By Sarah Schulz
sarah.schulz@theindependent.com

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Waiting for the fire engineıs siren to start the Easter egg hunt Saturday morning during the 32nd Annual Pump & Pantry < GI Family Radio Easter Egg Hunt, (from left) Esperanza Villatoro, 4, Makenna Westerby, 4, Hayley Henke, 4, and Kennedi Henke, 4, sport various head gear for the event on Grand Island Senior Highıs practice field. While most kids ran to hug either of the two Easter bunnies at the 32nd Annual Pump & Pantry < GI Family Radio Easter Egg Hunt, more than a few had a reaction like Owen Janulewicz, 16 months, as he tries to escape the grasp of the large rabbit in to the arms of his mother, Jenna Janulewicz (right). Bosselmanıs employee Sarah Springer plays the Easter Bunny. As chaos reins around her, Esperanza Villatoro, 4, (center) stops for a moment with full hands before moving on to her next candy pick up Saturday during the 32nd Annual Pump & Pantry < GI Family Radio Easter Egg Hunt. Click Thumbnails to View

"I don't know how its figured," said Natalie Dick. "Something about the second to the last Sunday...?"

Dick, a Pump and Pantry manager, portrayed the brown Easter bunny at the 32nd annual Pump and Pantry/GI Family Radio Easter Egg Hunt Saturday.

Other guesses ranged from Easter being six weeks after some date on the church calendar to something to do with the number of Sundays in the month to the phases of the moon.

The truth? Easter, a Christian holiday that celebrates Christ's resurrection, is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox, which is always March 21. Since the first day of spring was Thursday and the full moon that followed was on Friday, Easter is today.

This dating is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover. Since the Roman calendar used in the western world is solar-based, Easter moves around, according to snopes.com.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Dick said with a laugh.

Judy Niemann, also a Pump and Pantry manager, was assisting Dick at Saturday's event. She said she didn't know how Easter was calculated but knew it wasn't a set date on the calendar, such as Christmas or Halloween.

The white Easter bunny, portrayed by Sarah Springer, also didn't know how Easter was figured but did know the key to keeping toasty on a brisk morning.

"Dress warmer," she said, while acknowledging that she had on a sweatshirt under her rabbit fur.

The hundreds of children and adults milling around the Grand Island Senior High School practice fields were decked out in coats, gloves, hats, earmuffs and blankets.

An early rainfall, cloudy skies and a cool breeze didn't seem to have an effect on the size of the crowd.

"This is a big hit no matter what," Niemann said, gesturing at the field covered with candy and plastic eggs.

Jenna Janulewicz of Springfield attended the event with her mother, Sally Lynch of St. Libory and her 16-month-old son, Owen.

Neither of the women knew the Easter formula, nor were they terribly bothered by the cold.

The chilly air didn't put much of a damper on the day for Jenny and Jonas Davis of Dannebrog and their son Porter, 18 months. The family was bundled up in coats and hats, and Porter was riding in a stroller with a blanket on his lap.

"We lived in Montana, so the cold doesn't stop us," Jenny Davis said.

The couple said they'd been talking about how early Easter was the night before the egg hunt but neither of them knew quite how it was figured.

The subject was the topic of a message delivered by Nick Schonlau on Good Friday. Schonlau, director of discipleship at Third City Christian Church, had to do some research on the matter.

He said Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25. He has no idea why Easter isn't a set date on the calendar but believed it had something to do with Lent.