixed to the backmost portion of the soft palate.[29] Within the oral cavity, a layer of tissue sits over the opening of the glottis, which blocks airflow from the oral cavity to the trachea.[27] The epiglottis functions to prevent the rabbit from aspirating on its food. Further, the presence of a soft and hard palate allow the rabbit to breathe through its nose while it feeds.[28] Monopodial branching as seen in dissected rabbit lungs. A house rabbit grooming Rabbits lungs are divided into four lobes: the cranial, middle, caudal, and accessory lobes. The right lung is made up of all four lobes, while the left lung only has two: the cranial and caudal lobes.[30] In order to provide space for the heart, the left cranial lobe of the lungs is significantly smaller than that of the right.[27] The diaphragm is a muscular structure that lies caudal to the lungs and contracts to facilitate respiration.[27][29] Digestion File:Pet rabbit eating grass.webmPlay media A pet rabbit eating grass Rabbits are herbivores that feed by grazing on grass, forbs, and leafy weeds. In consequence, their diet contains large amounts of cellulose, which is hard to digest. Rabbits solve this problem via a form of hindgut fermentation. They pass two distinct types of feces: hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets, the latter of which are known as caecotrophs or "night droppings" [31] and are immediately eaten (a behaviour known as coprophagy). Rabbits reingest their own droppings (rather than chewing the cud as do cows and numerous other herbivores) to digest their food further and extract sufficient nutrients.[32] Rabbits graze heavily and rapidly for roughly the first half-hour of a grazing period (usually in the late afternoon), followed by about half an hour of more selective feeding.[citation needed] In this time, the rabbit will also excrete many hard fecal pellets, being waste pellets that will not be reingested.[citation needed] If the environment is relatively non-threatening, the rabbit will remain outdoors for many hours, grazing at intervals.[citation needed] While out of the burrow, the rabbit will occasionally reingest its soft, partially digested pellets; this is rarely observed, since the pellets are reingested as they are produced.[citation needed] File:European Rabbit.ogvPlay media Video of a wild European rabbit with ears twitching and a jump Hard pellets are made up of hay-like fragments of plant cuticle and stalk, being the final waste product after redigestion of soft pellets. These are only released outside the burrow and are not reingested. Soft pellets are usually produced several hours after grazing, after the hard pellets have all been excreted.[citation needed] They are made up of micro-organisms and undigested plant cell walls.[citation needed] Rabbits are hindgut digesters. This means that most of their digestion takes place in their large intestine and cecum. In rabbits, the cecum is about 10 times bigger than the stomach and it along with the large intestine makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit's digestive tract.[33] The unique musculature of the cecum allows the intestinal tract of the rabbit to separate fibrous material from more digestible material; the fibrous material is passed as feces, while the more nutritious material is encased in a mucous lining as a cecotrope. Cecotropes, sometimes called "night feces", are high in minerals, vitamins and proteins that are necessary to the rabbit's health. Rabbits eat these to meet their nutritional requirements; the mucous coating allows the nutrients to pass through the acidic stomach for digestion in the intestines. This process allows rabbits to extract the necessary nutrients from their food.[34] The chewed plant material collects in the large cecum, a secondary chamber between the large and small intestine containing large quantities of symbiotic bacteria that help with the digestion of cellulose and also produce certain B vitamins. The pellets are about 56% bacteria by dry weight, largely accounting for the pellets being 24.4% protein on average. The soft feces form here and contain up to five times the vitamins of hard feces. After being excreted, they are eaten whole by the rabbit and redigested in a special part of the stomach. The pellets remain intact for up to six hours in the stomach; the bacteria within continue to digest the plant carbohydrates. This double-digestion process enables rabbits to use nutrients that they may have missed during the first passage through the gut, as well as the nutrients formed by the microbial activity and thus ensures that maximum nutrition is derived from the food they eat.[10] This process serves the same purpose in the rabbit as rumination does in cattle and sheep.[35] Dissected image of the male rabbit reproductive system with key structures labeled. Rabbits are incapable of vomiting.[36] Because rabbits cannot vomit, if buildup occurs within the intestines (due often to a diet with insufficient fiber[37]), intestinal blockage can occur.[38] Reproduction Diagram of the male rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled. The adult male reproductive system forms the same as most mammals with the seminiferous tubular compartment containing the Sertoli cells and an adluminal compartment that contains the Leydig cells.[39] The Leydig cells produce testosterone, which maintains libido[39] and creates secondary sex characteristics such as the genital tubercle and penis. The Sertoli cells triggers the production of Anti-Müllerian duct hormone, which absorbs the Müllerian duct. In an adult male rabbit, the sheath of the penis is cylinder-like and can be extruded as early as two months of age.[40] The scrotal sacs lay lateral to the penis and contain epididymal fat pads which protect the testes. Between 10 and 14 weeks, the testes descend and are able to retract into the pelvic cavity in order to thermoregulate.[40] Furthermore, the secondary sex characteristics, such as the testes, are complex and secrete many compounds. These compounds includes fructose, citric acid, minerals, and a uniquely high amount of catalase.[39] Diagram of the female rabbit reproductive system with main components labeled. The adult female reproductive tract is bipartite, which prevents an embryo from translocating between uteri.[41] The two uterine horns communicate to two cervixes and forms one vaginal canal. Along with being bipartite, the female rabbit does not go through an estrus cycle, which causes mating induced ovulation.[40] The average female rabbit becomes sexually mature at 3 to 8 months of age and can conceive at any time of the year for the duration of her life. However, egg and sperm production can begin to decline after three years.[39] During mating, the male rabbit will mount the female rabbit from behind and insert his penis into the female and make rapid pelvic hip thrusts. The encounter lasts only 20–40 seconds and after, the male will throw himself backwards off the female.[42] The rabbit gestation period is short and ranges from 28 to 36 days with an average period of 31 days. A longer gestation period will generally yield a smaller litter while shorter gestation periods will give birth to a larger litter. The size of a single litter can range from four to 12 kits allowing a female to deliver up to 60 new kits a year. After birth, the female can become pregnant again as early as the next day.[40] The mortality rates of embryos are high in rabbits and can be due to infection, trauma, poor nutrition and environmental stress so a high fertility rate is necessary to counter this.[40] Sleep Further information: Sleep (non-human) Rabbits may appear to be crepuscular, but their natural inclination is toward nocturnal activity.[43] In 2011, the average sleep time of a rabbit in captivity was calculated at 8.4 hours per day.[44] As with other prey animals, rabbits often sleep with their eyes open, so that sudden movements will awaken the rabbit to respond to potential danger.[45] Diseases For a more comprehensive list, see Category:Rabbit diseases. In addition to being at risk of disease from common pathogens such as Bordetella bronchiseptica and Escherichia coli, rabbits can contract the virulent, species-specific viruses RHD ("rabbit hemorrhagic disease", a form of calicivirus)[46] or myxomatosis. Among the parasites that infect rabbits are tapeworms (such as Taenia serialis), external parasites (including fleas and mites), coccidia species, and Toxoplasma gondii.[47][48] Domesticated rabbits with a diet lacking in high fiber sources, such as hay and grass, are susceptible to potentially lethal gastrointestinal stasis.[49] Rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.[50] Encephalitozoon cuniculi, an obligate intracellular parasite is also capable of infecting many mammals including rabbits. Ecology Rabbit kits one hour after birth Rabbits are prey animals and are therefore constantly aware of their surroundings. For instance, in Mediterranean Europe, rabbits are the main prey of red foxes, badgers, and Iberian lynxes.[51] If confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground. Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision, and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning.[52] They survive predation by burrowing, hopping away in a zig-zag motion, and, if captured, delivering powerful kicks with their hind legs. Their strong teeth allow them to eat and to bite in order to escape a struggle.[53] The longest-lived rabbit on record, a domesticated European rabbit living in Tasmania, died at age 18.[54] The lifespan of wild rabbits is much shorter; the average longevity of an eastern cottontail, for instance, is less than one year.[55] Rabbit burrow entrance Rabbit burrow entrance Habitat and range Rabbit habitats include meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands.[56] Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit, lives in burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.[56] More than half the world's rabbit population resides in North America.[56] They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present. Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, while most of South America's southern cone is without rabbits. The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.[10] Environmental problems See also: Rabbits in Australia Two European rabbits on the steps of the National Opera in Helsinki, Finland. In the capital region freed pet rabbits, so-called "city rabbits", are considered pests.[57][58][59] Rabbits have been a source of environmental problems when introduced into the wild by humans. As a result of their appetites, and the rate at which they breed, feral rabbit depredation can be problematic for agriculture. Gassing, barriers (fences), shooting, snaring, and ferreting have been used to control rabbit populations, but the most effective measures are diseases such as myxomatosis (myxo or mixi, colloquially) and calicivirus. In Europe, where rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they are protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus with a genetically modified virus. The virus was developed in Spain, and is beneficial to rabbit farmers. If it were to make its way into wild populations in areas such as Australia, it could create a population boom, as those diseases are the most serious threats to rabbit survival. Rabbits in Australia and New Zealand are considered to be such a pest that land owners are legally obliged to control them.[60][61] As food and clothing Main article: Cuniculture See also: Category:Rabbit dishes Saint Jerome in the Desert [Note rabbit being chased by a (trained?) domesticated hound] Taddeo Crivelli (Italian, died about 1479) Rabbit being prepared in the kitchen Simulation of daily life, mid-15th century Hospices de Beaune, France An Australian "rabbiter" (c. 1900) In some areas, wild rabbits and hares are hunted for their meat, a lean source of high quality protein.[62] In the wild, such hunting is accomplished with the aid of trained falcons, ferrets, or dogs, as well as with snares or other traps, and rifles. A caught rabbit may be dispatched with a sharp blow to the back of its head, a practice from which the term rabbit punch is derived. Wild leporids comprise a small portion of global rabbit-meat consumption. Domesticated descendants of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that are bred and kept as livestock (a practice called cuniculture) account for the estimated 200 million tons of rabbit meat produced annually.[63] Approximately 1.2 billion rabbits are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide.[64] In 1994, the countries with the highest consumption per capita of rabbit meat were Malta with 8.89 kg (19 lb 10 oz), Italy with 5.71 kg (12 lb 9 oz), and Cyprus with 4.37 kg (9 lb 10 oz), falling to 0.03 kg (1 oz) in Japan. The figure for the United States was 0.14 kg (5 oz) per capita. The largest producers of rabbit meat in 1994 were China, Russia, Italy, France, and Spain.[65] Rabbit meat was once a common commodity in Sydney, Australia, but declined after the myxomatosis virus was intentionally introduced to control the exploding population of feral rabbits in the area. In the United Kingdom, fresh rabbit is sold in butcher shops and markets, and some supermarkets sell frozen rabbit meat. At farmers markets there, including the famous Borough Market in London, rabbit carcasses are sometimes displayed hanging, unbutchered (in the traditional style), next to braces of pheasant or other small game. Rabbit meat is a feature of Moroccan cuisine, where it is cooked in a tajine with "raisins and grilled almonds added a few minutes before serving".[66] In China, rabbit meat is particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, with its stewed rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, BBQ-style rabbit, and even spicy rabbit heads, which have been compared to spicy duck neck.[63] Rabbit meat is comparatively unpopular elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific. An extremely rare infection associated with rabbits-as-food is tularemia (also known as rabbit fever), which may be contracted from an infected rabbit.