Easter Eggs and Easter

In the ancient days, many centuries before the Easter Day was celebrated, people exchanged real eggs, white, colored and gold-leafed, during spring. Since the beginning of the earliest civilization, as well as in many cultures, the egg has been a symbol of birth and resurrection.

The Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs. The Greeks placed eggs on the graves. "All life comes from an egg" is a proverb coined by the Romans.

According to legend, it was an egg merchant, Simon of Cyrene, who helped carry Christ' cross to Calvary. Subsequently, the Church did not have to search far for a popular symbol when it began to celebrate the Resurrection in the second century. In the olden days, Easter eggs of the wealthy were covered either with gilt or gold leaf. The less than affluent often dyed their Easter eggs.

Interestingly, in the early 1880s, in several parts of Germany, birth certificates were substituted by Easter eggs. After an egg had been dyed a solid colour, a design, including the recipient's name and birth date, was etched into the shell of the egg. The courts of law of those times honoured such Easter eggs as evidence of identity and age.