Well, it has just been adapted for religious purposes so no doubt those strange traditions are from a long way in the past and are connected to other celebrations.
Yes, we have pancakes on pancake day, hot cross buns on Good Friday, Easter cards sent and received, and on Easter Sunday the Easter bunny hides easter eggs all around the lounge, behind the curtains, in the shoes, under the table etc etc, and the kids find them on Easter Sunday morning when they wake up. Very exciting. And we used to go to church too, but not this year.