This Year’s Easter Might Be the Biggest Yet

WalletHub has released their annual Easter survey for the year on Holy Week, just in time for the Sunday holiday. The full survey is chock full of stats: everything from candy consumption, religion, and things not to waste your money on for the holiday. I'd thought it be fun to cherry-pick some stats and analyze them individually.

68% of people will look to donate money elsewhere:

One of the first statistics addressed in the survey is that 68% of people would rather donate money to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine than to a religious organization. It's not terribly difficult to understand why. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has been on our television sets for nearly two months, and the conflict between the two countries seems to be escalating rather than waning.

That said, it's fair to note that many churches and religious organizations are likely donating to the Ukrainian people or humanitarian causes related to the Ukraine. That said, however, it's a timely barometer for where many people's hearts and minds are at this holiday season.

Billions to be spent this Easter Sunday:

In 2019, Easter was predicted to rake in about $18 billion in total sales. That includes money spent on toys, eggs, baskets, food, decorations, and more.

In 2022, Easter-related spending is expected to climb to $20.8 billion, equating to $170 per person celebrating. $3 billion of that is projected to include candy alone.

45% of Americans are planning to spend more on Easter this year than last.

How are people celebrating?:

The pandemic changed the way we celebrate holidays in 2020 and likely continued to in 2021, to some degree. This year, however, morale is significantly higher, and the willingness to be a part of a larger group is returning ten-fold. 15% of people are more likely to celebrate Easter with friends and family compared to last year.

Best cities for Easter:

Before we breakdown the results of this piece of the survey, the methodology behind it is quite intriguing.

In short, the experts looked at a handful of different factors, including: share of Christian population, the number of churches per capita, the Google search interest for "Easter celebration" and "brunch restaurants per capita," to name a few, as well as other factors like the number of egg-hunt events in the area along with the weather.

Pittsburgh, PA is set to be the best city in which to celebrate Easter, as it scored the highest on those metrics. Birmingham, AL and Orlando, FL round out the top three respectively.

Somewhat surprisingly, an Iowa city didn't crack the top 100 list. Chicago, IL did place #41, however. Humorously, North Las Vegas ranked #100 on the list.

Tips for celebrating Easter on a budget:

Experts at WalletHub also went as far as to offer suggestions to families looking to save money and celebrate Easter on a budget. Such tips include finding dollar store items, such as plastic eggs, that will serve the same purpose; cooking favorite family dishes at home to avoid the added costs of dining out; opting for homemade cookies or sweets versus spending money on candy.

Reflecting on tradition:

To conclude, I thought I'd speak on one of my favorite Easter traditions. I always enjoyed coloring eggs. I swear I did it up until I turned 19 or 20. It was a fun activity I could do with my mother. The real challenge was trying to get the egg to be multicolored, and also trying to achieve that with as little dye staining your fingers as possible.

When I was really little, it was a treat and then some to hunt around the living room and dining room for the eggs my mother would hide overnight. She wouldn't make them all easy to find either. One year, I distinctly remember spending 20 minutes searching for one. It was tucked every so slightly under the microwave.

However you celebrate, a very happy Easter to you and yours!

NOTE: You can also take a look at Tom Drake's article about Cascade's Community Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, April 16th!