[67] Hunters are at higher risk for tularemia because of the potential for inhaling the bacteria during the skinning process. In addition to their meat, rabbits are used for their wool, fur, and pelts, as well as their nitrogen-rich manure and their high-protein milk.[68] Production industries have developed domesticated rabbit breeds (such as the well-known Angora rabbit) to efficiently fill these needs. In art, literature, and culture Main article: Rabbits and hares in art Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility or rebirth, and have long been associated with spring and Easter as the Easter Bunny. The species' role as a prey animal with few defenses evokes vulnerability and innocence, and in folklore and modern children's stories, rabbits often appear as sympathetic characters, able to connect easily with youth of all kinds (for example, the Velveteen Rabbit, or Thumper in Bambi). Tile (19th c.) inspired by Marvels of Creatures and Strange Things Existing (13th century Iranian book) With its reputation as a prolific breeder, the rabbit juxtaposes sexuality with innocence, as in the Playboy Bunny. The rabbit (as a swift prey animal) is also known for its speed, agility, and endurance, symbolized (for example) by the marketing icons the Energizer Bunny and the Duracell Bunny. Folklore Main article: List of fictional hares and rabbits The rabbit often appears in folklore as the trickster archetype, as he uses his cunning to outwit his enemies. "Rabbit fools Elephant by showing the reflection of the moon". Illustration (from 1354) of the Panchatantra "Three rabbits" motif Coat of arms of Corbenay, France     In Aztec mythology, a pantheon of four hundred rabbit gods known as Centzon Totochtin, led by Ometochtli or Two Rabbit, represented fertility, parties, and drunkenness.     In Central Africa, the common hare (Kalulu), is "inevitably described" as a trickster figure.[69]     In Chinese folklore, rabbits accompany Chang'e on the Moon. In the Chinese New Year, the zodiacal rabbit is one of the twelve celestial animals in the Chinese zodiac. Note that the Vietnamese zodiac includes a zodiacal cat in place of the rabbit, possibly because rabbits did not inhabit Vietnam.[citation needed] The most common explanation, however, is that the ancient Vietnamese word for "rabbit" (mao) sounds like the Chinese word for "cat" (卯, mao).[70]     In Japanese tradition, rabbits live on the Moon where they make mochi, the popular snack of mashed sticky rice. This comes from interpreting the pattern of dark patches on the moon as a rabbit standing on tiptoes on the left pounding on an usu, a Japanese mortar.     In Jewish folklore, rabbits (shfanim שפנים) are associated with cowardice, a usage still current in contemporary Israeli spoken Hebrew (similar to the English colloquial use of "chicken" to denote cowardice).     In Korean mythology, as in Japanese, rabbits live on the moon making rice cakes ("Tteok" in Korean).     In Anishinaabe traditional beliefs, held by the Ojibwe and some other Native American peoples, Nanabozho, or Great Rabbit, is an important deity related to the creation of the world.     A Vietnamese mythological story portrays the rabbit of innocence and youthfulness. The Gods of the myth are shown to be hunting and killing rabbits to show off their power.     Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism have associations with an ancient circular motif called the three rabbits (or "three hares"). Its meaning ranges from "peace and tranquility", to purity or the Holy Trinity, to Kabbalistic levels of the soul or to the Jewish diaspora. The tripartite symbol also appears in heraldry and even tattoos. The rabbit as trickster is a part of American popular culture, as Br'er Rabbit (from African-American folktales and, later, Disney animation) and Bugs Bunny (the cartoon character from Warner Bros.), for example. Anthropomorphized rabbits have appeared in film and literature, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (the White Rabbit and the March Hare characters), in Watership Down (including the film and television adaptations), in Rabbit Hill (by Robert Lawson), and in the Peter Rabbit stories (by Beatrix Potter). In the 1920s, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, was a popular cartoon character. WWII USAF pilot D. R. Emerson "flys with a rabbit's foot talisman, a gift from a New York girl friend" Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit. Superstition and urban legend Question book-new.svg     This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Rabbit" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2018) A rabbit's foot may be carried as an amulet, believed to bring protection and good luck. This belief is found in many parts of the world, with the earliest use being recorded in Europe c. 600 BC.[71] On the Isle of Portland in Dorset, UK, the rabbit is said to be unlucky and even speaking the creature's name can cause upset among older island residents. This is thought to date back to early times in the local quarrying industry where (to save space) extracted stones that were not fit for sale were set aside in what became tall, unstable walls. The local rabbits' tendency to burrow there would weaken the walls and their collapse resulted in injuries or even death. Thus, invoking the name of the culprit became an unlucky act to be avoided. In the local culture to this day, the rabbit (when he has to be referred to) may instead be called a “long ears” or “underground mutton”, so as not to risk bringing a downfall upon oneself. While it was true 50 years ago[when?] that a pub on the island could be emptied by calling out the word "rabbit", this has become more fable than fact in modern times.[citation needed] In other parts of Britain and in North America, invoking the rabbit's name may instead bring good luck. "Rabbit rabbit rabbit" is one variant of an apotropaic or talismanic superstition that involves saying or repeating the word "rabbit" (or "rabbits" or "white rabbits" or some combination thereof) out loud upon waking on the first day of each month, because doing so will ensure good fortune for the duration of that month. The "rabbit test" is a term, first used in 1949, for the Friedman test, an early diagnostic tool for detecting a pregnancy in humans. It is a common misconception (or perhaps an urban legend) that the test-rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant. This led to the phrase "the rabbit died" becoming a euphemism for a positive pregnancy test." (wikipedia.org) "Egg decorating is the art or craft of decorating eggs. It has been a popular art form throughout history because of the attractive, smooth, oval shape of the egg, and the ancient associations with eggs as a religious and cultural symbol. Egg decorating has been associated with Easter in recent times, but was practiced independently by many ancient cultures.... Ancient Traditions Eggs are an important symbol in folklore and mythology, often representing life and rebirth, healing and protection, and sometimes featuring in creation myths.[1] This means that traditional egg decorating existed throughout the world. Europe In Jewish tradition, a white egg is part of the Passover seder plate. Mesopatamian Orthodox Christians used the symbol of the Passover egg but dyed it red to symbolise the blood of Christ, which is probably the origin of the Easter egg. Red eggs still feature in Greek Easter celebrations Easter, where people play games which involve tapping the red eggs against each other.[1] In many parts of Europe, egg decorating took place before the widespread adoption of Christianity, so it is unclear to what extent paganism and Christianity influenced the practice. The earliest example of egg decoration in Europe was a decorated egg found buried with a girl in Worms, Germany, dating to the 5th century, when eggs were not yet associated with Easter.[1] Punic decorated egg from Iron Age II Eastern European cultures, and particularly Slavic ones, also have a strong tradition of decorating eggs thought to be pre-Christian in origin. Chicken, duck and goose eggs are decorated variously with batik dyeing, applique, scratch-work, wax encaustic and carving. Egg decorating is particularly popular in Ukraine, where the eggs are called Pysanky. The renowned Russian court artist and jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé made exquisitely decorated precious metal and gemstone eggs for the Romanovs. These Fabergé eggs resembled standard decorated eggs, but they were made from gold and precious stones. Eastern European egg decorating is thought to stem from pagan practices. In Northern England, the tradition of Pace Egging (derived from Latin pascha meaning 'Easter') involved boiling eggs in onion skins to dye their shells a golden colour,[2] or alternatively covered in leaves or flowers inside an onion skin to leave a patterned imprint.[1] The tradition is practiced on Easter but is thought to be pre-Christian in origin.[3] Scandinavian traditions also involved boiling eggs with flowers inside onion skins to colour them.[1] Another type of egg decoration is the Hungarian practice of egg shoeing, which requires goose eggs and miniature horse-shoes, made of iron or lead. The current world record of egg shoeing is 1119 shoes on a single ostrich egg.[4] Middle East The Persian culture also has a tradition of egg decorating, which takes place during the spring equinox. This time marks the Persian New Year, and is referred to as Nowruz. Family members decorate eggs together and place them in a bowl. It is said that it is from this cultural tradition that the Christian practice originates. The tradition of Nowruz, which has its roots in ancient Zoroastrian tradition, is practised by Persian and Turkic peoples of various faiths. Africa The oldest eggshells, decorated with engraved hatched patterns, are dated for 60,000 years ago and were found at Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South Africa.[5] In Egypt, it is a tradition to decorate boiled eggs during Sham el-Nessim, a spring-ushering national holiday celebrated by Egyptians regardless of religion, which falls every year on the Monday following the Eastern Christian Easter. Techniques and Modern Practices     This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Any bird egg can be facilitated in this process, but most often the larger and stronger the eggshell is, the more favoured it will be by decorators. Goose, duck and hens' eggs are usually "blown" – a hole is made in each end and the contents are blown out. The egg is then either carved, dyed, painted, appliqued or otherwise decorated (using a number of different techniques). Egg decoration is particularly popular in Eastern European countries. Some eggs, like emu or ostrich eggs, are so large and strong that the shells may be carved without breaking. Decorations on emu eggs take advantage of the contrast in colours between the dark green mottled outside of the shell and the shell-underlay. Many modern egg artists decorate their "art eggs" by etching or carving, while others paint or cover their eggs with different materials, from paper and fabric to polymer clay and are often painted in bright, spring colours. Using eggs as a canvas has become so popular that special terms have developed with the art form.[6] Egg artists also have their own guild, the International Egg Art Guild, which promotes the craft of egg artistry. In the United States there are shows in many states where artists show their eggs and vendors of "egging" supplies can be found. Each year, the White House chooses a decorated egg from each state to display at easter. In Australia, emu eggs are carved and the art created by them is known as kalti paarti carving.[7] The art (which dates to the nineteenth century) is practised by people of different cultures, but it is associated most strongly with Aboriginal art." (wikipedia.org) "A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing a nonmetallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature. [1][2] Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick. The crystallinity of ceramic materials ranges from highly oriented to semi-crystalline, vitrified, and often completely amorphous (glasses). Most often, fired ceramics are either vitrified or semi-vitrified as is the case with earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Varying crystallinity and electron composition in the ionic and covalent bonds cause most ceramic materials to be good thermal and electrical insulators (researched in ceramic engineering). With such a large range of possible options for the composition/structure of a ceramic (nearly all of the elements, nearly all types of bonding, and all levels of crystallinity), the breadth of the subject is vast, and identifiable attributes ( hardness, toughness, electrical conductivity ) are difficult to specify for the group as a whole. General properties such as high melting temperature, high hardness, poor conductivity, high moduli of elasticity, chemical resistance and low ductility are the norm, [3] with known exceptions to each of these rules ( piezoelectric ceramics, glass transition temperature, superconductive ceramics). Many composites, such as fiberglass and carbon fiber, while containing ceramic materials are not considered to be part of the ceramic family. [4] The earliest ceramics made by humans were pottery objects (pots or vessels) or figurines made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials like silica, hardened and sintered in fire. Later, ceramics were glazed and fired to create smooth, colored surfaces, decreasing porosity through the use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates.[5] Ceramics now include domestic, industrial and building products, as well as a wide range of ceramic art. In the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering, such as in semiconductors. The word "ceramic" comes from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos), "of pottery" or "for pottery",[6] from κέραμος (keramos), "potter's clay, tile, pottery". [7] The earliest known mention of the root "ceram-" is the Mycenaean Greek ke-ra-me-we, workers of ceramic written in Linear B syllabic script.