Christians all over the world celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. In Germany, Easter is known as "Ostern" and the commemoration begins a week before, on Palm Sunday, marking Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The week leading up to Easter is known as Holy Week, or "Karwoche" in German.

Good Friday, "Karfreitag," the day of Jesus' crucifixion, is a public holiday in Germany, as is the Monday after Easter Sunday ("Ostermontag"). Don't think you can enjoy the long weekend by hanging out in clubs, though. In 12 of Germany's 16 states, events with loud music are prohibited all day on Good Friday. In three states, loud music is just banned during certain hours.

According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified around the time of the Jewish Passover, which was observed at the first full moon following the vernal equinox. Based on the Gregorian calendar, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after Passover. Depending on lunar cycles, that falls between March 22 and April 25. German pupils look forward to two weeks of vacation surrounding the Easter holiday.

Pagan festivals were often celebrated during the vernal equinox to mark the beginning of spring. Since the rituals roughly coincided with Easter — which also celebrates new life — some of the symbolism was shared. That may be how the egg and the hare, which both stand for fertility, made their way into our modern-day Easter celebrations.

It was German scientist Georg Franck von Franckenau who in 1682 first wrote about the tradition of a mythical Easter Bunny that hid eggs in the garden for children to find. The custom was being practiced in the central and southwestern German regions, including Alsace and Palatinate. The tradition stuck, and now kids around the world try extra hard to find the eggs they missed last year.

As every farm kid knows, rabbits don't lay eggs. They grow on trees — at least in Germany. Decorating both full-sized outdoor trees and smaller indoor versions with colorful eggs, similar to a Christmas tree, is a centuries-old German Easter tradition. Often, indoor trees are adorned with elaborately decorated porcelain eggs. The custom joins two symbols of life: the egg and the tree.

Chocolate does not symbolize life, spring or fertility — but it's nevertheless inseparable from Easter. Over 200 million chocolate bunnies are produced in Germany each year, with around 40% being exported. Lindt, pictured, is actually a Swiss company, but has a factory in Aachen, in westernmost Germany, and is one of the most common bunny brands.

While the egg as a symbol for life dates back to ancient Rome, the symbolism of the lamb is much older. The Jews of the Old Testament sacrificed unblemished lambs in religious rituals. Christians later adopted the image of the sacrificial lamb in reference to Christ's crucifixion. In Germany, lamb isn't just a main course: Sweet Easter lambs made from cake and powdered sugar are common.

The gift of calories is still the most popular Easter present in Germany, according to a 2015 Statista survey: 62% give sweets on Easter, while 38% give eggs. However, nearly half (45%) said they purchase small items like games, books or stuffed animals for their loved ones, especially kids. But not everyone participates in Easter commerce: 22% don't give gifts.

According to an early Saxon tradition, fires are lit in Germany and elsewhere in northern Europe on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday. In the pre-Christian spring ritual, the fire was likely meant to expel winter. In rural northern Germany, Easter bonfires are lit by official brigades or on private premises and can turn into small festivals. The fire generally burns throughout the night.

Even though we all know bunnies don't lay eggs, pictures like this one still turn up at this time every year. In Germany, however, it seems that eggs' special status extends well beyond the Easter holiday. From breakfast to decor, Germans have a special relationship with eggs. Here's more.

Eggs are eaten all over the world for breakfast - scrambled, poached, boiled, or fried. In Germany, the soft-boiled egg is a requirement at every big Sunday breakfast. Typically, it is not considered a main dish and not eaten with an omnipresent bread roll, but stands alone in a dish of its own, like a work of art adorned only with a dash of salt. Usually the yolk - the "Eigelb" - is left runny.

Since eggs are neither flat nor perfectly round, they would wobble all over a plate. For this reason, the revered breakfast staple is granted a specially designed bowl of its own. In the land of design and engineering, this is a wide-open invitation for creativity. Egg cups can be found in unlimited variety. They usually include their own specially sized spoon and personal miniature salt shaker.

A throne for the breakfast egg, a perfectly sized spoon and a tiny salt shaker are not enough. In Germany, you also have a highly specialized egg opening device known as an "Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher" (egg shell breaking point causer). By dropping the ball attached to the post, pressure is applied evenly in a ring around the top of the egg. The crown can then be cleanly removed.

Germans are consuming more and more eggs. The industry organization Marktinfo Eier & Geflügel estimated that each person in Germany ate 235 eggs in 2016, up from 233 in 2015 and 231 in 2014. While many of those eggs are laid in Germany, imports are growing, particularly from Poland and the Netherlands. Over Easter, egg consumption rises only slightly. They're a year-round passion.

Considering the practically holy status of the German breakfast egg, one might think that the Germans are leagues ahead of the pack when it comes to total consumption. Each American, however, ate around 267 eggs last year, according to the American Egg Board - but there, scrambling up multiple eggs is more popular than a single pedastaled treasure. In the UK per capita consumption came in at 192.

Chicken eggs generally come in two colors, depending on the species. While white eggs were most common in Germany in the 70s and 80s, more egg eaters started buying brown eggs when the organic food trend began. They are considered to be healthier and more natural. In fact there is no difference between the two kinds - except for a bit of pigment. White eggs, however, are easier to dye for Easter.

Newcomers to Germany may be shocked to discover packs of dyed eggs in the supermarkets - in October. (Not refrigerated, by the way.) It's not an oversight. Last year, 475 million eggs were sold. Only a quarter of those were purchased during the first quarter, reported the "Süddeutsche Zeitung." But no matter when they're bought, does anyone anywhere in the world actually eat the dyed ones?

Sometimes eggs turn up where you least expect them. If you order a sandwich in a bakery - one of those famous German bread rolls with ham or cheese, for example - a slice of egg will be thrown in for good measure. (And we truly mean one single slice.) The white and yellow add to the rainbow of condiments: You'll usually also find tomato, cucumber (one slice each) and lettuce (one leaf) inside.

Bunnies don't lay eggs; they grow on trees. It's a centuries-old German Easter tradition to decorate both full-sized outdoor trees and smaller indoor versions with colorful eggs, similar to a Christmas tree. The custom joins two internationally recognized symbols of life: the egg and the tree. The biggest Easter tree was maintained by the Kraft family in Saalfeld until 2015, with over 10,000 eggs.