The olive tree and olive oil have been central to springtime celebrations for centuries.   Spring is a time of renewal, new beginnings and celebrations.  Here are a few interesting Easter, Passover, and Olive Oil traditions:

Decorating Easter Eggs. Did you know you can create your own dyes from pantry ingredients? By adding olive oil, you can create a marbleized, multicolored twist when dyeing your Easter eggs.

Olive Branches on Palm Sunday.  The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. In Italy, olive branches and palm branches are blessed by the priest and handed out to members of the congregation.

Blessing the oils. During “Holy Week” in the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches, sacred oils, used for anointing, are blessed and distributed to their respective churches.

A Tasty Treat for Easter Breakfast. In Spain, torrijas are a traditional Easter treat, similar to French toast, made with warm bread soaked in milk, cinnamon, sugar and eggs before being fried in extra virgin olive oil. 

EVOO for Passover.  Olive oil is touted as one of the foods that doesn’t require special Kosher certification for Passover. I found this great link that uses EVOO for Passover chocolate desserts.