[8] The word "ceramic" may be used as an adjective to describe a material, product or process, or it may be used as a noun, either singular, or more commonly, as the plural noun "ceramics".... Materials     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) A low magnification SEM micrograph of an advanced ceramic material. The properties of ceramics make fracturing an important inspection method. Ceramic material is an inorganic, non-metallic, often crystalline oxide, nitride, or carbide material. Some elements, such as carbon or silicon, may be considered ceramics. Ceramic materials are brittle, hard, strong in compression, and weak in shearing and tension. They withstand chemical erosion that occurs in other materials subjected to acidic or caustic environments. Ceramics generally can withstand very high temperatures, ranging from 1,000 °C to 1,600 °C (1,800 °F to 3,000 °F). Glass is often not considered a ceramic because of its amorphous (noncrystalline) character. However, glassmaking involves several steps of the ceramic process, and its mechanical properties are similar to ceramic materials. Traditional ceramic raw materials include clay minerals such as kaolinite, whereas more recent materials include aluminum oxide, more commonly known as alumina. The modern ceramic materials, which are classified as advanced ceramics, include silicon carbide and tungsten carbide. Both are valued for their abrasion resistance and hence find use in applications such as the wear plates of crushing equipment in mining operations. Advanced ceramics are also used in the medicine, electrical, electronics industries, and body armor. Crystalline ceramics Crystalline ceramic materials are not amenable to a great range of processing. Methods for dealing with them tend to fall into one of two categories – either make the ceramic in the desired shape, by reaction in situ, or by "forming" powders into the desired shape, and then sintering to form a solid body. Ceramic forming techniques include shaping by hand (sometimes including a rotation process called "throwing"), slip casting, tape casting (used for making very thin ceramic capacitors), injection molding, dry pressing, and other variations. Noncrystalline ceramics Noncrystalline ceramics, being glass, tend to be formed from melts. The glass is shaped when either fully molten, by casting, or when in a state of toffee-like viscosity, by methods such as blowing into a mold. If later heat treatments cause this glass to become partly crystalline, the resulting material is known as a glass-ceramic, widely used as cook-tops, and also as a glass composite material for nuclear waste disposal. History Human beings appear to have been making their own ceramics for at least 26,000 years, subjecting clay and silica to intense heat to fuse and form ceramic materials. The earliest found so far were in southern central Europe and were sculpted figures, not dishes.[10] The earliest known pottery was made by mixing animal products with clay and baked in kilns at up to 800°C. While actual pottery fragments have been found up to 19,000 years old, it was not until about ten thousand years later that regular pottery became common. An early people that spread across much of Europe is named after its use of pottery, the Corded Ware culture. These early Indo-European peoples decorated their pottery by wrapping it with rope, while still wet. When the ceramics were fired, the rope burned off but left a decorative pattern of complex grooves on the surface. Corded-Ware culture pottery from 2,500 BC. The invention of the wheel eventually led to the production of smoother, more even pottery using the wheel-forming technique, like the pottery wheel. Early ceramics were porous, absorbing water easily. It became useful for more items with the discovery of glazing techniques, coating pottery with silicon, bone ash, or other materials that could melt and reform into a glassy surface, making a vessel less pervious to water. Archaeology Ceramic artifacts have an important role in archaeology for understanding the culture, technology, and behavior of peoples of the past. They are among the most common artifacts to be found at an archaeological site, generally in the form of small fragments of broken pottery called sherds. Processing of collected sherds can be consistent with two main types of analysis: technical and traditional. The traditional analysis involves sorting ceramic artifacts, sherds, and larger fragments into specific types based on style, composition, manufacturing, and morphology. By creating these typologies, it is possible to distinguish between different cultural styles, the purpose of the ceramic, and the technological state of the people among other conclusions. Besides, by looking at stylistic changes of ceramics over time is it possible to separate (seriate) the ceramics into distinct diagnostic groups (assemblages). A comparison of ceramic artifacts with known dated assemblages allows for a chronological assignment of these pieces.[11] The technical approach to ceramic analysis involves a finer examination of the composition of ceramic artifacts and sherds to determine the source of the material and through this the possible manufacturing site. Key criteria are the composition of the clay and the temper used in the manufacture of the article under study: the temper is a material added to the clay during the initial production stage, and it is used to aid the subsequent drying process. Types of temper include shell pieces, granite fragments, and ground sherd pieces called 'grog'. Temper is usually identified by microscopic examination of the tempered material. Clay identification is determined by a process of refiring the ceramic and assigning a color to it using Munsell Soil Color notation. By estimating both the clay and temper compositions, and locating a region where both are known to occur, an assignment of the material source can be made. From the source assignment of the artifact, further investigations can be made into the site of manufacture. Properties The physical properties of any ceramic substance are a direct result of its crystalline structure and chemical composition. Solid-state chemistry reveals the fundamental connection between microstructure and properties, such as localized density variations, grain size distribution, type of porosity, and second-phase content, which can all be correlated with ceramic properties such as mechanical strength σ by the Hall-Petch equation, hardness, toughness, dielectric constant, and the optical properties exhibited by transparent materials. Ceramography is the art and science of preparation, examination, and evaluation of ceramic microstructures. Evaluation and characterization of ceramic microstructures are often implemented on similar spatial scales to that used commonly in the emerging field of nanotechnology: from tens of angstroms (A) to tens of micrometers (µm). This is typically somewhere between the minimum wavelength of visible light and the resolution limit of the naked eye. The microstructure includes most grains, secondary phases, grain boundaries, pores, micro-cracks, structural defects, and hardness micro indentions. Most bulk mechanical, optical, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties are significantly affected by the observed microstructure. The fabrication method and process conditions are generally indicated by the microstructure. The root cause of many ceramic failures is evident in the cleaved and polished microstructure. Physical properties which constitute the field of materials science and engineering include the following: Mechanical properties Cutting disks made of silicon carbide Mechanical properties are important in structural and building materials as well as textile fabrics. In modern materials science, fracture mechanics is an important tool in improving the mechanical performance of materials and components. It applies the physics of stress and strain, in particular the theories of elasticity and plasticity, to the microscopic crystallographic defects found in real materials in order to predict the macroscopic mechanical failure of bodies. Fractography is widely used with fracture mechanics to understand the causes of failures and also verify the theoretical failure predictions with real-life failures. Ceramic materials are usually ionic or covalent bonded materials, and can be crystalline or amorphous. A material held together by either type of bond will tend to fracture before any plastic deformation takes place, which results in poor toughness in these materials. Additionally, because these materials tend to be porous, the pores and other microscopic imperfections act as stress concentrators, decreasing the toughness further, and reducing the tensile strength. These combine to give catastrophic failures, as opposed to the more ductile failure modes of metals. These materials do show plastic deformation. However, because of the rigid structure of the crystalline materials, there are very few available slip systems for dislocations to move, and so they deform very slowly. With the non-crystalline (glassy) materials, viscous flow is the dominant source of plastic deformation, and is also very slow. It is therefore neglected in many applications of ceramic materials. To overcome the brittle behavior, ceramic material development has introduced the class of ceramic matrix composite materials, in which ceramic fibers are embedded and with specific coatings are forming fiber bridges across any crack. This mechanism substantially increases the fracture toughness of such ceramics. Ceramic disc brakes are an example of using a ceramic matrix composite material manufactured with a specific process. Ice-templating for enhanced mechanical properties If ceramic is subjected to substantial mechanical loading, it can undergo a process called ice-templating, which allows some control of the microstructure of the ceramic product and therefore some control of the mechanical properties. Ceramic engineers use this technique to tune the mechanical properties to their desired application. Specifically, strength is increased, when this technique is employed. Ice templating allows the creation of macroscopic pores in a unidirectional arrangement. The applications of this oxide strengthening technique are important for solid oxide fuel cells and water filtration devices.[clarification needed][citation needed] To process a sample through ice templating, an aqueous colloidal suspension is prepared to contain the dissolved ceramic powder evenly dispersed throughout the colloid,[clarification needed] for example Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The solution is then cooled from the bottom to the top on a platform that allows for unidirectional cooling. This forces ice crystals to grow in compliance with the unidirectional cooling and these ice crystals force the dissolved YSZ particles to the solidification front of the solid-liquid interphase boundary, resulting in pure ice crystals lined up unidirectionally alongside concentrated pockets of colloidal particles. The sample is then simultaneously heated and the pressure is reduced enough to force the ice crystals to sublimate and the YSZ pockets begin to anneal together to form macroscopically aligned ceramic microstructures. The sample is then further sintered to complete the evaporation of the residual water and the final consolidation of the ceramic microstructure.[citation needed] During ice-templating, a few variables can be controlled to influence the pore size and morphology of the microstructure. These important variables are the initial solids loading of the colloid, the cooling rate, the sintering temperature and duration, and the use of certain additives which can influence the microstructural morphology during the process. A good understanding of these parameters is essential to understanding the relationships between processing, microstructure, and mechanical properties of anisotropically porous materials.[12] Electrical properties Semiconductors Some ceramics are semiconductors. Most of these are transition metal oxides that are II-VI semiconductors, such as zinc oxide. While there are prospects of mass-producing blue LEDs from zinc oxide, ceramicists are most interested in the electrical properties that show grain boundary effects. One of the most widely used of these is the varistor. These are devices that exhibit the property that resistance drops sharply at a certain threshold voltage. Once the voltage across the device reaches the threshold, there is a breakdown of the electrical structure in the vicinity of the grain boundaries, which results in its electrical resistance dropping from several megohms down to a few hundred ohms. The major advantage of these is that they can dissipate a lot of energy, and they self-reset; after the voltage across the device drops below the threshold, its resistance returns to being high. This makes them ideal for surge-protection applications; as there is control over the threshold voltage and energy tolerance, they find use in all sorts of applications. The best demonstration of their ability can be found in electrical substations, where they are employed to protect the infrastructure from lightning strikes. They have rapid response, are low maintenance, and do not appreciably degrade from use, making them virtually ideal devices for this application. Semiconducting ceramics are also employed as gas sensors. When various gases are passed over a polycrystalline ceramic, its electrical resistance changes. With tuning to the possible gas mixtures, very inexpensive devices can be produced. Superconductivity The Meissner effect demonstrated by levitating a magnet above a cuprate superconductor, which is cooled by liquid nitrogen Under some conditions, such as extremely low temperature, some ceramics exhibit high-temperature superconductivity.