The Easter story — the holiday's religious roots
Before the bunnies and baskets, Easter is the most important feast of the Christian year. These questions cover Holy Week from Palm Sunday through the empty tomb — the framework the rest of the holiday hangs on.
Q1.In Christianity, Easter celebrates what event?Tap to reveal
Answer: The resurrection of Jesus
The Gospels describe Jesus rising from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.
Q2.Which day commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus?Tap to reveal
Answer: Good Friday
It falls two days before Easter Sunday and is observed with fasting and solemn services in many traditions.
Q3.What is the week leading up to Easter Sunday called?Tap to reveal
Answer: Holy Week
It runs from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday and includes the most solemn days of the Christian calendar.
Q4.Which Sunday, one week before Easter, marks Jesus's entry into Jerusalem?Tap to reveal
Answer: Palm Sunday
Crowds are described laying palm branches on the road, which is why churches distribute palms that day.
Q5.What is the roughly 40-day season of fasting and reflection before Easter called?Tap to reveal
Answer: Lent
The 40 days echo the time the Gospels say Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.
Q6.Lent begins on which day?Tap to reveal
Answer: Ash Wednesday
Worshippers receive a cross of ashes on the forehead, traditionally made by burning the previous year's palms.
Q7.The Last Supper is commemorated on which day of Holy Week?Tap to reveal
Answer: Maundy Thursday
"Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum (commandment), from Jesus's instruction to love one another.
Q8.According to the Gospels, who was among the first to find Jesus's tomb empty?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mary Magdalene
All four Gospels place Mary Magdalene at the tomb on Easter morning, making her the first witness of the resurrection.
Q9.Which Jewish festival was being celebrated in Jerusalem at the time of the Last Supper?Tap to reveal
Answer: Passover
The connection is why Easter is called Pascha in Greek and Latin, from Pesach, the Hebrew name for Passover.
Easter traditions around the world
Easter looks wildly different depending on where you celebrate it: witches in Sweden, water fights in Poland, a marsupial in Australia. This is the round where well-traveled players pull ahead.
Q1.The Easter Bunny tradition originated in which country?Tap to reveal
Answer: Germany
German Lutherans told of the egg-laying "Osterhase," and German immigrants carried the tradition to America.
Q2.What dove-shaped Easter bread is a tradition in Italy?Tap to reveal
Answer: Colomba di Pasqua
The "Easter dove" is a sweet yeast bread similar to panettone, topped with almonds and pearl sugar.
Q3.In Greece, Easter eggs are traditionally dyed which single color?Tap to reveal
Answer: Red
The red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and the eggs are cracked against each other in a game called tsougrisma.
Q4.Which country hosts a famous annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn?Tap to reveal
Answer: The United States
The White House Easter Egg Roll has been an official event since 1878, under President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Q5.In Australia, which endangered native animal is promoted as an alternative to the Easter Bunny?Tap to reveal
Answer: The bilby
Chocolate Easter Bilbies raise money for conservation — rabbits are an invasive pest in Australia.
Q6.Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on which day?Tap to reveal
Answer: Good Friday
The spiced buns are marked with a cross on top, a custom with roots in English baking going back centuries.
Q7.In Sweden, children traditionally dress up as what around Easter?Tap to reveal
Answer: Easter witches
Kids in headscarves and painted cheeks — påskkärringar — go door to door trading drawings for candy.
Q8.In Poland, Easter Monday is celebrated by playfully doing what to each other?Tap to reveal
Answer: Soaking each other with water
The tradition is called Śmigus-dyngus or Wet Monday, and no passerby is entirely safe.
Q9.In which city does the Pope deliver his Easter Sunday "Urbi et Orbi" blessing?Tap to reveal
Answer: Rome (Vatican City)
The blessing "to the city and to the world" is given from St. Peter's Basilica to crowds in the square below.
Eggs, bunnies and candy — the sweet side of Easter
Easter is one of the biggest candy holidays of the year, and the egg has its own art history — from Ukrainian pysanky to the jeweled eggs of the Russian court.
Q1.What are Cadbury's famous fondant-filled Easter chocolates called?Tap to reveal
Answer: Creme Eggs
Cadbury Creme Eggs are sold mainly between New Year's and Easter, driving a seasonal frenzy in the UK.
Q2.According to surveys, which part of a chocolate bunny do most people bite first?Tap to reveal
Answer: The ears
Polls consistently find a large majority of people start with the ears — feet and tail trail far behind.
