by David Ragazincky

Created on: April 15, 2009   Last Updated: April 17, 2009

There has been early speculation that the origin of the modern day Easter egg can be traced back to about fifteenth century Western Europe, in which knights of the Crusades returning to their motherland brought lore of spring festivals and traditions, in which the goddess of spring, Eostre, was celebrated. In fact, scholars argue that the word Easter derives out of the Teutonic goddess' name; nevertheless, as eggs were used both as a symbol of the Cosmic Egg of Creation and to symbolize the re-birth of spring, it is clear that the origin of the Easter Egg, like many other Christian traditions, has a definitive birth in paganism.

Another origin of the Easter egg, and perhaps one of the first in which the eggs were dyed, come out of ancient Persia in which during the festival of Nowrooz, eggs were painted and given to each member of their family as a symbol of fertility and rebirth. Nowrooz is still celebrated throughout Iran today, with the colored eggs adorning the haft table.

It is unclear at the exact time in which eggs were brought into the Christian celebration of Easter, but some scholars suggest that during medieval times seems the most likely. It was during this period that strict practices such as lent were enforced by the church, and eggs were not allowed to be eaten during the Lenten time. On account of this, eggs that were collected during Lent were sent to the priest for blessing, and many of them were dyed red in remembrance of the blood of Christ. After Lent the eggs were once again a part of the Christian diet and were feasted upon, becoming a main item of the Easter dinner.

There are many traditions the world over regarding the Easter egg. In early Russia eggs were dyed with Brazil wood then tapped together by two people saying the words: "Christohs voskress," or "Christ has Risen." In Greece, two Christians will greet by tapping their eggs together with the following salutation delivered: "Christ is risen," and the other replying, "He is risen, indeed." Where this tradition of cracking eggs together derived from is unclear; however, some believe that the egg symbolizes the grave and life, red dye represents the blood of Christ, the shell symbolizes the tomb, and the cracking of the shell symbolizes the resurrection of Christ. The loser of this egg-cracking ceremony (the one with the broken shell) gives his or her egg to the victor.

There are many modern day traditions associated with Easter eggs: Egg rolling on the White House lawn, hunting for eggs in a nearby park or Churchyard, or even simply coloring the eggs prior to Easter; nevertheless, regardless of one's faith, it seems that the eggs have one thing in common they certainly taste good!

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