[clarification needed] The reason for this is not understood, but there are two major families of superconducting ceramics. Ferroelectricity and supersets Piezoelectricity, a link between electrical and mechanical response, is exhibited by a large number of ceramic materials, including the quartz used to measure time in watches and other electronics. Such devices use both properties of piezoelectrics, using electricity to produce a mechanical motion (powering the device) and then using this mechanical motion to produce electricity (generating a signal). The unit of time measured is the natural interval required for electricity to be converted into mechanical energy and back again. The piezoelectric effect is generally stronger in materials that also exhibit pyroelectricity, and all pyroelectric materials are also piezoelectric. These materials can be used to inter-convert between thermal, mechanical, or electrical energy; for instance, after synthesis in a furnace, a pyroelectric crystal allowed to cool under no applied stress generally builds up a static charge of thousands of volts. Such materials are used in motion sensors, where the tiny rise in temperature from a warm body entering the room is enough to produce a measurable voltage in the crystal. In turn, pyroelectricity is seen most strongly in materials that also display the ferroelectric effect, in which a stable electric dipole can be oriented or reversed by applying an electrostatic field. Pyroelectricity is also a necessary consequence of ferroelectricity. This can be used to store information in ferroelectric capacitors, elements of ferroelectric RAM. The most common such materials are lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate. Aside from the uses mentioned above, their strong piezoelectric response is exploited in the design of high-frequency loudspeakers, transducers for sonar, and actuators for atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes. Positive thermal coefficient Silicon nitride rocket thruster. Left: Mounted in test stand. Right: Being tested with H2/O2 propellants Temperature increases can cause grain boundaries to suddenly become insulating in some semiconducting ceramic materials, mostly mixtures of heavy metal titanates. The critical transition temperature can be adjusted over a wide range by variations in chemistry. In such materials, current will pass through the material until joule heating brings it to the transition temperature, at which point the circuit will be broken and current flow will cease. Such ceramics are used as self-controlled heating elements in, for example, the rear-window defrost circuits of automobiles. At the transition temperature, the material's dielectric response becomes theoretically infinite. While a lack of temperature control would rule out any practical use of the material near its critical temperature, the dielectric effect remains exceptionally strong even at much higher temperatures. Titanates with critical temperatures far below room temperature have become synonymous with "ceramic" in the context of ceramic capacitors for just this reason. Optical properties Cermax xenon arc lamp with synthetic sapphire output window Optically transparent materials focus on the response of a material to incoming light waves of a range of wavelengths. Frequency selective optical filters can be utilized to alter or enhance the brightness and contrast of a digital image. Guided lightwave transmission via frequency selective waveguides involves the emerging field of fiber optics and the ability of certain glassy compositions as a transmission medium for a range of frequencies simultaneously (multi-mode optical fiber) with little or no interference between competing wavelengths or frequencies. This resonant mode of energy and data transmission via electromagnetic (light) wave propagation, though low powered, is virtually lossless. Optical waveguides are used as components in Integrated optical circuits (e.g. light-emitting diodes, LEDs) or as the transmission medium in local and long haul optical communication systems. Also of value to the emerging materials scientist is the sensitivity of materials to radiation in the thermal infrared (IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This heat-seeking ability is responsible for such diverse optical phenomena as Night-vision and IR luminescence. Thus, there is an increasing need in the military sector for high-strength, robust materials which have the capability to transmit light (electromagnetic waves) in the visible (0.4 – 0.7 micrometers) and mid-infrared (1 – 5 micrometers) regions of the spectrum. These materials are needed for applications requiring transparent armor, including next-generation high-speed missiles and pods, as well as protection against improvised explosive devices (IED). In the 1960s, scientists at General Electric (GE) discovered that under the right manufacturing conditions, some ceramics, especially aluminium oxide (alumina), could be made translucent. These translucent materials were transparent enough to be used for containing the electrical plasma generated in high-pressure sodium street lamps. During the past two decades, additional types of transparent ceramics have been developed for applications such as nose cones for heat-seeking missiles, windows for fighter aircraft, and scintillation counters for computed tomography scanners. In the early 1970s, Thomas Soules pioneered computer modeling of light transmission through translucent ceramic alumina. His model showed that microscopic pores in ceramic, mainly trapped at the junctions of microcrystalline grains, caused the light to scatter and prevented true transparency. The volume fraction of these microscopic pores had to be less than 1% for high-quality optical transmission. This is basically a particle size effect. Opacity results from the incoherent scattering of light at surfaces and interfaces. In addition to pores, most of the interfaces in a typical metal or ceramic object are in the form of grain boundaries which separate tiny regions of crystalline order. When the size of the scattering center (or grain boundary) is reduced below the size of the wavelength of the light being scattered, the scattering no longer occurs to any significant extent. In the formation of polycrystalline materials (metals and ceramics) the size of the crystalline grains is determined largely by the size of the crystalline particles present in the raw material during formation (or pressing) of the object. Moreover, the size of the grain boundaries scales directly with particle size. Thus a reduction of the original particle size below the wavelength of visible light (~ 0.5 micrometers for shortwave violet) eliminates any light scattering, resulting in a transparent material. Recently[when?], Japanese scientists have developed techniques to produce ceramic parts that rival the transparency of traditional crystals (grown from a single seed) and exceed the fracture toughness of a single crystal.[citation needed] In particular, scientists at the Japanese firm Konoshima Ltd., a producer of ceramic construction materials and industrial chemicals, have been looking for markets for their transparent ceramics. Livermore researchers realized that these ceramics might greatly benefit high-powered lasers used in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Programs Directorate. In particular, a Livermore research team began to acquire advanced transparent ceramics from Konoshima to determine if they could meet the optical requirements needed for Livermore's Solid-State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL).[citation needed][13] Livermore researchers have also been testing applications of these materials for applications such as advanced drivers for laser-driven fusion power plants. Examples Porcelain high-voltage insulator Silicon carbide is used for inner plates of ballistic vests Ceramic BN crucible A composite material of ceramic and metal is known as cermet. Other ceramic materials, generally requiring greater purity in their make-up than those above, include forms of several chemical compounds, including:     Barium titanate: (often mixed with strontium titanate) displays ferroelectricity, meaning that its mechanical, electrical, and thermal responses are coupled to one another and also history-dependent. It is widely used in electromechanical transducers, ceramic capacitors, and data storage elements. Grain boundary conditions can create PTC effects in heating elements.     Bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide, a high-temperature superconductor     Boron oxide is used in body armor.     Boron nitride is structurally isoelectronic to carbon and takes on similar physical forms: a graphite-like one used as a lubricant, and a diamond-like one used as an abrasive.     Earthenware used for domestic ware such as plates and mugs.     Ferrite is used in the magnetic cores of electrical transformers and magnetic core memory.     Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) was developed at the United States National Bureau of Standards in 1954. PZT is used as an ultrasonic transducer, as its piezoelectric properties greatly exceed those of Rochelle salt.[14]     Magnesium diboride (MgB2) is an unconventional superconductor.     Porcelain is used for a wide range of household and industrial products.     Sialon (Silicon Aluminium Oxynitride) has high strength; resistance to thermal shock, chemical and wear resistance, and low density. These ceramics are used in non-ferrous molten metal handling, weld pins, and the chemical industry.     Silicon carbide (SiC) is used as a susceptor in microwave furnaces, a commonly used abrasive, and as a refractory material.     Silicon nitride (Si3N4) is used as an abrasive powder.     Steatite (magnesium silicates) is used as an electrical insulator.     Titanium carbide Used in space shuttle re-entry shields and scratchproof watches.     Uranium oxide (UO2), used as fuel in nuclear reactors.     Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7−x), another high temperature superconductor.     Zinc oxide (ZnO), which is a semiconductor, and used in the construction of varistors.     Zirconium dioxide (zirconia), which in pure form undergoes many phase changes between room temperature and practical sintering temperatures, can be chemically "stabilized" in several different forms. Its high oxygen ion conductivity recommends it for use in fuel cells and automotive oxygen sensors. In another variant, metastable structures can impart transformation toughening for mechanical applications; most ceramic knife blades are made of this material. Partially stabilised zirconia (PSZ) is much less brittle than other ceramics and is used for metal forming tools, valves and liners, abrasive slurries, kitchen knives and bearings subject to severe abrasion.[15] Kitchen knife with a ceramic blade Products By usage For convenience, ceramic products are usually divided into four main types; these are shown below with some examples:     Structural, including bricks, pipes, floor and roof tiles     Refractories, such as kiln linings, gas fire radiants, steel and glass making crucibles     Whitewares, including tableware, cookware, wall tiles, pottery products and sanitary ware [16]     Technical, also known as engineering, advanced, special, and fine ceramics. Such items include:         gas burner nozzles         ballistic protection, vehicle armor         nuclear fuel uranium oxide pellets         biomedical implants         coatings of jet engine turbine blades         Ceramic matrix composite gas turbine parts         Reinforced carbon–carbon ceramic disk brakes         missile nose cones         bearing (mechanical)         tiles used in the Space Shuttle program Ceramics made with clay Main article: Pottery Frequently, the raw materials of modern ceramics do not include clays.[17] Those that do are classified as follows:     Earthenware, fired at lower temperatures than other types     Stoneware, vitreous or semi-vitreous     Porcelain, which contains a high content of kaolin     Bone china Classification Ceramics can also be classified into three distinct material categories:     Oxides: alumina, beryllia, ceria, zirconia     Non-oxides: carbide, boride, nitride, silicide     Composite materials: particulate reinforced, fiber reinforced, combinations of oxides and nonoxides. Each one of these classes can be developed into unique material properties because ceramics tend to be crystalline. Applications Knife blades: blade of a ceramic knife will stay sharp for much longer than that of a steel knife, although it is more brittle and susceptible to breaking. Carbon-ceramic brake disks: for vehicles are resistant to brake fade at high temperatures. "Advanced composite ceramic and metal matrices" have been designed for most modern armoured fighting vehicles because they offer superior penetrating resistance against shaped charges (HEAT rounds) and kinetic energy penetrators. "Ceramics such as alumina and boron carbide" have been used in ballistic armored vests to repel high-velocity rifle fire. Such plates are known commonly as small arms protective inserts, or SAPIs. Similar material is used to protect the cockpits of some military airplanes, because of the low weight of the material. Ceramics can be used in place of steel for ball bearings. Their higher hardness means they are much less susceptible to wear and typically last for triple the lifetime of a steel part. They also deform less under load, meaning they have less contact with the bearing retainer walls and can roll faster. In very high-speed applications, heat from friction during rolling can cause problems for metal bearings, which are reduced by the use of ceramics. Ceramics are also more chemically resistant and can be used in wet environments where steel bearings would rust. In some cases, their electricity-insulating properties may also be valuable in bearings. Two drawbacks to ceramic bearings are a significantly higher cost and susceptibility to damage under shock loads. In the early 1980s, Toyota researched production of an adiabatic engine using ceramic components in the hot gas area. The ceramics would have allowed temperatures of over 1650°C. The expected advantages would have been lighter materials and a smaller cooling system (or no need for one at all), leading to a major weight reduction. The expected increase of fuel efficiency of the engine (caused by the higher temperature, as shown by Carnot's theorem) could not be verified experimentally; it was found that the heat transfer on the hot ceramic cylinder walls was higher than the transfer to a cooler metal wall as the cooler gas film on the metal surface works as a thermal insulator. Thus, despite all of these desirable properties, such engines have not succeeded in production because of costs for the ceramic components and the limited advantages. (Small imperfections in the ceramic material with its low fracture toughness lead to cracks, which can lead to potentially dangerous equipment failure.) Such engines are possible in laboratory settings, but mass production is not feasible with current technology.