What Does the Easter Bunny Have to Do With Easter? Easter Bunny Origins Explained + Activities

Who came up with the idea of the Easter Bunny?

According to Time, the concept of the Easter bunny stems from pagan rituals around the vernal equinox (the first day of spring). The pagan goddess of fertility, Eostre, was also symbolized by a hare and eggs. It’s believed that when missionaries spread Christianity throughout Europe, they combined the pagan spring rituals with Easter and resurrection celebrations to make the transition from paganism to Christianity easier for new converts.
In terms of the Easter Bunny’s specific ties to the Christian holiday, German writings from the 1600s were reportedly among the first to mention an Easter hare. The Easter hare (called “Oschter Haws” in German) was said to have left colorful eggs for good children around Easter. Children would sometimes prepare “nests” for the eggs and leave carrots for the hare. German immigrants are believed to have brought the Easter Bunny tradition to the United States around the 1700s.

                                                                                                         Further reading

Easter Vocabulary

Listen and repeat.

Daylight Saving Time

What Is Daylight Saving Time?

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of moving the clocks forward one hour from Standard Time during the summer months and changing them back again in the fall. The general idea is that this allows us all to make better use of natural daylight: moving the clocks forward one hour in the spring grants us more daylight during summer evenings, while moving clocks back one hour in the fall grants us more daylight during winter mornings. However, DST has many detractors—and rightfully so! 

The first true proponent of Daylight Saving Time was an Englishman named William Willet. A London builder, he conceived the idea while riding his horse early one morning in 1907. He noticed that the shutters of houses were tightly closed even though the Sun had risen. In “The Waste of Daylight,” the manifesto of his personal light-saving campaign, Willet wrote, “Everyone appreciates the long, light evenings. Everyone laments their shrinkage as the days grow shorter; and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the nearly clear, bright light of an early morning during Spring and Summer months is so seldom seen or used… . That so many as 210 hours of daylight are, to all intents and purposes, wasted every year is a defect in our civilization. Let England recognize and remedy it.”

World War I Led to Adoption of DST

After World War I broke out, the government and citizenry recognized the need to conserve coal used for heating homes. The Germans were the first to officially adopt the light-extending system in 1915, as a fuel-saving measure during World War I. This led to the introduction in 1916 of British Summer Time: From May 21 to October 1, clocks in Britain were put an hour ahead.

•  Spring forward (turn clocks ahead and lose an hour) 

•  Fall back (turn clocks back and gain an hour) 

Further reading

Rain idioms and phrases +A picture quiz about English idioms: Weather

A PICTURE QUIZ

Rainy Season Vocabulary | English Vocabulary Weather with pictures

 

SENSORY MARKETING

Sensory marketing is a potent tool that aims to appeal to at least one of the five senses in order to prompt significant, positive and, in-turn, profitable responses from a business’ main target audience. Sensory marketing provides a more special and memorable experience to its target market. It is also known to perform best when more than one sense is being targeted in one single message or campaign. 

It’s vital that you choose the types of senses that are in coherence with your brand.

SIGHT

Sensory marketing in regards to sight is one of the most important. Individuals like to see things that are aesthetically pleasing and captivating. 

Nowadays sensory marketing can be performed in a multitude of ways. For example, via the creation of graphics, infographics, images, art, posters, advertising banners, videos, text, colours and so much more.

These pieces of marketing can also be encountered anywhere, but in the 21st century, most of these visuals are found digitally, through online platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, company websites etc.

HEARING

Using sound within your sensory marketing strategy is also a great way to establish your brand and make it more memorable.

Some of the most common forms of hearing sensory marketing nowadays are: voiceovers, sound effects, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. 

TOUCH

Sensory marketing also encompasses touch and in some instances it makes a lot of sense. For example, if you’re buying a new car - you’ll need to do a test-drive first i.e. see how it works, how comfortable it is and how you feel while driving it. The same also applies to clothes - typically, when you’re in a clothing store you touch the fabric to decide whether it’s high quality and you, more often than not, try the clothes on. 

Touching products like this can help your brand in attaining more sales and gives customers more reassurance about buying your products.

