Easter Eggs

Their Origin, Traditions and Symbolism

Decorative Easter eggs - usually made of chocolate - are so much a part of our modern Western Easter celebration that we rarely stop to think about them. Why eggs? Where does the custom originate? What do they symbolise?

Ornamental Moravian Eggs For Sale
At Easter Market,
Prague, Czech Republic
Nebesky, Richard
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The egg symbolism is almost certainly related to the origin of spring festivals such as Easter in pagan celebrations of renewal and rebirth. The word "Easter" is thought to derive from the name Eostre (sometimes spelt Oestre), a fertility goddess. What better symbol of fertility and rebirth than an egg?

Decorative Easter Eggs

The origin of decorated Easter eggs is less than clear. It appears that ancient cultures as diverse as the Chinese, the Egyptians and the Romans decorated eggs at spring time. The Chinese custom of giving painted eggs during spring festivals is believed to date back 3000 years.

The ultimate decorated eggs are probably the jewel-encrusted Faberge eggs.

Chocolate

Nowadays Easter eggs are usually made of chocolate. These vary considerably and you can buy everything from simple plain chocolate eggs up to large, luxury eggs that are attractively decorated and filled with candy. Jellybeans are a common filling, as are small chocolates.

The larger eggs are often given as gifts. Smaller ones are often hidden by the Easter bunny for young children to find in an egg hunt.

The chocolate Easter egg appears to be a purely modern invention. It began in the 19th century and became more widespread as the chocolate making process became more sophisticated. As far as I can tell there is no symbolism at all to the use of chocolate - it's simply tasty!

In the UK, a very popular Easter treat is the Cadbury's Creme Egg - a small chocolate egg filled with sweet yellow and white... stuff. These were first produced in 1971 and around 200 million are sold every year.

Egg Rolling

In many parts of the world it is a tradition to roll hard-boiled eggs down hills, usually on the Easter Monday. In the Christian tradition this can symbolise the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb.

More information: Egg Rolling

In many places, egg rolling is an important part of the Easter tradition. Egg rolling events can either be relaxed socal affairs or highly competitive events. Eggs are usually hard boiled then marked to indicate the owner - these markings can vary from simple labels to complex and attractive artwork.

Egg rolling was common in Germany, where Eostre originated. The custom was brought to America along with other German traditions such as the Easter bunny.

From a Christian viewpoint, links can be made between the rolling of eggs down a hill and the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb. The Christian Easter story itself clearly fits into the view of spring as a time of rebirth.

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