[citation needed] Work is being done in developing ceramic parts for gas turbine engines. Currently, even blades made of advanced metal alloys used in the engines' hot section require cooling and careful limiting of operating temperatures. Turbine engines made with ceramics could operate more efficiently, giving aircraft greater range and payload for a set amount of fuel. Recent advances have been made in ceramics which include bioceramics, such as dental implants and synthetic bones. Hydroxyapatite, the natural mineral component of bone, has been made synthetically from several biological and chemical sources and can be formed into ceramic materials. Orthopedic implants coated with these materials bond readily to bone and other tissues in the body without rejection or inflammatory reactions so are of great interest for gene delivery and tissue engineering scaffolds. Most hydroxyapatite ceramics are very porous and lack mechanical strength, and are used to coat metal orthopedic devices to aid in forming a bond to bone or as bone fillers. They are also used as fillers for orthopedic plastic screws to aid in reducing inflammation and increase the absorption of these plastic materials. Work is being done to make strong, fully dense nano crystalline hydroxyapatite ceramic materials for orthopedic weight bearing devices, replacing foreign metal and plastic orthopedic materials with a synthetic, but naturally occurring bone mineral. Ultimately, these ceramic materials may be used as bone replacements or with the incorporation of protein collagens, synthetic bones. Durable actinide-containing ceramic materials have many applications such as in nuclear fuels for burning excess Pu and in chemically-inert sources of alpha irradiation for power supply of unmanned space vehicles or to produce electricity for microelectronic devices. Both use and disposal of radioactive actinides require their immobilization in a durable host material. Nuclear waste long-lived radionuclides such as actinides are immobilized using chemically-durable crystalline materials based on polycrystalline ceramics and large single crystals.[18] High-tech ceramic is used in watchmaking for producing watch cases. The material is valued by watchmakers for its lightweight, scratch resistance, durability, and smooth touch. IWC is one of the brands that initiated the use of ceramic in watchmaking." (wikipedia.org) "Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. While some ceramics are considered fine art, as pottery or sculpture, most are considered to be decorative, industrial or applied art objects. Ceramics may also be considered artefacts in archaeology. Ceramic art can be made by one person or by a group of people. In a pottery or ceramic factory, a group of people design, manufacture and decorate the art ware. Products from a pottery are sometimes referred to as "art pottery".[1] In a one-person pottery studio, ceramists or potters produce studio pottery. The word "ceramics" comes from the Greek keramikos (κεραμικος), meaning "pottery", which in turn comes from keramos (κεραμος) meaning "potter's clay".[2] Most traditional ceramic products were made from clay (or clay mixed with other materials), shaped and subjected to heat, and tableware and decorative ceramics are generally still made this way. In modern ceramic engineering usage, ceramics is the art and science of making objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials by the action of heat. It excludes glass and mosaic made from glass tesserae. There is a long history of ceramic art in almost all developed cultures, and often ceramic objects are all the artistic evidence left from vanished cultures, like that of the Nok in Africa over 2,000 years ago. Cultures especially noted for ceramics include the Chinese, Cretan, Greek, Persian, Mayan, Japanese, and Korean cultures, as well as the modern Western cultures. Elements of ceramic art, upon which different degrees of emphasis have been placed at different times, are the shape of the object, its decoration by painting, carving and other methods, and the glazing found on most ceramics." (wikipedia.org) "A cake stand is a structural, stool like object on which cake and other pastries are decorated and served. Cake stands are generally a single plate connected to a pedestal or multiple plates in a tower like hosting object. Cake stands are a form of tableware, they come in different materials like wood, pottery, metal, etc.... Design There are different functional and artistic designs for cake stands. There are many patents on the design of cake stands. Pressed glass cake stand from the mid-19th century. Structure A cake stand is a multi-layered or single layered stool-like hosting object.[1] Usually with a supporting spin in the middle, parallel plates, and plates arranged by size with the largest plate at the bottom. The plates are usually circular. The plates are connected to the posts with a mechanical fastener. The shape and size of the posts vary based on design.[2] For wedding cake stands, the design is usually multi-layered and tall. The top layer is the smallest, usually with a decoration on the top of the cake stand. The plates may be supported by one centred post sharing the same core, or there could be multiple posts with dislocated centre structure to provide the visual multi-structured effect.[3] The multiple tier centre stand includes a centre support that has multiple tiers, and multiple plates and posts which are connected together by mechanical fastener. In some designs the lower deck of the cake stand, at least two of the plates, can be disassembled into two pieces.[4] Components A cake stand is typified by the composing of     a plurality of plates[5]     a plurality of posts[5]     mechanical fastener[1]     a base or supporting plate[5]     (for decorating cake stand) movable dolly[6] The design of cake stand has evolved with the process of cake making. The disassemblable cake stand can be taken apart for storage or transport.[4] Materials Cake stands can be made from different materials. It is most commonly made of plastic and metal. Wood and glass are also used commonly in cake stands.[7] Variants There are two types of cake stands, one is for displaying a finished cake, the other is for decorating a cake. Displaying cake stand: The displaying cake stand raises the cake or pastry to make it more visually appealing.[6] The cake stand can serve as a centerpiece. The cake stand also provides more table space for dinnerware by elevating the cake into a higher dimension. Decorator cake stand: Decorator cake stand The decorator cake stand aids in the process of cake decoration. It is usually composed of the work surface and a turnable dolly. A cake decorator rotates the plate while adding icing or other decoration to the cake.[8] Functions and usage The two types of cake stands have different functions. The displaying cake stand for the finished product of cake or other pastries whilst the decorator cake stand is the tool to aid working in the process of making cake. Displaying cake stand Tall cake stand[9] Twestival Montreal Cupcake Stand One type of displaying cake stand is a tall tiered cake stand. The tall cake stand is primarily used at large events with many people. Tall cake stands of different heights and shapes add drama and interest in the visual presentation of food. Food displayed on the tall cake stands contains not only cakes but also small finger food and other small pasties usually in strong contrasting colour to add interest in the presentation of food. Covered cake stand:[9] The covered cake stand has a cover for the preservation of food. Decorator cake stand The function of the decorator cake stand is for the aiding of the decoration of cake. The decoration cake stand enables decorator to access all surfaces of the cake or other products being worked upon at a single work position.[10] Design and function of wedding cake stands Wedding cake stands is a signature displaying cake stand. Cake stand is almost like an essential object in weddings. The celebrations of weddings are special and momentous. The speciality of the event is marked by music, dancing, floral arrangements table decorations and food and drink. Amongst the table decorations, the wedding cake is what stands out the most.[4] The wedding cake not only performs the role of serving a dessert but also stands as a symbol of the event. It stands in the full view of visitors throughout the whole ceremony, prior to and during the whole event. Due to this importance, the wedding cake should not only be satisfying to eat but also it should look attractive as well. The signature design of the cake is that it should stand vertically on the tabletop to be presented as an eye-catching centrepiece.[4] Different types of cake stands and cake supports are indispensable in separating the layers of cake and to hold it into an imposing structure. There are various materials for the cake supports like metal or plastic to add to the rigidity of the stand and forming it into a multilayer cake. What is more, it adds the vidual impact of the cake without having to make too much servings. Modular cake stands made the fast assembly of the multi-layered cake possible and made the process of transporting the cake form the bakery to the reception hall easier. The cake trays of the cake stands are mostly transparent plastic to simulate glass. The cake stand usually have legs at the bottom to support the tray on the table or on tubular plastic pillars. The wedding cake usually need prominent lighting to add to its importance. The light of a candle is ideal for the attention and decoration. However, as the fire might be controlled properly and the temperature of the flame might melt the cake frosting, what is more the wax of the candle could drop into the cake, the involvement of some of the wedding cake stands is that it has the candle holder in the form of hollow pillars to hold the candles.[3] History     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The cake stand came into use in the late Victorian times when afternoon tea came into fashion. Presenting the cake at a higher level above the table gave the cake more attention. Therefore the cake stand usually have multiple tiers and hooped handle for the purpose of carrying. The cake stand was shortly out of fashion around the 1990s. At that time people could only find cake stand from the 1950s or from earlier times. The cake stand was originally commonly made from ceramics then gradually glass and metal (silver or aluminium or steel). The original shape of cake stands are round. In the 1930s, the design of cake stands adopted shapes of polygon like square, hexagonal or octagonal. Today, the mainstream shape of cake stands are round but there are many artistic cake stands made of various materials. The technology of the displaying of multi-tiered cakes like wedding cakes has little changes in the past 50 years. The traditional technology uses multiple wooden dowel rods and it is inserted into one layer of the tier then another layer of the cake is placed on top. When separating the adjacent layers of cakes, pillars are inserted between the two layers of cake." (wikipedia.org) "Pastels or pastel colors belong to a pale family of colors, which, when described in the HSV color space, have high value and low saturation.[1][2] The name comes from pastels, art media characteristic of this color family. The colors of this family are usually described as "soothing".[3] Pink, mauve,[4] and baby blue[5] are commonly used pastel colors, as well as magic mint, peach, periwinkle, and lavender.... In fashion In the 1980s, there was a trend of pastel colors in men's fashion. In particular, the NBC television police series Miami Vice popularized what was already a growing trend even further as its lead characters Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) exclusively wore pastel shirts and suits in seasons 1 and 2, setting a fashion that stood popular years after the show ended. The abundance of pastel was and still is, also visible in the shooting locations with Art Deco buildings around the Miami area. There is also a type of goth style called pastel goth which takes the pastel colors and adds them to classic goth fashion.[citation needed] Examples Examples of pastels in HEX-code                                  fea3aa       f8b88b       faf884               baed91       b2cefe       f2a2e8                                  Gallery     Gaiety pastels     Crocheted pink bra from the 1940s on a clothes line     Pastel-colored beads" (wikipedia.org) "PERIOD ARCHITECTURE Nestled amidst rolling hills, babbling creeks, and a quilted tapestry of verdant farmland just west of Philadelphia sits Chester County, Pennsylvania, site of the American Revolutionary War’s Battle of Brandywine and the Valley Forge encampment. It’s an area that still boasts many 18th-century buildings and farmhouses that provide a look into the lifestyle and architectural vernacular of the country’s earliest days.   