Why do we give Easter eggs?

Question

Easter is soon and the shops are full of fluffy bunnies and Easter eggs, but why do we give chocolate Easter eggs on Easter Sunday

Answer 1

I'm glad you asked Fran. I have the real story for you, if you have a few minutes to wander down memory lane. But firstly, the rock covering the entrance to the chamber in which Christ was allegedly placed was not egg shaped at all. In fact it was shaped like a small rock, only larger and heavier. Now the Easter Bunny and her eggs are not just a Pagan myth, which the Roman Church stole to gain acceptance and trust with the unconverted during medieval times. Cool as, I spelled that correctly. No, the Easter Bunny was a real creature, which, through a genetic quirk, layed eggs. At one time there were loads of the little blighters all over the place, leaving their little chocolate ovoids in their wake. But during the great knicker shortage, 632BC-529BC, the Easter Bunny was hunted to near extinction for it's luxuriant coat, which happened to make a very nice, soft and warm pair of knickers. When all looked doomed for the Bunny, some Pagan Holy Rollers had a bit of a chin wag about the demise of the little furball, and decided to make it a sin against Gaia, to kill any more Easter Bunnies. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and the very last true Easter Bunny passed away, some three hundred years after the edict was deeded. It is believed he is buried under Stonehenge, surrounded by thirteen golden eggs, each one a representation of the thirteen months of the lunar calendar. Since his death, every year on the anniversary, we Pagans celibrate his life, by handing out Golden covered chocolate eggs and bunny figurines. We miss him, but we really love him in chocolate form. I know I do.

Answer 2

Initially Easter has a religious origin in the christian world, however the time of year also coincides with the re-birth of flora and fauna and it was a pagan believe to give easter eggs as a celebration of fertility, hence the easter bunny ( Rabbits are prolific breeders)
Before chocolate, hen eggs used to be boiled and decorated with different dyes and then hidden in the garden for children to look for.

Answer 3

It's nothing to do with Christianity, it's do with Paganism...

Easter coincides with the Spring Solstice which is about rebirth. Christians thinking they can reconcile the ressurection story with Pagan beliefs, thought they could use the egg as a symbol which was originally pagan...

Answer 4

The Easter egg is venerable indeed. While the gaily colored cardboard ones and rich chocolate ones that we enjoy are quite recent in origin, the real egg, decorated with colors or gilt, has been acknowledged as a symbol of continuing life and resurrection since pre-Christian spring celebrations.

Given as gifts by the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Chinese at their spring festivals, the egg also appears in pagan mythology, where we read of the Sun-Bird being hatched from the World Egg. in some pagan customs, the Heaven and Earth were thought to have been formed from two halves of an egg.

As the egg was an obvious symbol to early Christians of Jesus' Resurrection, it was felt to be a most appropriate and holy part of the Eastertide celebration.

Even as early as the Middle Ages, eggs were colored to be given as gifts at Easter; Edward I's accounts for 1290 include the expense of purchasing hundreds of eggs to be distributed to his household. in the 17th century, pope Paul V blessed the humble egg in a prayer to be used in England, Scotland, and Ireland: "Bless, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this Thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to Thy faithful servants, eating in thankfulness to Thee, on account of the Resurrection of Our Lord." Forbidden during the solemn fast of Lent, eggs were reintroduced on Easter Sunday, both as part of the feasting and as gifts for family, friends, and servants.

Answer 5

nicely a bypass might bit somewhat lots, biting off a chocolate Jesus' head is advantageous to be distinctive than biting the ears off your chocolate rabbit....yet eggs are a old image of spring/rebirth. in elementary terms a mixture of old symbols and new. And candy

Answer 6

*hmm...* Not sure. Maybe cuz easter eggs are chocolate and everyone loves chocolate? *smiles* I think it might have something to do with Jesus or something. Better look it up or ask someone wise!! LOL

Answer 7

A lost of clever people.........although I prefer to think that we give up chocolate for lent then can gorge ourselves after with all the choccy eggs we get!!!!

Answer 8

cos it a Easter day

Answer 9

Sai~ is right. The celebration of Easter is pagan just like the rest of the things(bunnies,eggs, etc.) that deal with it. Here's more information about it.

