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When is Easter Sunday 2024?
The first signs of spring mean Easter is just around the corner.
Whether you’ve got a little one at home hoping for an overflowing Easter basket, or you’re hosting your extended family on Easter Sunday, you’re going to need to know when Easter is this year — and how to score the perfect Easter basket and Easter gifts. Keep reading for everything you need to know to prepare for Easter 2024.
When is Easter 2024?
Get your Easter baskets ready and hide your chocolate bunnies. Easter is Sunday, March 31, 2024. The official end of the 40 days of Lent, Easter is an important day in the Christian faith and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Best Easter baskets of 2024
When it comes to Easter baskets, make sure you order with enough time for your basket to arrive (and before the top picks sell out). Usually filled with sweet treats and chocolates, you’re never too old to give or receive an Easter basket.
Best chocolate and candy Easter basket: Harry & David Grand Easter basket
Harry & David is known for its elegant gift baskets featuring the perfect combination of chocolates, candies, fruit and savory snacks. The gifting brand delivers once again with its massive (and delicious) Easter basket, which includes a solid milk chocolate bunny, malt ball mini eggs, dark chocolate-covered popcorn, yogurt-covered pretzels, an assortment of chocolate truffles, Robin egg marshmallows and more. The icing on the cake is the four gorgeous pears included in the basket.
This Easter basket comes in a beautiful woven basket and is finished with a hand-tied bow. This five-pound Easter basked is available at Harry & David for $110. Standard shipping takes 4-7 business days.
Best assortment: Cravebox Easter basket for kids and adults
If you’re looking for an Easter basket that doesn’t lean heavily on chocolate, this 55-piece Easter basket is a snack lover’s dream. Filled with snack sizes of sweet and savory treats, there is something (and then some) for everyone in this terrific Easter basket.
Available at Amazon, it’s well presented with all the items already placed and standing up for a full dramatic effect. The wrapped basket is placed in an Easter-themed box and sent directly to you.
This 55-count Easter basket is priced at $50. It’s rated 4.3 stars at Amazon.
Best Easter flower delivery services in 2024
One of the best ways to welcome spring and celebrate Easter is with flowers. It’s never been easier to order flowers online.
While you could go with one of the most well-known flower delivery services, you can find better arrangements at competitive prices elsewhere. Use flowers as an Easter gift, a centerpiece or a host gift on Easter Sunday.
Best online flower delivery service: The Bouqs Co.
As seen on ABC’s competition reality show “Shark Tank”, The Bouqs Co. promises farm-fresh quality flowers guaranteed to stay fresher longer. Their flowers are responsibly sourced and rooted in kindness — to the planet and the brand’s partners. Because flowers are sourced directly from the farms in which they grow, there is no middleman. Flowers are in transit for less time, which means they’ll stay in bloom longer before wilting.
The Bouqs Co. offers free shipping to subscribers, or a $15 flower delivery charge will apply to most deliveries.
Best flower quality and selection: UrbanStems
We like the quality, variety of offerings, freshness and style of UrbanStems. UrbanStems guarantees same-day or next-day delivery to New York City, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami. The online flower retailer does offer coast-to-coast delivery to other cities, but can’t guarantee same-day or next-day delivery.
UrbanStems is a terrific choice if you’re looking for a modern and elevated Easter arrangement, or are looking for arrangements with elegant flowers other than roses.
Order at least 48 hours before your desired delivery date. Delivery costs $10-30 per order.
Best Easter gifts in 2024
An Easter gift doesn’t have to mean sweets or flowers. Whether you’re looking to fill an Easter basket yourself or gift a little one an Easter surprise, Easter gifts can brighten up anyone’s holiday.
Best Easter gift for little kids: Play-Doh egg set
This 24-count Play-Doh egg set features colorful, plastic eggs filled with two ounces of bright Play-Doh molding clay. This non-toxic modeling compound comes in a variety of spring pastels, which can be used on an Easter egg hunt, in a gift basket or as an entire gift itself.
Amazon reviewers rate this Easter gift 4.7 stars, praising it as an alternative to the usual sugary Easter treats.