Often that vernacular takes the shape of the American farmhouse. Designed to accommodate a lifestyle focused on putting down roots—both figuratively and literally—the farmhouse is utilitarian yet aesthetically pleasing, spacious yet cozy, classic yet endlessly fresh, and built to last while changing with the seasons. It’s here in Greater Philadelphia that Period Architecture has dedicated itself to uniting architectural traditions of the past with contemporary lifestyles and technology. Throughout its decades of building and renovating period homes across the eastern U.S., several patterns have emerged as a roadmap for capturing the essence of farmhouse style. These six principles are the foundation upon which any home—old or new—can foster a timeless, authentic farmhouse aesthetic that takes its cue from history while rising to the demands of modern living. PRINCIPLE ONE: A Sense of Place and History Authenticity is central to the farmhouse aesthetic. Every detail is carefully considered to ensure that it feels appropriate to the home’s history, environment, community, climate, and architectural language. It’s why Period architects look to precedent to inspire similar functionality and charm that apply today. First, the American farmhouse is intricately tied to its geographic region. A new farmhouse, much like its historic predecessors, should feel born from and carved into its surroundings to complement, rather than overwhelm, the landscape. One of the ways Period Architecture accomplishes this is by preserving as many of a property’s mature trees as possible. It’s also important to consider the harmony of the home and land as a whole. Take into consideration, for example, the curve of the drive as you enter the property; the angle at which you happen upon a small, stone spring house; or the relationship between a rustic barn looming in the distance and the grand main house. Establishing a sense of time is also key to authenticity. A farmhouse should tell a story by creating the impression that it was built in phases over time; historically, as a farming family succeeded and grew, their house grew too. Other methods for instilling history into a newer farmhouse are to use archetypal features like a farmhouse sink in period-inspired kitchens and bathrooms; use deep window sills and interior walls to create the illusion of the thick, solid stone walls of yesteryear; select historically inspired paint colors; incorporate raised-panel and carriage-house-style doors; and incorporate natural materials indicative of the area and period in which the home might have been constructed. PRINCIPLE TWO: Organic and Salvaged Materials Before cross-country transport of materials started in the mid-19th century, people lived strictly off the land and repurposed as often as possible. Today, organic and salvaged materials serve a three-pronged purpose: to give a nod to the past; create instant warmth, character, and charm; and honor the environment through reuse. Consider the following organic and salvaged materials for your farmhouse: Stone and brick. Farmers of the past harvested stone from their fields to use as a sturdy and inexpensive building material. In modern farmhouses, locally harvested or salvaged stone and brick is used for facades, fireplaces, floors, cornices, and quoin (large cornerstones classic in stone homes). Wood. With trees aplenty, farmers once cut lumber from their property and hand hewed beams to provide structure to their homes. Wooden boards and beams reclaimed from old barns make regular appearances in the homes Period builds in the form of furniture, millwork, cabinetry, siding, floors, roofing, and more. Iron. Used most often for hardware—think strap and latch hinges, box locks, and shutter hardware—as well as lighting, there are still many companies and artisans that hand-forge their ironware using the time-tested methods of days past. PRINCIPLE THREE: Millwork and Architectural Details In the days before modern machinery, every detail of a home was crafted by hand. The time, money, and skill it required to accent a house with decorative millwork and other architectural details showcased the wealth and success of the homeowner. Today, classic styles of decorative millwork in kitchens and bathrooms, on staircases and balusters, and in the form of casing, trim, cornices, and other interior and exterior detailing harken back to those days. Dormers and porches are also staples of early farmhouse style. Traditionally, porches were purely practical spaces created to keep the interior of the home clean, where muddy boots and soiled clothing from long hours working in the fields could be removed before heading inside. Dormers also once served a utilitarian purpose—to increase usable space, sunlight, and air circulation in the steep-roofed top floor of a home.   PRINCIPLE FOUR: Indoor-Outdoor Living   Perhaps the most endearing aspect of farmhouse living is the nostalgia it inspires for a time when life was lived in close connection with nature, rather than technology. When siting a Period Architecture home, they pay close attention to environmental factors such as how they can utilize southern exposure to create sun-drenched spaces and the way the wind travels across a property. The Dutch door, for example, originally designed to let refreshing breezes in while keeping farm critters out, is very much still a celebrated feature of today’s farmhouses, both for its aesthetic value and its role as a bridge between the inside and outside. Similarly, open and covered porches, verandas, gardens, and outdoor fireplaces enhance and extend the amount of time one can spend enjoying the fresh air.PRINCIPLE FIVE: Unity of Old and New Historic appreciation and reproduction takes the best of the past and makes it work for today’s world. Shutters, for example, which were once used to protect windows and provide security on the first floor (solid or paneled) and ventilation on the second floor (louvered), are mostly decorative features today. Modern composite “woods” have similarly replaced some natural woods in today’s farmhouses, as they lend a comparable look and warmth but are longer lasting, lower maintenance, and rot- and bug-resistant. And where the fireplace was once the chief home-heating element, there are now central and geothermal heating and cooling systems. Combined with energy-efficient windows, insulation, and state-of-the-art home automation technology, modern homes can bring the best of new advances to the farms of yesteryear. PRINCIPLE SIX: Family-Focused Comfort and Livability The most alluring feature of the farmhouse is also the most fundamental: its inherent comfort, livability, and family-centered appeal. Period modifies and maximize traditional layouts to accommodate modern family living by reworking servant quarters and kitchens into functional mudrooms; modifying traditional center halls and closed kitchens to create convenient, open floor plans; and incorporating master suites with luxurious closets, bathrooms, and views. Laundry rooms and extra storage are added where they never existed in the past. Stair halls, butler’s pantries, and mudrooms become key support spaces.From quaint, historic stone homes to modern, sprawling country estates, the farmhouse is an enduring beacon of authenticity, family roots, and provincial pride that beats on in the hearts of all who find a sense of home—and of self—on the winding dirt roads of the great American countryside." (eqliving.com) "Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, and which share features with desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and pies. The most common ingredients include flour, sugar, eggs, fat (such as butter, oil or margarine), a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder. Common additional ingredients include dried, candied, or fresh fruit, nuts, cocoa, and extracts such as vanilla, with numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients. Cakes can also be filled with fruit preserves, nuts or dessert sauces (like custard, jelly, cooked fruit, whipped cream or syrups),[1] iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan, piped borders, or candied fruit. Cake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. There are countless cake recipes; some are bread-like, some are rich and elaborate, and many are centuries old. Cake making is no longer a complicated procedure; while at one time considerable labor went into cake making (particularly the whisking of egg foams), baking equipment and directions have been simplified so that even the most amateur of cooks may bake a cake. ... History The term "cake" has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word "kaka".[2] The ancient Greeks called cake πλακοῦς (plakous), which was derived from the word for "flat", πλακόεις (plakoeis). It was baked using flour mixed with eggs, milk, nuts, and honey. They also had a cake called "satura", which was a flat heavy cake. During the Roman period, the name for cake became "placenta" which was derived from the Greek term. A placenta was baked on a pastry base or inside a pastry case.[3] The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk.[4] In ancient Rome, the basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good.[5] Latin poet Ovid refers to his and his brother's birthday party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.[6] Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a "cake" and "bread" were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking process.[5] Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.[7] Cake mixes Main article: Baking mix Cake mix in plastic packets During the Great Depression, there was a surplus of molasses and the need to provide easily made food to millions of economically depressed people in the United States.[8] One company patented a cake-bread mix to deal with this economic situation, and thereby established the first line of cake in a box. In so doing, cake, as it is known today, became a mass-produced good rather than a home- or bakery-made specialty. Later, during the post-war boom, other American companies (notably General Mills) developed this idea further, marketing cake mix on the principle of convenience, especially to housewives. When sales dropped heavily in the 1950s, marketers discovered that baking cakes, once a task at which housewives could exercise skill and creativity, had become dispiriting. This was a period in American ideological history when women, retired from the war-time labor force, were confined to the domestic sphere, while still exposed to the blossoming consumerism in the US.[9] This inspired psychologist Ernest Dichter to find a solution to the cake mix problem in the frosting.[10] Since making the cake was so simple, housewives and other in-home cake makers could expend their creative energy on cake decorating inspired by, among other things, photographs in magazines of elaborately decorated cakes. Ever since cake in a box has become a staple of supermarkets and is complemented with frosting in a can. Varieties Cakes are broadly divided into several categories, based primarily on ingredients and mixing techniques. Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[5] Butter cake Main article: Butter cake Gooey butter cake Butter cakes are made from creamed butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. They rely on the combination of butter and sugar beaten for an extended time to incorporate air into the batter.[11] A classic pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Another type of butter cake that takes its names from the proportion of ingredients used is 1-2-3-4 cake: 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs.[12] According to Beth Tartan, this cake was one of the most common among the American pioneers who settled North Carolina.[13] Baking powder is in many butter cakes, such as Victoria sponge.[14] The ingredients are sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick cakes.[citation needed] Sponge cake Main article: Sponge cake Steamed sponge cake called ma lai gao Sponge cakes (or foam cakes) are made from whipped eggs, sugar, and flour. Traditional sponge cakes are leavened only with eggs. They rely primarily on trapped air in a protein matrix (generally of beaten eggs) to provide leavening, sometimes with a bit of baking powder or other chemical leaven added. Egg-leavened sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made without yeast. Angel food cake is a white cake that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally baked in a tube pan. The French Génoise is a sponge cake that includes clarified butter. Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes called gateau, the French word for cake. Chiffon cakes are sponge cakes with vegetable oil, which adds moistness.[15] Chocolate cake Main article: Chocolate cake German chocolate cake Chocolate cakes are butter cakes, sponge cakes, or other cakes flavored with melted chocolate or cocoa powder.[16] German chocolate cake is a variety of chocolate cake. Fudge cakes are chocolate cakes that contain fudge. Coffee cake Main article: Coffee cake Coffee cake is generally thought of as a cake to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or a coffee break. Some types use yeast as a leavening agent while others use baking soda or baking powder. These cakes often have a crumb topping called streusel or a light glaze drizzle. Flourless cake Baked flourless cakes include baked cheesecakes and flourless chocolate cakes. Layer cakes Main article: Layer cake A strawberry cake prepared as a layer cake Layer cakes are cakes made with layers of sponge or butter cake, filled with cream, jam or other filling to hold the layers together. One egg cake One egg cakes are made with one egg. They can be made with butter[17] or vegetable shortening.[18] One egg cake was an economical recipe when using two eggs for each cake was too costly.[19] Comparison with bread Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive.