When you hear the word Easter, what comes to mind?
Chocolate eggs?
A long weekend?
The Easter bunny?
You're not wrong, but Easter in the United Kingdom is much more than chocolate.
It's a religious story.
It's centuries of tradition and it's a celebration of new life that mixes faith history and folklore.
So today we 're going to explore the story behind Easter,
the key dates of Easter week and why eggs, chocolate and rabbits became part of it.
Let's start at the beginning.
Palm Sunday Easter begins with Palm Sunday.
This remembers the day Jesus entered Jerusalem.
According to the Bible, people welcomed him by waving palm branches and placing them on the road,
a sign of honour and celebration.
Many believed he was the promised Messiah.
In some churches across the United Kingdom, people still receive small crosses made from palm leaves.
Some keep them at home.
Others return them the following year to be burned.
The ashes are then used for Ash Wednesday, which we'll come to a bit later.
Palm Sunday sets the tone.