“Opened a couple and they are fun,” says one verified Amazon reviewer. “Nice feel and the two colors are great. These will be a good alternative to candy at the Easter Egg hunt this year!”
Trendiest Easter gift: Squishmallow Mystery Box (5 pc.)
If you’re looking to score a terrific Easter gift while earning cool points with the kids in your life, order a Squishmallow Mystery Box this Easter. The Squishmallow Mystery Box contains five 5-inch plushes, each randomly chosen.
These cute plush collectibles make for a terrific snuggle companion or an addition to a growing Squishmallow collection. This TikTok-viral Easter gift appeals to kids who love unboxing videos and mystery packages.
Rated 4.6 stars at Amazon.
Best Easter gift for bath time: Egg bath bombs gift set (12 pc.)
This gift set includes 12 pastel-colored egg-shaped bath bombs, perfect for the little bather in your life. Made from 100% natural ingredients, these bath bombs promise to create a whole lot of bubbles, and a whole lot of fun.
Each set comes with a clever set of Easter glasses. Styles vary per set. Regularly $27, this gift is priced at $23 after coupon at Amazon. Rated 4.6 stars.
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Saturday is the winter solstice and 2024’s shortest day. Here’s what to know about the official start of winter.
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial event signifies the first day of winter, astronomically.
What is the winter solstice?
The winter solstice is the day each year that has the shortest period of daylight between sunrise and sunset, and therefore the longest night. It happens when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude that circles the globe south of the equator, the National Weather Service explains.
The farther north you are, the shorter the day will be, and in the Arctic Circle, the sun won’t rise at all.
How is the day of the winter solstice determined?
The winter solstice occurs because of the Earth’s tilt as it rotates around the sun.
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, the nights last longer. The longest night happens on the solstice because the hemisphere is in its furthest position from the sun. That occurs each year on Dec. 21 or 22.
This year, it falls on Dec. 21 at 4:21 a.m ET, to be precise.
On the summer solstice, when the northern tilt is closest to the sun, we have the longest day, usually June 20 or 21.
The solstices are not always exactly on the 21st every year because the earth’s rotation around the sun is 365.25 days, instead of 365 even.
Will days start getting longer after the winter solstice?
Yes. Each day after the solstice, we get one minute more of sunlight. It doesn’t sound like much, but after just two months, or around 60 days, we’ll be seeing about an hour more of sunlight.
When will winter officially be over in 2025?
The meteorological winter ends on March 20, 2025. Then, spring will last until June 20, when the summer solstice arrives.
How is the winter solstice celebrated around the world?
Nations and cultures around the world have celebrated the solstice since ancient times with varying rituals and traditions. The influence of those solstice traditions can still be seen in our celebrations of holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, Britannica notes.
The ancient Roman Saturnalia festival celebrated the end of the planting season and has close ties with modern-day Christmas. It honored Saturn, the god of harvest and farming. The multiple-day affair had lots of food, games and celebrations. Presents were given to children and the poor, and slaves were allowed to stop working.
Gatherings are held every year at Stonehenge, a monumental circle of massive stones in England that dates back about 5,000 years. The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery, but it was built to align with the sun on solstice days.
The Hopi, a Native American tribe in the northern Arizona area, celebrate the winter solstice with dancing, purification and sometimes gift-giving. A sacred ritual known as the Soyal Ceremony marks the annual milestone.
In Peru, people honor the return of the sun god on the winter solstice. The ancient tradition would be to hold sacrificial ceremonies, but today, people hold mock sacrifices to celebrate. Because Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere, their winter solstice happens in June, when the Northern Hemisphere is marking its summer solstice.
Scandinavia celebrates St. Lucia’s Day, a festival of lights.
The “arrival of winter,” or Dong Zhi, is a Chinese festival where family gathers to celebrate the year so far. Traditional foods include tang yuan, sweet rice balls with a black sesame filling. It’s believed to have its origins in post-harvest celebrations.
Researchers stationed in in Antarctica even have their own traditions, which may include an icy plunge into the polar waters. They celebrate “midwinter” with festive meals, movies and sometimes homemade gifts.
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12/20: CBS News Weekender – CBS News
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A unique spin on the classic holiday eggnog
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