How does hunting eggs on Easter relate to the real meaning of Easter?

Answer 1

Another "pagan" ritual borrowed. Chill out, relax, be happy.

Answer 2

it doesn't Easter egg hunting was invented for kids to have fun and play on Easter day. The real meaning of Easter is when Jesus arose from the dead.

Answer 3

It seems like every holiday that has anything to do with Jesus has another figure for competition. The Easter Bunny and eggs on Easter, Santa Clause and reindeer at Christmas. Neither has anything to do with the true meaning.

Answer 4

For the real reason, see above! But basically, the egg is a symbol of life re-newed. Whether that is a fertility festival (Oestra) or resurrection, only we can decide. The bunny, however, is also pagan. It's actually a bit shocking if you look into how many Christian customs are of Pagan origin. Only one of the many reasons I've decided Christianity wasn't for me!

Answer 5

Decorated eggs are much older than Easter, and both eggs and rabbits are age-old fertility symbols. The Passover Seder service uses a hard-cooked egg flavored with salt water as a symbol both of new life and the Temple service in Jerusalem. The Jewish tradition may have come from earlier Roman Spring feasts. The ancient Persians also painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the Spring Equinox. This tradition has continued every year on Nowrooz since ancient times.

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Despite attempts to Christianise it Easter is accepted by the majority of scholars to be a pagan fertility rite in origin celebrating the rebirth of life in spring.

Easter egg origin stories abound—one has an emperor claiming that the Resurrection was as likely as eggs turning red ; more prosaically the Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent. In the West, eggs were seen as "meat", which would have been forbidden during Lent. Likewise, in Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy are prohibited during the fast, and eggs are seen as "dairy" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without shedding its blood). Another Orthodox tradition is the presenting of red colored eggs to friends while giving Easter greetings. This custom had its beginning with Mary Magdalene. After the Ascension of Christ, she went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ is risen", as she gave him a red egg. She then began preaching Christianity to him. The egg is symbolic of the grave and life renewed by breaking out of it. The red symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world, represented by the egg, and our regeneration through the bloodshed for us by Christ. The egg itself is a symbol of the Resurrection while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. One would have been forced to hard boil the eggs that the chickens produced so as not to waste food, and for this reason the Spanish dish hornazo (traditionally eaten on and around Easter) contains hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In the North of England, at Eastertime, a traditional game is played where hard boiled pace eggs are distributed and each player hits the other players egg with their own. This is known as "egg dumping" or "egg jarping". The winner is the holder of the last intact egg. The losers get to eat their eggs. It is also practiced in Bulgaria, Croatia and other countries.

Answer 6

Fertility rite borrowed from the pagans. They hunt for eggs alright!!!

Answer 7

It doesn't. easter is one of many rehashings of pagan holidays ... springtime, eggs, rabbits ... it's a fertility rite

Answer 8

It doesn't. Thank you corporate America.

Answer 9

dunno