Easter eggs play an integral part in modern-day Easter celebrations, but have you ever wondered about the history of Easter eggs and how they became associated with this holiday?
Not only are they a symbol of Easter, but they are also the star of Easter egg hunts and a perfect canvas for dyed pastel colors. They can be found baked into traditional Easter breads and even have a national day dedicated to them called White House Easter Egg Roll Day.
With the frequency Easter eggs are seen during Easter celebrations, you might be surprised to learn that the symbolism of eggs predates Christianity. Since antiquity, eggs have been a symbol of fertility, new life, and rebirth.
Keep reading to learn about the origin of Easter eggs, how they came to represent this holiday, and the symbolic Easter eggs meanings. Plus, scroll down to the bottom of this post to get a free Easter egg coloring sheet printable.
Easter egg origin
While we know eggs are associated with Easter, this object held meaning before Christianity became a religion. Archeologists discovered fragments of ostrich eggshells in South Africa with intentional carvings on them, that date back roughly 60,000 years.
Painted eggs were also used to represent fertility during Nowruz, a spring festival that has roots in Zoroastrianism. Also known as Persian New Year, this celebration occurs on the first day of spring and has been observed for 3,000 years.
Eggs also appeared as a symbol of fertility and new life during the Pagan festival of Ēostre (also called Ôstara). This spring festival celebrated the Western Germanic goddess of spring also referred to as Ēostre (or Ôstara).
Another symbol of Easter which also has ties to Ēostre is the hot cross bun. In addition to the hot cross bun’s appearance during Pagan ceremonies celebrating Ēostre, it is also celebrated on its own national day called National Hot Cross Bun Day.
History of Easter eggs in Christianity
While eggs had special meaning before the advent of Christianity, they still hold special religious meaning during Easter. Since eggs have a long history of representing new life, it’s not a stretch to see how they became a symbol of Jesus and eternal life.
The history of Easter eggs began during Lent. During this period of time, eggs (along with meat and dairy) were forbidden to represent the sacrifice Jesus made while resisting the temptation of the devil.
Before Lent each year, king cakes (which use eggs and dairy) are baked and consumed during Mardi Gras. Not only are king cakes a staple dish during this feast day, but they also are a way to use up extra eggs and dairy which won’t be consumed again until Easter.
Even though eggs aren’t consumed during Lent, chickens are still producing them, which leads to a surplus of eggs on Easter. Using eggs to celebrate Easter is not only full of symbolism, but also serves as a way to eliminate food waste.
Religious Easter egg meaning
Orthodox churches played a large role in Easter egg history. During the Paschal Vigil, priests would bless eggs and pass them out as a treat to celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is because the symbolism of Easter eggs ties to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In addition to eggs symbolizing Jesus’s eternal life, eggshells also represent the stone which was placed against Jesus’s tomb.
When people crack eggshells on Easter, they are representing breaking the seal of the tomb and Jesus’s resurrection. There are also practices of Easter egg rolling which some believe symbolize rolling the stone away from Jesus’s tomb.
One of the most famous Easter egg rolling ceremonies is the White House Easter Egg Roll. This event has taken place annually on the White House lawn since 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.
Dyed Easter eggs meaning
When you think of Easter eggs, images of dyed pastel eggs might come to mind. The practice of dying eggs during spring ceremonies dates back to early Nowrus (Persian New Year) celebrations over 3,000 years ago, where the painted eggs represented fertility.
Early Christians also began dying and decorating eggs for Easter. Though eggs can be dyed any color, the meaning of Easter eggs that are red holds the most significance.
One reason the eggs are dyed red is that when Mary Magdelene informed the emperor of Rome that Jesus’s tomb was empty, the emperor said he would only believe her if the eggs beside him turned red (which they did).
The Virgin Mary is also thought to have cried on a basket of eggs she was carrying to soldiers guarding Jesus’s tomb. When her tears touched the eggs, they turned red.
Some say that Orthodox churches dyed Easter eggs red to represent the blood spilled on the cross during Jesus’s crucifixion. This would make red Easter eggs the second symbol of Easter associated with the blood of Christ, along with dogwood flowers.
Decorated Easter egg history
In addition to dyed Easter eggs, you’ll also find ornately decorated Easter eggs given out by royalty. In the history of Easter eggs, the first eggs recorded as being given by royalty were distributed during the Easter of 1290.
King Edward I acquired 450 eggs in 1290, which he ordered to be decorated in gold leaf and handed out to his family. The Vatican continued this tradition two centuries later by sending Henry VIII an egg in a silver case.
Between 1885 and 1917, the emperors of Russia (Alexander III and Nicholas II) commissioned a jeweler named Peter Carl Fabergé to create 52 “imperial eggs” that they could give to their wives and mothers as Easter presents.
These Fabregé eggs are worth millions of dollars, as they are made from valuable materials like gold and ivory and decorated with diamonds, pearls and other precious gemstones. Each imperial egg has an intricate design with a surprise feature inside.
Of the 52 imperial eggs made, only 46 are believed to have survived to this day. A few are privately owned, though most reside in museums all over the world, with the largest collections located in Russia.
Easter is a great opportunity to decorate eggs even if they aren’t as fancy as those handed out by royalty. If you’re looking to make your own decorated Easter eggs try this tutorial for rope-wrapped eggs that you can give as a gift to your own family.
Fun facts about Easter eggs
Brush up on your knowledge of the history of the Easter egg with these fun facts. Some of these Easter egg facts may surprise you!
- Easter eggs are one of the many symbols of Easter with religious meaning. Others include pretzels and Easter lilies.
- A company based in Bristol, UK, called J.S. Fry & Sons created the first chocolate egg in 1873.
- Passover is another holiday in which eggs (beitzah) have special meaning. They are one of the symbolic items placed on a Seder plate, along with zeroah, maror, chazeret, charoset, karpas, and matzo.
- The first Easter egg hunts are thought to have been organized by Martin Luther, a German priest in the 16th century.
- Queen Victoria popularized Easter egg hunts in the UK, after learning about them from her German mother.
- You can make non-toxic Easter egg dye that will produce vibrantly colored eggs with fruit and vegetable scraps like beets, onion skins, turmeric, blueberries, and purple cabbage.
- Our modern-day Easter bunny comes from the story of the Easter hare, which was a rabbit that would lay brightly colored eggs for good children on Easter.
If you want a fun kid-friendly activity featuring Easter eggs, get our free Easter word search printable and word scramble printable. Both of them contain the word “Easter eggs”!
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This free Easter egg coloring sheet printable is a great indoor activity for the whole family. Just grab some colored pencils, markers, or crayons and get ready to fill in this Easter egg coloring page. Using this print function on this card will print a Easter egg coloring page that fills about 3/4 of an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper. To fill the entire page, choose "fit to page" on your printer if you have this setting, or use the link in the post above and print using the browser print feature. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Free Easter Egg Coloring Sheet Printable
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About the author
Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.
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