EASTER EGGS
Note: these sites tell where Easter Eggs came from.
http://www.nobleknights.com/~eagle1/eostre1.htm
http://www.rightdivision.com/html/easter_pagan_influences.html

EASTER NOT FOUND IN THE BIBLE
"The English word 'Easter' came from the Anglo-Saxon Eastre or Estera, a Teutonic goddess to whom sacrifice was offered in April, so the name was transferred to the Pashal Feast. The word does not properly occur in Scripture although the AV (King James Translation) has it in ACTS 12:4 where it stands for 'Passover' as it is rightly rendered in RV (Revised Version). There is no trace of Easter celebration in the New Testament..." (INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL.2, P.889). The word 'Easter' has confused some but the word in the original form is "Pascha" meaning "Passover". It occurs 29 times in the New Testament & everytime it's translated Passover except in Acts 12:4. If you read carefully (ACTS 12:1-4); it says that Herod killed James and was trying to kill Peter in an effort to "vex the church"(Please the Jews). Then in VERSE 3 "were the days of unleavened bread"; see LEV.23. He put him in prison intending to try him "after Easter" (KJV). Now if Herod was trying to "please the Jews" & "vex the church" Why would he have delayed the trial until after 'Easter?'" If this was a "christian holy day", especially one in honoring Christ's resurrection, he would surely not be pleasing the Jews, Wouldn't it be more pleasing to the Jews to vex the church by killing one of it's Apostles on it's own "holy-day," would it not?

ORIGIN OF EASTER: WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
Easter was never observed by the Apostles of Christ or Christ's Religion. "The name 'Easter' comes to us from the mythlogical writings of the Ancient Teucrians (who lived 1200BC along the southern coast of Palestine) where it's known as 'Ostern'" BY GROVER STEVENS. "The name 'Easter' is merely the slightly changed English spelling of the name of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian idol goddess, Ishtar (pronounced eesh-tar)." WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY says "Easter is from the pre-historic name of a pagan spring festival." THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY says, "Easter is derived from the name of goddess whose feast was celebrated at the vernal equinox." THE SCHOLARY NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA says, "This goddess is also widely known as Astarte...The cult originated in Babylonia and spread to Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria & Palestine, then through the Phoenicians to all of the Meditteranean peoples...Ishtar was in fact primarily and chiefly identified as Venus, the most beautiful of celestial objects & from the terrestrial side, the primarily motive of the worship of Ishtar was the impulse to deify sensuous and sensuality." ALEXANDER HISLOP SAYS IN THE TWO BABYLONS (P.103), "Easter bears its Chaldean origin on its forehead. Easter is nothing else than Asarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven..."
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1370351068049373547hLMhYB
http://www.matrifocus.com/IMB04/spotlight.htm
http://www.albatrus.org/english/festivals/easter/is_easter_pagan.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar
http://www.lcg.org/search/search.php?query=easter&type=and&results=10&search=1

VERSES-- DEUT.4:19,28-31; 11:26-28; 17:3 & GAL.4:8-10.

EXODUS 20:3 = "Thou shalt not have other gods before me." It tells us in verse 5 = "not to bow to them nor serve them".

Here are the texts of gods that should not be worshipped:
EXOD.20:23; 32:3,4,8-10,19-23,30
DEUT.4:19,28-31; 11:26-28; 17:3
JER.10
EZEK.8:13-18
DAN. 3:1-18 (tried to make Daniel's friends to bow to the image, but they didn't)

New Testament Texts:
GAL.4:8-10 (pagan feasts are: New Year's, Valentine's-Cupid, Patrick's Day, Easter-Ishtar, Halloween, Christmas, Sunday-sun{from sunset Sat. to sunset Sunday = GEN.1:5), Monday-moon-{worship after sunset Sunday which would be Sunday evening(Sun.even to Mon.even)= considered to be Monday according to GEN.1:8}. Birthdays come from pagan origin too. = (only 2 birthdays are mentioned in Bible; they are: Pharoah and King Herod)
You can find most of things in sources like encyclopedias, history, etc. that tell you it's pagan or that it comes from pagan origin.

Answer 10

i've no idea but the supermarkets have a ball stacked up to the ceilings all round the store