The Origin of the Easter Egg

One of the most popular Christian traditions celebrated today is Easter. Easter, however, embodies many pre-Christian rituals. The origin of the Easter egg is included among these pagan traditions.

As a child, my most memorable event of Easter was the decorating of eggs. The Sunday before Easter, my brothers and I would gather around the kitchen table and with wide eyes we would eagerly grab, push, and fight over the dye and paint. Our goal was to make the most beautiful decorated eggs to win as much praise from our parents as possible. At the end of our festive tradition, we would wipe the messy brownish-black dye off our wet and dripping fingers and march off to bed with a satisfied grin due to our recently made creations.

As a child and even until recently I had no clue as to where the origin of Easter came into being. I always assumed the Easter bunny and Easter eggs were a secular version of a Christian tradition. How wrong was I!

The Easter egg was a symbol of fertility and rebirth used by the ancient Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Greeks, and Gauls. Ancient Babylonians viewed the egg as a sacred symbol. They believed in the ancient fable in which an egg of wondrous size fell into the Euphrates River from heaven. From this egg, Queen Astarte (the queen of the heaves) was hatched.

The egg signified new life and was decorated with bright colors which symbolized the sunlight of spring. The eggs were then exchanged among friends at the spring equinox. Christians later adopted the tradition and the egg came to be a religious symbol representing the tomb in which Jesus Christ came to new life through the Resurrection.

Many games have come from Easter eggs, among the two most popular are the Easter egg hunt and Egg rolling.

The Easter egg hunt is the most practiced tradition among children in society today. Eggs are hidden around the house or the lawn the night before Easter. On Easter morning when the children awake they are off to find the hidden eggs said to be laid by the Easter bunny. The child who finds the most eggs during the hunt is the winner and most often is awarded with additional prizes other than those left by the Easter bunny.

The first egg rolling event in the United States was hosted by President Hayes. Children from all over the country were invited to the Capitol Building to participate in the race. Children would roll their eggs down a hill and the winner would be the one with the egg that has traveled the farthest without breaking. The custom has since continued and is now held in the White House lawn. The exact symbolism of egg rolling is uncertain but Christians usually symbolize the rolling of the egg with the rolling away the stone in front of Christ's tomb.

The traditions of Easter have been long held and have developed from various different cultures and backgrounds. Understanding the origins of the holidays we celebrate can give us insight to the beliefs of those that went before us and help us to shape our own beliefs.

Outside Sources Used:

www.History.com