Jesus, creepy bunnies and tobacco. It’s Easter time.

For most of American society, Easter is less about Jesus and more about the chocolate that a creepy white bunny delivers overnight. Growing up, my favorite Easter Pastime was the annual Easter egg hunt. As a competitive child, my only goal on Easter was to collect more eggs than my brother and my cousin could find.

Now, as a student at an Evangelical Christian College, Easter brings less competitive significance and more contemplative appreciation for what my Savior did for me and everyone else who claims to be a Christian. However, I still enjoy the commercialized Easter egg hunts, chocolate gifts, and creepy bunnies at the mall. Here are 5 fun facts, pictures and videos regarding Easter celebrations all over the world.

1. Thanks to HappyPlace, you can now check out “40 Easter Bunnies more terrifying than a crucified man coming back from the dead.” Prepare yourself for childhood flashbacks, second-glances and nervous giggles of fear.

2. According to In The Capital, the people of Papua New Guinea have ditched the chocolate and replaced their sweets with tobacco. Instead of plastic eggs filled with candy, trees outside of churches are covered in sticks of tobacco and cigarettes. After Easter church service, smokes are handed out and the congregation literally lights up.

3. In the southern city of Haux, France, locals gather up and divulge in a giant omelet that is served up in the town’s main square. According to Woman’s Day, the omelet uses more than 4,500 eggs and feeds up to 1,000 people. It is said that when Napoleon and his army were traveling through the south of France, they stopped in a small town to grub on some omelets. Napoleon liked his omelet so much that he ordered all the townspeople to gather up the next day and make a giant omelet for his army. How this originally relates to Easter is uncertain, but it has become a modern Easter-day tradition!

4. Maybe America should just ditch the Easter Bunny idea. These kiddos probably support the idea…

5. On a slightly more normal and meaningful note, in Bermuda, people celebrate Good Friday by flying home-made kites. According to the Huffington Post, the tradition is said to have begun when a local teacher from the British Army had difficulty explaining Christ’s ascension to Heaven to his Sunday school class, so he decided to made a kite. The flight of the kite represents the ascension of Jesus, and the cross-shaped kites continue to be made with colorful tissue paper, long tails, wood, metal and string.

Whether you celebrate Jesus or fear the Easter Bunny, enjoy your Easter, friends!

Cover photo courtesy of ethanhickerson

Batteries to Bluffs Trail (San Francisco Presidio)

Let’s admit it. The mobs of tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf and the flocks of suburban high school girls at Union Square can get overwhelming. You want to enjoy all that San Francisco has to offer, but you would love to skip the crowds (and parking fees and overpriced bottles of water).

Looking for a touristy place to take my visiting college friends, I looked no further than Yelp to find just what I needed. Knowing that San Francisco has great outdoor activities, I decided to look up the people’s choice for hiking trails. As I weighed my options, one trail kept appearing: the Batteries to Bluffs Trail.

An easy drive from the Bay Bridge, we eventually arrived at a parking lot located on Langdon Court, nestled beside Battery Godfrey. Although the lot was small, there were plenty of spaces available, and best of all? The parking was free. We gathered up our gear and headed to the top of the battery, where we were met with a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge to our right, and Baker Beach down the coast to our left.

After catching our breath, we began our journey along the trail. Beginning on top of the mountain – or more like a cliff – the trail eventually slows down to the first flight of wooden stairs. The trail continues, alternating between stairs and a dirt path, with constant views of the Bridge and Baker Beach. Although this is a great trail for walking and even running, it is nearly impossible to have a bike on this trail, due to the amount of stairs and the narrow nature of the path. Since it has so many staircases, the path seems rather short. Eventually, you will reach Battery Crosby, which can serve as a nice resting spot if you want to continue to another trail. We took the path up to the Coastal Trail that is parallel to Lincoln Blvd, turning right at the next trail opening to the “Sand Ladder.” It was indeed a ladder made of stairs that were covered with sand, as well as many little lizards who were enjoying the sunshine.

We eventually made it to the beach, where we found a spot with many pebbles and rocks that we could skip into the ocean. Keep in mind that Baker Beach can also be considered a nude beach. Whether you like to strip it all off, or wish to block the eyes of your innocent children, the beach is large enough to have a spot for everyone – and a spot with prime views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Once we were done, we took the path closest to Battery Chamberlain, which led us up to the Coastal Trail alongside Lincoln Blvd. We skipped the entry back to the Batteries to Bluffs Trail and chose to go straight down the path, which led us right back to the parking lot. We grabbed our picnic lunches and sat atop Battery Godfrey, taking in the gorgeous views of the ocean.

If you’re looking for a bathroom, just head down the trail that leads toward the bridge. It will take you to the Visitor’s Center where you can use the public restrooms. Whether you want a peaceful hike for yourself or a place to take the family, the Batteries to Bluffs Trail is a wonderfully cheap way to enjoy all that San Francisco has to offer.