In Support of Easter Eggs and Easter Egg Hunts

The Origin of the Easter Egg

Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday or springtime.

It is the influence of the traditional spring rites that made Easter so egg-special. And myths coming down to us from an incredibly distant past have shown man's relationship with the egg to be very deep seated one. This is caught in old Latin proverb: "Omne vivum ex ovo". This means "all life comes from an egg". Not just the Latin saying, eggs are just laid well over all corners of the world. From ancient India to Polynesia, from Iran, Greece, and Phonecia to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, from Central America to the west coast of South America, there are reports of myths of the whole universe created out of an egg. Thus, it is not unusual that in almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life. The concept of all living beings born from an egg is also a foundational concept of modern biology.

But how did eggs come to be associated with Easter? Read more

The Origin of Easter Egg Hunts

For children and adults alike, the highlight of Easter is often the egg hunt. Adults and older children enjoy hiding Easter eggs for young children to find. Squeals of delight can be found as Easter egg hunters retrieve colorful eggs, candy, and other small prizes. But you may be wondering exactly where did this delightful tradition begin? To understand this annual egg hunt, it is critical to understand the origins of the Easter egg.

The Easter egg carries with it a history of traditions and beliefs. Throughout the ages, the egg has been a symbol for fertility and re-birth, as Easter has been derived from the ancient pagan spring festivals. For many people the fun of Easter is to decorate these eggs in creative ways. They are also given to friends and loved ones as presents, and have come to represent a token of friendship. Various traditional games are played with the Easter eggs, such as the annual egg hunt.Read more

Easter Eggs, Jelly Beans and Jesus

How do we as Christians deal with the whole topic of the "pagan" celebration of Easter verses the Christian holiday of Resurrection Sunday? Do we avoid all things that reek of jelly beans or chocolate Easter bunnies during this most holy of weekends? Do we refuse to allow our children to participate in Easter's version of trick-or-treat (aka "the Easter egg hunt")?

While I'm not going to try to tackle these beyond-my-pay-grade questions, I do think that many Christians miss a huge opportunity when it comes to Easter. This becomes especially clear when we watch how the early Christians used pagan traditions as a pulpit to preach the gospel. The Apostle Paul himself dealt with the year-round paganism of Athens by sterring the negative of their rituals toward the positive of the resurrection. His reaction to their godless traditions provide some powerful lessons for us. Read more