Easter eggs: sweet treats or something more meaningful?
Nicola Sheppard
Easter.
It is most likely that the first few things that came to your mind were eggs, chocolate and a fluffy bunny with a tiny, little wicker basket filled to the brim with sweet, little chocolate eggs. Or, maybe, just maybe, you are among the few who thought of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and new birth.
As one who cannot resist a good old Easter egg, I personally am someone who would think of the fluffy Easter Bunny coming and delivering those scrummy treats we all receive on Easter Sunday. Yet have you ever taken a moment to look at the egg and think: why are you so important? You probably haven’t, but if you have, then the answer is fairly simple. The egg is a symbol of Jesus’ empty tomb and creates the idea of rebirth. Around this time in our calendar, birds start to create nests and lay their eggs – perhaps this is why we now mix shredded wheat and melted chocolate together to make a nest - and it is also the time when rabbits and lambs start to have their own young.
Why are the eggs we so thoroughly enjoy consuming made from chocolate? Well, let us take a trip in time. This traces right back to early Christian times (around 1610 to be precise). People used to take a normal bird's egg - usually a hen’s egg – to stain it with red paint and paint a gold cross on. They saw the red paint as representing the blood of Christ. In the Victorian era, hens’ eggs would be blown out and then decorated with various paints and patterns. Still intrigued regarding how we got the chocolate eggs? Purely from foreign influence. The idea comes from Germany and France, who at first made eggs from bitter, hard chocolate. If you thought eating dark chocolate was bad, you would not want to try this chocolate; it is nothing like the creamy Cadbury egg you have on that vital Sunday morning. However, that is not as nearly as impressive as the Fabergé eggs made specifically for the Tsars of Russia. These eggs are decorated with precious gems (not particularly appetising…).
In our own British culture we celebrate Easter in different ways, but perhaps with similarities. In comparison to other countries like Spain, Italy, France and Germany, our celebrations are not as exciting. In those four countries there are huge festivals with bright colours and stories about other gods. In Germany, for example, they celebrate Easter not only for the resurrection of Christ, but also for the Goddess of Spring, Eostre (pronounced Easter). In France, church bells are silenced, children are told the chimes have flown to the Pope in Rome and on the morning of Easter Sunday the chimes return.
It is most likely that the first few things that came to your mind were eggs, chocolate and a fluffy bunny with a tiny, little wicker basket filled to the brim with sweet, little chocolate eggs. Or, maybe, just maybe, you are among the few who thought of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and new birth.
As one who cannot resist a good old Easter egg, I personally am someone who would think of the fluffy Easter Bunny coming and delivering those scrummy treats we all receive on Easter Sunday. Yet have you ever taken a moment to look at the egg and think: why are you so important? You probably haven’t, but if you have, then the answer is fairly simple. The egg is a symbol of Jesus’ empty tomb and creates the idea of rebirth. Around this time in our calendar, birds start to create nests and lay their eggs – perhaps this is why we now mix shredded wheat and melted chocolate together to make a nest - and it is also the time when rabbits and lambs start to have their own young.
Why are the eggs we so thoroughly enjoy consuming made from chocolate? Well, let us take a trip in time. This traces right back to early Christian times (around 1610 to be precise). People used to take a normal bird's egg - usually a hen’s egg – to stain it with red paint and paint a gold cross on. They saw the red paint as representing the blood of Christ. In the Victorian era, hens’ eggs would be blown out and then decorated with various paints and patterns. Still intrigued regarding how we got the chocolate eggs? Purely from foreign influence. The idea comes from Germany and France, who at first made eggs from bitter, hard chocolate. If you thought eating dark chocolate was bad, you would not want to try this chocolate; it is nothing like the creamy Cadbury egg you have on that vital Sunday morning. However, that is not as nearly as impressive as the Fabergé eggs made specifically for the Tsars of Russia. These eggs are decorated with precious gems (not particularly appetising…).
In our own British culture we celebrate Easter in different ways, but perhaps with similarities. In comparison to other countries like Spain, Italy, France and Germany, our celebrations are not as exciting. In those four countries there are huge festivals with bright colours and stories about other gods. In Germany, for example, they celebrate Easter not only for the resurrection of Christ, but also for the Goddess of Spring, Eostre (pronounced Easter). In France, church bells are silenced, children are told the chimes have flown to the Pope in Rome and on the morning of Easter Sunday the chimes return.