[5] For example, banana bread may be properly considered either a quick bread or a cake. Yeast cakes are the oldest and are very similar to yeast bread. Such cakes are often very traditional in form and include such pastries as babka and stollen. Special-purpose cakes Cake made for a baby shower with edible decorations, an example of edible art Cakes may be classified according to the occasion for which they are intended. For example, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cakes for first communion, Christmas cakes, Halloween cakes, and Passover plava (a type of sponge cake sometimes made with matzo meal) are all identified primarily according to the celebration they are intended to accompany. The cutting of a wedding cake constitutes a social ceremony in some cultures. The Ancient Roman marriage ritual of confarreatio originated in the sharing of a cake. Particular types of cake may be associated with particular festivals, such as stollen or chocolate log (at Christmas), babka and simnel cake (at Easter), or mooncake. There has been a long tradition of decorating an iced cake at Christmas time; other cakes associated with Christmas include chocolate log and mince pies. A Lancashire Courting Cake is a fruit-filled cake baked by a fiancée for her betrothed. The cake has been described as "somewhere between a firm sponge – with a greater proportion of flour to fat and eggs than a Victoria sponge cake – and a shortbread base and was proof of the bride-to-be's baking skills". Traditionally it is a two-layer cake filled and topped with strawberries or raspberries and whipped cream.[20]     A decorated birthday cake     A decorated birthday cake     A Halloween cake shaped like a pumpkin     A Halloween cake shaped like a pumpkin     Wedding cakes at a bridal show     Wedding cakes at a bridal show Shapes A chocolate sour cream bundt cake Cakes are frequently described according to their physical form. Cakes may be small and intended for individual consumption. Larger cakes may be made to be sliced and served as part of a meal or social function. Common shapes include:     Bundt cakes     Cake balls     Cake pops     Conical, such as the Kransekake     Cupcakes and madeleines, which are both sized for a single person     Layer cakes, frequently baked in a springform pan and decorated     Sheet cakes, simple, flat, rectangular cakes baked in sheet pans     Swiss rolls     Cakes by shape     A plate of white chocolate cake balls     A plate of white chocolate cake balls     The kransekage is an example of a conical cake     The kransekage is an example of a conical cake     Dobos torte is an older form of layer cake.     Dobos torte is an older form of layer cake.     A sheet cake     A sheet cake Cake flour Main article: Flour Special cake flour with a high starch-to-gluten ratio is made from fine-textured, soft, low-protein wheat. It is strongly bleached and compared to all-purpose flour, cake flour tends to result in cakes with a lighter, less dense texture.[21] Therefore, it is frequently specified or preferred in cakes meant to be soft, light, and/or bright white, such as angel food cake. However, if cake flour is called for, a substitute can be made by replacing a small percentage of all-purpose flour with cornstarch or removing two tablespoons from each cup of all-purpose flour.[22][23][24] Some recipes explicitly specify or permit all-purpose flour, notably where a firmer or denser cake texture is desired. Cooking Baking a basic yellow cake A cake can fail to bake properly, which is called "falling". In a cake that "falls", parts may sink or flatten, because it was baked at a temperature that is too low or too hot,[25][26] when it has been underbaked[26] and when placed in an oven that is too hot at the beginning of the baking process.[27] The use of excessive amounts of sugar, flour, fat or leavening can also cause a cake to fall.[27][28] A cake can also fall when subjected to cool air that enters an oven when the oven door is opened during the cooking process.[29] Cake decorating Main article: Cake decorating Cake decoration – buttercream swirls being piped onto the sides of this cake with a pastry bag A well decorated mango flavoured cake during birthday celebration A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it with icing, or frosting, and toppings such as sprinkles, which are also known as "jimmies" in certain parts of the United States and "hundreds and thousands" in the United Kingdom. The frosting is usually made from powdered (icing) sugar, sometimes a fat of some sort, milk or cream, and often flavorings such as a vanilla extract or cocoa powder. Some decorators use a rolled fondant icing. Commercial bakeries tend to use lard for the fat, and often whip the lard to introduce air bubbles. This makes the icing light and spreadable. Home bakers either use lard, butter, margarine, or some combination thereof. Sprinkles are small firm pieces of sugar and oils that are colored with food coloring. In the late 20th century, new cake decorating products became available to the public. These include several specialized sprinkles and even methods to print pictures and transfer the image onto a cake. Special tools are needed for more complex cake decorating, such as piping bags and various piping tips, syringes and embossing mats. To use a piping bag or syringe, a piping tip is attached to the bag or syringe using a coupler. The bag or syringe is partially filled with icing which is sometimes colored. Using different piping tips and various techniques, a cake decorator can make many different designs. Basic decorating tips include open star, closed star, basketweave, round, drop flower, leaf, multi, petal, and specialty tips. An embossing mat is used to create embossed effects. A cake turntable that cakes are spun upon may be used in cake decoration. Royal icing, marzipan (or a less sweet version, known as almond paste), fondant icing (also known as sugar paste), and buttercream are used as covering icings and to create decorations. Floral sugarcraft or wired sugar flowers are an important part of cake decoration. Cakes for special occasions, such as wedding cakes, are traditionally rich fruit cakes or occasionally Madeira cakes, that are covered with marzipan and iced using royal icing or sugar-paste. They are finished with piped borders (made with royal icing) and adorned with a piped message, wired sugar flowers, hand-formed fondant flowers, marzipan fruit, piped flowers, or crystallized fruits or flowers such as grapes or violets. " (wikipedia.org) "Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, it most often consists of a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake.[1] Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked (and is usually refrigerated). Cheesecake is usually sweetened with sugar and may be flavored in different ways. Vanilla, spices, lemon, chocolate, pumpkin, or other flavors may be added to the main cheese layer. Additional flavors and visual appeal may be added by topping the finished dessert with fruit, whipped cream, nuts, cookies, fruit sauce, chocolate syrup, or other ingredients. ... Culinary classification 2:07CC Making a crustless cheesecake (video) Modern cheesecake is not usually classified as an actual "cake", despite the name (compare with Boston cream "pie"). Some people classify it as a torte due to the usage of many eggs, which are the sole source of leavening, as a key factor.[citation needed] Others find compelling evidence that it is a custard pie, based on the overall structure, with the separate crust, the soft filling, and the absence of flour.[2][failed verification] Other sources identify it as a flan, or tart.[3] History An ancient form of cheesecake may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece even prior to Romans' adoption of it with the conquest of Greece.[4] The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus (5th century BCE), who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes (πλακουντοποιικόν σύγγραμμα—plakountopoiikon sungramma).[5] The earliest extant cheesecake recipes are found in Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura, which includes recipes for three cakes for religious uses: libum, savillum and placenta.[6][7][8] Of the three, placenta cake is the most like modern cheesecakes: having a crust that is separately prepared and baked.[9] A more modern version called a sambocade, made with elderflower and rose water, is found in Forme of Cury, an English cookbook from 1390.[10][11] On this basis, chef Heston Blumenthal has argued that cheesecake is an English invention.[12] The modern cheesecake The English name cheesecake has been used only since the 15th century,[13] and the cheesecake did not evolve into its modern form until somewhere around the 18th century. Europeans began removing yeast and adding beaten eggs to the cheesecake instead. With the overpowering yeast flavor gone, the result tasted more like a dessert treat.[14] The early 19th-century cheesecake recipes in A New System of Domestic Cookery by Maria Rundell are made with cheese curd and fresh butter. One version is thickened with blanched almonds, eggs and cream, and the cakes may have included currants, brandy, raisin wine, nutmeg and orange flower water. Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently.[15] Modern cheesecake comes in two different types. Along with the baked cheesecake, some cheesecakes are made with uncooked cream cheese on a crumbled-cookie or graham cracker base. This type of cheesecake was invented in the United States.[10] National varieties Cheesecakes can be broadly categorized into two basic types: baked and unbaked. Some do not have a crust or base. Cheesecake comes in a variety of styles based on region: Africa South African rose cheesecake South Africa One popular variant of cheesecake in South Africa is made with whipped cream, cream cheese, gelatin for the filling, and a buttered digestive biscuit crust. It is not baked, and is sometimes made with Amarula liqueur. This variant is very similar to British cheesecake. This cheesecake is more common in British South African communities.[16] Asia Japan Japanese cheesecake, or soufflé-style or cotton cheesecake, is made with cream cheese, butter, sugar, and eggs, and has a characteristically wobbly, airy texture, similar to chiffon cake.[17] No-bake cheesecakes are known as rare cheesecake (Japanese: レアチーズケーキ).[18] Philippines The most prominent version of cheesecake in the Philippines is ube cheesecake. It is made with a base of crushed graham crackers and an upper layer of cream cheese and ube halaya (mashed purple yam with milk, sugar, and butter). It can be prepared baked or simply refrigerated. Like other ube desserts in the Philippines, it is characteristically purple in color.[19][20][21] Europe Spain The Basque cheesecake was created in 1990 by Santiago Rivera of the La Viña restaurant in the Basque Country, Spain. It achieved popularity online in the 2010s, helped by a recipe published by the British food writer Nigella Lawson. The Basque cheesecake is composed of burnt custard and no crust.[22] Russia Russian-style cheesecake (Vatrushka) is in the form of a dough ring and filled with quark or cottage cheese.[23] Swedish cheesecake (ostkaka) North America United States The United States has several different recipes for cheesecake and this usually depends on the region in which the cake is baked, as well as the cultural background of the person baking it.[24] Chicago Chicago-style cheesecake is a baked cream-cheese version that is firm on the outside with a soft and creamy texture on the inside. These cheesecakes are often made in a greased cake pan and are relatively fluffy in texture. The crust used with this style of cheesecake is most commonly made from shortbread that is crushed and mixed with sugar and butter. Some frozen cheesecakes are Chicago-style.[25] New York New York–style cheesecake New York–style cheesecake uses a cream cheese base, also incorporating heavy cream or sour cream.[26] The typical New York cheesecake is rich and has a dense, smooth, and creamy consistency.[27] Galleries Cheesecakes from around the world     Bavarian baked cheesecake     Bavarian baked cheesecake     Dutch cheesecake (kwarktaart)     Dutch cheesecake (kwarktaart)     French cheesecake (tarte au fromage)     French cheesecake (tarte au fromage)     German cheesecake (Käsekuchen)     German cheesecake (Käsekuchen)     Romanian cheesecake     Romanian cheesecake     New York–style cheesecake with strawberries     New York–style cheesecake with strawberries     Japanese no-bake cheesecake with strawberry sauce     Japanese no-bake cheesecake with strawberry sauce Fruit cheesecakes     Blueberry and mixed-fruit cheesecake     Blueberry and mixed-fruit cheesecake     New York–style cheesecake with berries     New York–style cheesecake with berries     No-bake cheesecake with orange jelly     No-bake cheesecake with orange jelly     Cheesecake with mango     Cheesecake with mango     Lemon cheesecake     Lemon cheesecake     Raw-food strawberry cheesecake     Raw-food strawberry cheesecake" (wikipedia,org) "An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was 30 cm × 14 cm × 9 cm (11.8 in × 5.5 in × 3.5 in) in size.[1] Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and up to 17.8 cm × 14 cm (7.0 in × 5.5 in), the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird,[2] though the extinct elephant bird and some non-avian dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). Some eggs laid by reptiles and most fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates can be even smaller. Reproductive structures similar to the egg in other kingdoms are termed "spores," or in spermatophytes "seeds," or in gametophytes "egg cells". ... Culture Chocolate Easter eggs hidden as part of an egg hunt Eggs are an important symbol in folklore and mythology, often representing life and rebirth, healing and protection, and sometimes featuring in creation myths.[29] Egg decoration is a common practice in many cultures worldwide. Christians view Easter eggs as symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.