| by Dick Fichter, Parishioner with support from Rev. Dina, Rector  April 3, 2024 |
Happy Easter, Did You Enjoy Decorating Easter Eggs or an Easter Egg Hunt?
Easter is the feast of Christ’s resurrection (Episcopal Glossary). According to Bede, the word derives from the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess Eostre. Christians in England applied the word to the principal festival of the church year, both day and season.
Easter Day is the annual feast of the resurrection, the pascha or Christian Passover, and the eighth day of cosmic creation.
Faith in Jesus’ resurrection on the Sunday or third day following his crucifixion is at the heart of Christian belief. Easter sets the experience of springtime next to the ancient stories of deliverance and the proclamation of the risen Christ.
| West & East In the west, Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the vernal equinox. Easter always falls between Mar. 22 and Apr. 25 inclusive. Following Jewish custom, the feast begins at sunset on Easter Eve with the Great Vigil of Easter. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Easter on the first Sunday after the Jewish pesach or Passover (which follows the spring full moon). Although the two dates sometimes coincide, the eastern date is often one or more weeks later. |
The Tradition of Dyeing Easter Eggs
The egg was a widely used premodern and pre-Christian symbol of fertility and restoration. European “Pagans” (a term used to refer to people who practiced a variety of non-Christian traditions) viewed eggs as a symbol of the regeneration that comes with springtime. Early Christians borrowed this image and applied it not to the regeneration of the earth but rather to Jesus Christ. This was also extended to the new life of the faithful followers of Christ.
The tradition of dyeing and decorating Easter eggs is ancient, and its origin is obscure, but it has been practiced in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Western churches since the Middle Ages.
| The church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week, and the notion of specially identifying those as Holy Week eggs brought about their decoration. The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolized new life emerging from the eggshell. In the Orthodox tradition, eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. In Victorian times in England, the eggs were probably hard-boiled and decorated, as was the custom at the time. The simplest way to color eggs was to boil them with onion skins, which gave the shells a rich golden hue. Another technique was to wrap the egg in gorse flowers (a yellow flowering shrub) before boiling. This produced a delicate yellow and brown pattern. |
In the German Lutheran tradition, the Easter egg hunt is linked to the Easter Bunny – or the Easter Hare as he was originally known. The first written reference to the Easter Hare was in 1682 in Georg Franck von Franckenau’s essay, De ovis paschalibus (‘About Easter eggs’).
However, links between hares and rabbits and Easter go back earlier in central Europe. Hares were associated with fertility and with the Virgin Mary, and sometimes appear in paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child, and also in illuminated manuscripts. Custom had it that the hare would bring a basket of brightly painted eggs for all the children who had been good, and these would be hidden around the house.
| The White House traditionally hosts the Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn each Easter time for the children. What is the significance of rolling Easter eggs? Traditionally in England, Pace eggs (i.e. Easter eggs, Pace from Pascal) were also rolled along the ground in a race called an egg roll. Children would roll a decorated pace egg down a hill, and see whose egg rolled the furthest without breaking. It’s possible that these races started as a symbol of the rolling away of the stone from Jesus’ tomb. |
The custom of the Easter egg hunt, however, comes from Germany. Some suggest that its origins date back to the late 16th century when the Protestant reformer Martin Luther organized egg hunts for his congregation. The men would hide the eggs for the women and children to find. This was a nod to the story of the resurrection, in which the empty tomb was discovered by women.
| In the German Lutheran tradition, the Easter egg hunt is linked to the Easter Bunny – or the Easter Hare as he was originally known. The first written reference to the Easter Hare was in 1682 in Georg Franck von Franckenau’s essay, De ovis paschalibus (‘About Easter eggs’). However, links between hares and rabbits and Easter go back earlier in central Europe. Hares were associated with fertility and with the Virgin Mary, and sometimes appear in paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child, and also in illuminated manuscripts. Custom had it that the hare would bring a basket of brightly painted eggs for all the children who had been good, and these would be hidden around the house. The White House traditionally hosts the Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn each Easter time for the children. What is the significance of rolling Easter eggs? Traditionally in England, Pace eggs (i.e. Easter eggs, Pace from Pascal) were also rolled along the ground in a race called an egg roll. Children would roll a decorated pace egg down a hill, and see whose egg rolled the furthest without breaking. It’s possible that these races started as a symbol of the rolling away of the stone from Jesus’ tomb. The Egg in the Bible It is not surprising that since most of the Easter egg cultural traditions were adopted by the church, from my perspective, I did not expect to find a direct correlation between the egg and the resurrection in the Bible. However, there are many references to eggs in the Bible and in closing I note, Luke 11:10-13: 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (portions of the above were taken from Britanica and English Heritage 2020) |
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