Easter Eggs, part of the Easter celebration

Easter day is celebrated as one of the most auspicious occasions. The word Easter derives its origin from the Old English language word Ēastre or Ēostre. When we take a look at the Christian litriguical year it occupies the place of the central feast.

According to doctrine beliefs, after the third day of his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the death bed. This day is celebrated by the Christians as Easter day or Easter Sunday. It falls two days after Good Friday and three days later than the Maundy Sunday. In earlier times the Easter season usually lasted for forty days, beginning from the Easter day itself and continuing till Ascension Day. Another thing that is very much prevalent on this day is the Easter eggs.

An Easter egg is decorated mainly to celebrate Easter. Easter eggs are decorated and then exchanged as gifts by friends, family and relatives. Traditionally the Easter eggs were dyed using natural and food coloring, but in the modern era now, these are replaced with chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with jelly beans. These eggs are hidden and it’s an activity for the children on Easter morning, to find them. Otherwise, they are place in a basket to represent bird’s nest and is filled with straw- real or artificial.
There are a lot of stories about their origin. These eggs were painted by the Zoroastrians for their New Year celebration, Nowrooz during spring equinox. At the Jewish traditions, a hard-boiled egg which is dipped in salt water is a symbol of the festival sacrifice in the Jerusalem temples. One can also found association between the Easter bunnies and eggs in the folklores.

In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg is a symbol of the Tomb of Christ, and when the egg cracks it represents Jesus resurrection from the dead. Easter eggs are placed in front of the priest for his blessings and then are distributed among the people.

Every household bring a Easter basket to the church filled with Easter eggs along with Paschal foods such as paskha, kulich or Easter breads, and these are blessed by the priest as well. Apart from the folklores, these eggs are used and exchanged today as symbol of love. There are numerous ways to decorate it and you are free to choose yours.
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