Why Eggs for Easter

Holiday Eggs or Easter Eggs are part of the Easter Celebration, given on the occasion of the Easter holiday and the beginning of the Spring Season.But why Eggs? Why colored painted Eggs?

The Egg in general represents the rebirth of the world in spring celebrations. Easter eggs were therefore adopted by Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus.

In Old Persia, colored eggs were used in the celebration of Nowrooz, the New Year celebration of Persia, which took place during the Spring equinox.

The Jewish people were known to use Passover Seder, which is a hard boiled egg that has been dipped in salt water to represent new life. This Passover sacrifice used to get offered at the Temple in the city of Jerusalem.

The pre-Christian Saxons used to have a Goddess of Spring named Eostre, celebrated on the 21st of March at the Vernal Equinox. The Eostre festivity was related to eggs; and the rebirth of the land in spring was represented by an egg.

Pope Gregory the Great instructed his missionaries to use the same religious locations and holidays and try to blend them or rather fade them into Christian traditions. Hence the Christian celebration of Christ's Resurrection was blended into what was once known as the Pagan feast of Eostre and similarly several other traditions became adopted in other Christian celebrations.

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