[30] A popular Easter tradition in some parts of the world is the decoration of hard-boiled eggs (usually by dyeing, but often by hand-painting or spray-painting). Adults often hide the eggs for children to find, an activity known as an Easter egg hunt. A similar tradition of egg painting exists in areas of the world influenced by the culture of Persia. Before the spring equinox in the Persian New Year tradition (called Norouz), each family member decorates a hard-boiled egg and sets them together in a bowl. The tradition of a dancing egg is held during the feast of Corpus Christi in Barcelona and other Catalan cities since the 16th century. It consists of an emptied egg, positioned over the water jet from a fountain, which starts turning without falling.[31] Although a food item, raw eggs are sometimes thrown at houses, cars, or people. This act, known commonly as "egging" in the various English-speaking countries, is a minor form of vandalism and, therefore, usually a criminal offense and is capable of damaging property (egg whites can degrade certain types of vehicle paint) as well as potentially causing serious eye injury. On Halloween, for example, trick or treaters have been known to throw eggs (and sometimes flour) at property or people from whom they received nothing.[citation needed] Eggs are also often thrown in protests, as they are inexpensive and nonlethal, yet very messy when broken." (wikipedia.org) "Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. Most modern carrot cake recipes have a white cream cheese frosting. Sometimes nuts such as walnuts or pecans are added into the cake batter, as well as spices such as cinnamon, ginger and ground mixed spice. Fruit including pineapple, raisins and shredded coconut can also be used to add a natural sweetness.... History The origins of carrot cake are disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English recipe for "pudding in a Carret [sic] root"[2] that is essentially a stuffed carrot with meat, but it includes many elements common to the modern dessert: shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs (in place of flour). Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages, when sugar and sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.[3] Variations of the carrot pudding evolved to include baking with a crust (as pumpkin pie), steamed with a sauce, or molded in pans (as plum pudding) with icing.[3] In volume two of L'art du cuisinier (1814), Antoine Beauvilliers, former chef to Louis XVI,[4] included a recipe for a "Gâteau de Carottes",[5] which was popular enough to be copied verbatim in competitors' cookbooks.[6][7] In 1824, Beauvilliers had published in London an English version of his cookbook which includes a recipe for "Carrot Cakes" in a literal translation of his earlier recipe.[8][9] Swiss Rueblitorte Another 19th-century recipe comes from the housekeeping school of Kaiseraugst (Canton of Aargau, Switzerland).[10] According to the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland, it is one of the most popular cakes in Switzerland, especially for the birthdays of children.[10] The popularity of carrot cake was revived in the United Kingdom because of rationing during the Second World War.[" (wikipedia.org) "Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic popularised by teenagers and young adults celebrating an idealized rural life. Traditionally based on a rural English and European life,[1] it was developed throughout the 2010s[2][3] and was first named cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018.[4] The aesthetic centres on traditional rural clothing, interior design, and crafts such as drawing, baking, and pottery, and is related to similar aesthetic movements such as grandmacore, farmcore, goblincore, and fairycore.[5] Some sources describe cottagecore as a subculture of Millennials[6] and Generation Z.[7][8][1][6][9] Economic forces and other challenges facing these young people may be a significant driver of this trend, along with these generations' emphasis on sustainability, and the recent trend to work from home (initially during the pandemic).... Aesthetic and lifestyle elements The tenets of cottagecore can help to satisfy for its proponents a desire for "an aspirational form of nostalgia" as well as an escape from many forms of stress and trauma.[5] The New York Times described it as a reaction to hustle culture and the advent of personal branding.[5] The Guardian called it a "visual and lifestyle movement designed to fetishize the wholesome purity of the outdoors."[10] Cottagecore emphasizes simplicity and the soft peacefulness of the pastoral life as an escape from the dangers of the modern world.[11] It became highly popular on social media during the [6][10][12] Fashion An embroidery design An early inspiration for cottagecore fashion is mori girl, which reached popularity in Japan in the late 2000s.[13] While homemade clothing is a feature of cottagecore,[3] products including the 'strawberry dress', a $490 tea dress by Lirika Matoshi, are also associated with the aesthetic.[14][15] Due to the high price of the Matoshi dress, a number of people produced their own versions of the product.[14] Cottagecore clothing often includes long layered dresses.[15] Analytics company Edited identified that besides floral prints and stripes "Old-world, feminine shapes and details are integral to this aesthetic—milkmaid necklines, puff sleeves, ruffles and prairie-inspired midi dresses."[16][7] Marketing commentators noted that the trend fits with already available '70s-inspired dresses, lace trim, and denim, and complemented the slow fashion trend.[7] Food and gardening Self-sufficiency, e.g. baking one's own bread, is integral to cottagecore. Growing one's own food in one's own garden and baking one's own bread all reflect the philosophy of self-sufficiency of cottagecore, though the aesthetic does not demand living in the countryside.[12][9] Cottagecore gardening is intended to be environmentally friendly, often including permacultural farming practices.[17][18] For example, the cultivation of a variety of perennial and annual native plants (i.e. plants endemic to the areas near one's home) helps attract insects, including bees, and as such promotes biodiversity and increases pollination of food-producing crops.[18] Other aspects The aesthetic encourages taking care of oneself physically and mentally.[12] Followers of cottagecore typically purchase secondhand or vintage furniture.[9][19] They may take up hobbies including knitting, crochet, painting, and reading.[20] Antecedents and cultural context "Pastoral Recreation" (1868) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau While cottagecore arose as a named aesthetic in 2018, similar aesthetics and ideals existed prior to its inception. The ancient Greeks characterised Arcadia as a representation of an idyllic pastoral setting. The Greek poet Theocritus wrote poems about shepherds and shepherdesses in the third century BC, leading to him being often cited as the inventor of pastoral poetry.[21] The market for Theocritus’ work was primarily the educated urban class of Alexandria, Egypt, seeking an escape from the filth, crowding and disease of city life. In the first century BC the Roman poet Virgil’s pastoral poetry was written in response to the violence and chaos of war. However, he expanded the genre by acknowledging contemporary moral and political issues such as war whilst maintaining a distance through the pastoral trope.[21] Pastoral escapism continued to be produced for the courtly audience of the Roman Empire in the format of novels such as Daphnis and Chloe from the second century AD.[21] William Morris design for "Trellis" wallpaper, 1862 in Arts and Crafts movement style The fourteenth century Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch was known for his hill-walking and gardening as well as his pastoral poetry.[21] English playwright William Shakespeare wrote two pastoral plays: As You Like It and A Winter’s Tale. Christopher Marlowe’s renowned poem The Passionate Shepherd to His Love inspired a poetic response written by Walter Raleigh, The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd, in which the speaker observes that Arcadian ideas were fallacies.[21] In eighteenth-century Europe it was fashionable to build follies, ornamental structures often built in the style of classical architecture or to mimic rustic villages.[22] Marie Antoinette's Hameau de la Reine, a rustic model village, is a primary example of a folly in a pastoral style. The Arts and Crafts movement of the nineteenth century was an approach to art, architecture, and design that embraced 'folk' styles and techniques as a critique of industrial production.[10] The counterculture of the 1960s provides perhaps the most significant source of influence for the contemporary cottagecore movement. Many of the subcategories of cottagecore directly invoke the aesthetic of environmentally conscious architectural projects and communes of the era such as Drop City, and embody the radically sustainable, hands-on ethos of publications such as the Whole Earth Catalog. Thrifted furniture and art pieces from the 1960s and '70s are often used to create a comforting, cozy interior space, as are patterns of the era such as paisley and mushroom prints.[23] There have been similar aesthetics in different countries, such as iki, or detached elegance, from Japan, fernweh, or being somewhere far away and mysterious, from Germany, or hygge, or satisfying comfort, from Denmark.[8] Contemporary popularity Prior to the Great Recession, Thomas Kinkade sold millions of copies of his paintings of idyllic cottages.[24]     Cottagecore is an ideal. It creates a warm feeling when one thinks about how wonderful it would be to live a simpler, more bucolic existence. I started thumbing through my book on Thomas Kinkade, poring over his paintings of cottages and small-town life. I think his tremendous success was related to the feelings these paintings evoke in us.     — Corky Pickering, "The cottagecore dream during the pandemic"[24] The movement gained further traction in many online spheres and on social media in 2020 due to the mass quarantining in response to the [6][10][25] Networks such as the blogging site Tumblr had a 150% increase in cottagecore posts in the three months from March to May 2020.[7] It spread on Pinterest, a platform for sharing visual ideas.[26] It became popular on TikTok as well,[1][27] with numerous cottagecore enthusiasts sharing videos of themselves living in rural areas, bathing in the forest, or baking bread.[28] On TikTok, the LGBT+ community has been particularly fond of cottagecore, especially lesbians.[29] Many young women have found a sense of femininity through dressing in a cottagecore aesthetic while still feeling aligned with a modern, in-control woman archetype.[30] The New Yorker asserted that such videos had "evoked a mood of calm, enlightened, prettified productivity."[8] Vox characterized the trend as "the aesthetic where quarantine is romantic instead of terrifying."[4] Living in the style of cottagecore or simply looking at others doing the same on the Internet was seen as something that could help people de-stress.[31] Speaking to CNN, psychologist Krystine Batcho noted that it should be no surprise nostalgia in general and cottagecore in particular was in vogue during such a stressful time. "Longing for simpler situations, simpler time periods or simpler ways of living is an effort to balance out and to counteract the effects of high intense stress," she said.[12] This was a period when many urban residents questioned whether it was worth living in the cities, and rural life stood up as an appealing alternative.[28] A New York Times article compared cottagecore to the social simulation video game series Animal Crossing being acted out in real life.[5][10] In July 2021 The Sims 4 released an expansion pack called "Cottage Living", which focuses on floral prints, gardening and tending to animals like chickens and llamas.[32] Taylor Swift accelerated cottagecore's popularity in 2020 with her eighth studio album, Folklore. In July 2020, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her eighth studio album, Folklore, a critical and commercial success.[33][34] It features songs written during the lockdown.[27] The album's use of cottagecore in its visuals and lyrics has been credited with increasing the aesthetic's popularity.[35][36][37] She continued the aesthetic with its follow-up record, Evermore (2020),[38][39] and applied it to her performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[40] The music videos for "Cardigan" and "Willow" both incorporate cottagecore imagery.[41] Other public figures who embraced this style include British actress Millie Bobby Brown,[27] English musician Harry Styles,[9] and English footballer David Beckham.[6] In the United States, cottagecore became a decorating trend for the 2020 holiday season while the sales of needlework kits skyrocketed.[3] According to the Royal Horticultural Society of the United Kingdom, cottage gardening is a trend for 2021.[18] China has its own version of cottagecore. Even though the country is rapidly urbanizing as part of economic development, many young people have decided to leave the cities after their university studies for their hometowns in the countryside, where the quality of life has improved thanks to, among other things, the availability of fast Internet access, new roads, and high-speed railways.[42] Among the returning youths are cottagecore-minded architects." (wikipedia.org)
  • Condition: New other (see details)
  • Condition: Pieces appear new; box has storage wear. Please see photos and description.
  • Shape: Round
  • Occasion: Easter
  • Color: Multicolor
  • Material: Ceramic & Porcelain
  • Subject: Bunnies & Rabbits
  • Brand: Costco
  • Type: Stand
  • Packaging: Box
  • Theme: Animals & Dinosaurs, Fantasy, Farm Animals, Food & Drink, Novelty, Seasonal
  • Style: Country
  • Original/Reproduction: Licensed Reproduction
  • Features: Boxed, Multi-Part, Smooth, Textured
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: China
  • Finish: Glossy
  • Room: Bathroom, Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, Entryway, Foyer, Kitchen, Living Room, Lounge, Office, Sunroom

PicClick Insights - EASTER EGG CERAMIC DISPLAY SET pastel speckled decorative eggs stand Costco RARE PicClick Exclusive

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