All this talk about the Easter bunny and where he came from and why he is the symbol we seem to think of during this time...lead me to wonder about the Easter egg.
You know, research about something like this is kinda hard...mainly because the different types of symbols and traditions and histories. Many of the roots of our present day holiday are from a long, long time ago.
I found some information on
About.com that you might find interesting...plus think of all the people you can impress at the next boring get-together! You could even shut up the "know-it-all" brother-in-law...if only for a second!
The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons. The particulars may vary, but most cultures around the world use the egg as a symbol of new life and rebirth. A notation in the household accounts of Edward I of England showed an expenditure of eighteen pence for 450 eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts. The first book to mention Easter eggs by name was written five hundred years ago. Yet, a North African tribe that had become Christian much earlier in time had a custom of coloring eggs at Easter. Long hard winters often meant little food, and a fresh egg for Easter was quite a prize. Later, Christians abstained from eating meat during the Lenten season prior to Easter. Easter was the first chance to enjoy eggs and meat after the long abstinence.
Some European children go from house to house begging for Easter eggs, much like Halloween trick-or-treaters. Called pace-egging, it comes from the old word for Easter, Pasch. Many old cultures also attributed the egg with great healing powers. It is interesting to note that eggs play almost no part in the Easter celebrations of Mexico, South America, and Native American Indian cultures. Egg-rolling contests are a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb. The decoration of small leaf-barren branches as Easter egg trees has become a popular custom in the United States since the 1990s. So, there ya go! Once again the Hermit has provided you with more information than you ever really wanted to know about this subject!You just never know what you may find when you drop in for coffee, right?
Speaking of coffee, my friends, let's get a fresh cup and sit in the kitchen for a bit. Hopefully, it will turn into a beautiful day!
