Are there any famous Easter jokes? Would it be in the Comedy Hall of Fame? There's a National Comedy Hall of Fame and a Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame. There are a some jokes, but it isn't a library of the most famous jokes. These are the two I'll include:
Seinfeld: "Proof that we don't understand death is that we give dead people a pillow."
Bob Newhart: "I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for those who like country music, denigrate means to 'put down."
So back to Easter - historically, Easter was known for a tradition of laughter - risus paschals. It was a medieval tradition where priests provoked the laughter of their congregations on Easter Day by telling crude jokes, making obscene gestures and putting on slapstick comedic performances. That was stopped by the Pope in the 1600s. Who would have guessed that Easter once had a lighter side.
I have found the most famous Easter Joke:
Three men died and are at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question.
St. Peter asks the first man, "What is Easter?" He replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful..."
St. Peter shakes his head, and proceeds to ask the second man the same question, "What is Easter?" The second one replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, texchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus."
St. Peter looks at the second man, again shakes his head in disgust, and then peers over his glasses at the third man and asks, "What is Easter?" The third man smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, "I know what Easter is. Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus was crucified on a cross and then buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight.
Then the man continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."
