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Why Do we Give Easter Eggs ?
Eggs are a
forbidden food during Lent, making them a welcome return to the menu on Easter
Day.
For Christians, Easter eggs symbolise new life. They
believe that, through his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and sin and offers
people the promise of eternal life if they follow his
teachings.
Eggs have been a symbol of continuing life and resurrection since
pre-Christian spring celebrations.
The Traditional Egg Gift
The first eggs
given at Easter were birds eggs. These eggs were painted in bright colours to
give them further meaning as a gift.
As chocolate
was becoming more wide spread in the 20th Century, a chocolate version of the
traditional egg was developed. The size of
the chocolate egg has grown over the years and is now more likely to be the size
of an ostrich egg rather than a small birds egg.
Decorating and
colouring eggs for Easter was a common custom in England in the middle ages.
Eggs were brightly coloured to mimic the new, fresh colours
of spring. The practice of decorating eggs was made even more famous by
King
Edward I
of England who ordered 450 eggs to be
gold-leafed and coloured for Easter gifts in 1290.
Nowadays,
Chocolate eggs are given to children. The eggs are either hollow or have a
filling, and are usually covered with brightly coloured silver
paper.
Around 80 million chocolate eggs are eaten each year in Britain.
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