by Penny Howington

Created on: January 13, 2010

The Easter egg has been a popular symbol of faith and renewal for many centuries.  Christians use the egg during their celebration of Easter to symbolize the death and rebirth of Jesus. Originally, Easter eggs were dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ.  The shell symbolized the sealed tomb of Jesus.  Cracking the egg emulated the resurrection. 

Some believe that Christians adapted the egg from the Pagan celebrations of spring and the renewal it brings, while others think that the tradition sprang from the fact that eggs are one of the foods that are not allowed to be consumed during Lent. Because Christians could not eat the eggs that were produced everyday during the Lenten period, they were boiled to preserve them until they could be used.  Eggs could be eaten again at Easter, and there was a large supply of them available for the Easter meal. 

In many cultures, decorating eggs has become an art form. In 1885, Russian Tsar Alexander III commissioned artist Peter Carl Faberge to design an egg for his wife for Easter. Faberge eggs have become treasured collectibles that depict Russian history, and are in museums and collections all over the world.  These delicate eggs would open to reveal everything from pictures to gems.  Faberge continued to produce his eggs until 1917.

In America, the Pennsylvania Dutch dyed Easter eggs with common items such as bark and onion skins. They also used a plant called binsegrass to decorate eggs.  The eggs were wrapped with the spongy middle stem cylinder. This was wrapped around the egg like ribbon, and a pattern was made. 

In Poland, eggs were decorated by putting melted wax on the eggs in a pattern and letting it set before dying them. After the dye dried, the wax was peeled off of the eggs, revealing a white pattern.  This process was repeated several times with different colored dyes, creating complex patterns and color schemes.

Germans colored hollow eggs to use for decorations during the Easter holiday.  The eggs were emptied by placing a small hole in each end of the egg and blowing the egg white and yolk out. This left the shell intact.  After the eggs were decorated, they were hung as decorations.

The Easter egg is the focus of many Easter holiday traditions.  There are many ways to decorate them and whether they end up in an Easter basket or in a Easter egg hunt, they will remain a favorite of adults and children alike!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg

http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/icons/e aster_egg.htm

http://www.craftyshops.com/articles/easter_egg_art.h tml

http://www.holidays.net/easter/eggs.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/easterintro1.html

http://eeuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/fab ergeeggs

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