Q3.Which company makes Peeps marshmallow candy?Tap to reveal
Answer: Just Born
The Pennsylvania candy maker acquired Peeps in 1953 and cut production time from 27 hours to minutes.
Q4.What animal is the classic original Peeps shape?Tap to reveal
Answer: A chick
Yellow chicks came first; bunnies and seasonal shapes were added later as the brand grew.
Q5.Which Russian jeweler created the famous gem-encrusted Easter eggs?Tap to reveal
Answer: Peter Carl Fabergé
His workshop produced about 50 imperial eggs, each hiding a surprise inside, between 1885 and 1916.
Q6.The imperial Fabergé eggs were made for which royal family?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Romanovs
Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II commissioned them as Easter gifts for the tsarinas.
Q7.Pysanky are intricately wax-decorated Easter eggs from which country?Tap to reveal
Answer: Ukraine
Designs are drawn in beeswax and dyed in layers, a folk art tradition passed down for generations.
Q8.What kitchen scrap was traditionally used to dye Easter eggs a deep red-brown?Tap to reveal
Answer: Onion skins
Boiling eggs wrapped in onion skins was the standard natural dye long before store-bought coloring kits.
Q9.In the game of egg tapping, what are players trying to do?Tap to reveal
Answer: Crack their opponent's egg while keeping their own intact
The last player holding an uncracked egg wins — the game is known as egg jarping in parts of England.
Dates, spring and pop culture — why Easter moves around
Easter can land anywhere across a five-week window, and the reason involves the moon. This round also covers the holiday's name, its signature flower, and the island named for it.
Q1.Western Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following what astronomical event?Tap to reveal
Answer: The spring (vernal) equinox
Churches use a fixed ecclesiastical calculation, which is why Easter drifts across March and April.
Q2.What is the earliest possible date for Western Easter?Tap to reveal
Answer: March 22
It requires a full moon on March 21 followed immediately by a Sunday — it last happened in 1818.
Q3.What is the latest possible date for Western Easter?Tap to reveal
Answer: April 25
Easter last fell on April 25 in 1943 and won't again until 2038.
Q4.The English name "Easter" is often traced to Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with what?Tap to reveal
Answer: Spring and the dawn
The 8th-century monk Bede wrote that the month named for Eostre gave the festival its English name.
Q5.Which 1948 musical starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland is named after an Easter tradition?Tap to reveal
Answer: Easter Parade
The film is built around Irving Berlin songs, including the title number about New York's Fifth Avenue parade.
Q6.What white trumpet-shaped flower is the classic bloom of the Easter season?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Easter lily
Lilium longiflorum is forced to bloom in spring for the holiday; most US crops come from the Oregon-California border.
Q7.Which Pacific island, famous for its giant moai statues, was named for the day a Dutch explorer arrived in 1722?Tap to reveal
Answer: Easter Island
Jacob Roggeveen sighted the island on Easter Sunday, giving Rapa Nui its European name.
Q8.Which Christian churches usually celebrate Easter on a later date because they calculate it using the Julian calendar?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Eastern Orthodox churches
The Julian calculation and a Passover rule push Orthodox Pascha later than Western Easter in most years.
Q9.In England and Wales, Good Friday and Easter Monday are what kind of days?Tap to reveal
Answer: Bank holidays (public holidays)
Both bracket Easter Sunday, giving the UK a four-day weekend every spring.
How to host an Easter trivia game
Easter trivia slots perfectly between the egg hunt and dessert. Deal one section per round, let kids team up with adults for the religion and dates rounds, and award chocolate eggs as points — the currency is already on the table.
If you'd rather have the questions dealt for you, Trivio.NET's Holidays & Events category has seasonal packs, plus daily quizzes and live 1v1 battles year-round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play these Easter trivia questions and answers online?
Yes — this page has a playable quiz widget, and the Trivio.NET app serves holiday trivia packs with async duels and real-time 1v1 battles.
Why does the date of Easter change every year?
Western Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox, so it can land anywhere from March 22 to April 25.
Why do Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on a different date?
They calculate the date using the older Julian calendar, which usually pushes Orthodox Pascha one to five weeks after Western Easter.
Are these Easter trivia questions kid-friendly?
Yes — the traditions and candy rounds work for ages 8 and up, while the Easter story and calendar rounds suit teens and adults.
Where did the Easter Bunny come from?
German Lutheran folklore — the egg-laying "Osterhase" judged whether children had behaved, and German immigrants brought the tradition to America.