TASTE 

Taste can only really be applied to vendors of food and drinks - e.g. drink brands,restaurants, cafes, cheese brands, etc. 

So, how can taste be used in sensory marketing? It’s pretty straightforward - use samples to entice your audience. Many consumers are wary of buying new products, especially if they're used to buying a set list of groceries in the supermarket. However, if you allow them to try a free sample of your food, they’re unlikely to refuse it. Furthemore, if the taste appeals to them - they will be more likely to buy it. 

SMELL

Some smells vividly take you back to a particular moment in your life. The sense of smell should not be underestimated, especially not in your sensory marketing strategy.

Here are some cool ways you can incorporate smell into your marketing strategy:

1. Special fragrances that line up with your brand and your store. For example, Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch use their distinct sense to make their customers feel happy and enjoy shopping in the store.
2. Scents that resemble the environment. For instance, scents of the ocean, freshly cut grass, and other natural smells. These types of scents can sometimes be beneficial in evoking positive emotions in the customers when they’re making purchases in a store. 
   
3. The irresistible smell of food! If you’re selling food - a good idea would be to focus on the smell and ensure that it’s appealing and enticing when a customer walks by your restaurant/street food/food stall, etc. This point is also similar to realtors who  bake cookies or cakes in the houses that they have on show, so that people think of the place as more "homely".
   

THE BENEFITS OF SENSORY MARKETING

• It’s what customers want.
• Colors boost your brand recognition.
• Music and sound help customers remember you.
• The more senses you include in your marketing, the more brand loyalty you generate.
• It leaves a good impression, and customers will therefore have positive emotions when they think of your brand.
• It allows you to appeal to more customers. Not all customers are able to hear or see. Therefore, having an accessible brand, by using more senses in your marketing strategy, is definitely a benefit. 
• It makes an impact.

EXAMPLES OF SENSORY MARKETING

• APPLE

 They allow customers to try out all of their technological devices in store. By doing this, customers are able to touch and test the devices before actually purchasing. 

• MCDONALD’S

 “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba - I’m lovin’ it.” This is one of the most memorable jingles of modern times. McDonald’s has used sound marketing in a way that is easily recognizable and catchy.

• ROLLS ROYCE

Rolls Royce uses smell. This brand is known for having cars with a special “new car” scent that appeals to many (and not only luxury) car enthusiasts. This scent makes new buyers crave that new car, and entices them to buy a vehicle that’s clean, shiny and completely brand new. It’s an experience, to say the least!

                           Adapted from https://blog.paperturn.com/blog/what-is-sensory-marketing

Data Privacy Day (28 January)

Data Privacy Day History

Data Privacy Day seeks to raise awareness about the importance of personal information privacy. Businesses and individuals are often unaware of how their data is being used. This observance aims to raise awareness about how data is used or collected. It also aims to create more trust among individuals and businesses.

Data Privacy Day was established in 2008 by the National Cyber Security Alliance. It is observed annually on January 28th.

Data Privacy Day Facts

• According to security.org, in the U.S, more than 1,000 data breaches occurred in 2020. These breaches affected more than 155.8 million individuals.

• The average cost of a data breach in the U.S is $8.19 million. The average cost of a data breach worldwide is $3.9 million.

• According to the Insurance Information Institute, there were nearly 1.4 million reported cases of identity theft in 2020, resulting in a $4.5 Billion in total loss.

Data Privacy Day Top Events and Things to Do

• Make sure your data is secure. A few ways to ensure your data is protected is by using two-factor authentication, using different passwords, and by using a VPN. You can learn more about VPNs Here.

• Reevaluate your password strength. If you have used the same password for years, consider updating it or changing it to something new. Use phrases or sentences, or even a random password generator. Be sure to write down your new password somewhere so you don't forget it.

• Watch a film about data breaches and data security to better understand the risk involved. Here are our suggestions:
  
  

                                     The Great Hack (2019)
                                     Anon (2018)
                                     Zero Days (2016)

                                                                                                                         Taken from https://www.wincalendar.com/Data-Privacy-Day