why do we hunt easter eggs to celebrate the resurrection of jesus?

Answer 1

Because Easter is a fertility holiday that had nothing to do with Jesus. The early Church "Christianized" it because it was too popular to get rid of. Hunting Easter eggs is from the pagan origins of Easter.

Answer 2

It really is not a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Most Christians celebrate by going to the Easter Church Service, then having a family get together and a nice meal. The egg thing is just a little treat for the kids. It is not the main event.

Answer 3

This word occurs only once in the Bible (Acts 12: 4) and then would be better translated passover. The word Easter is from Eastre, a Norse goddess whose pagan festival was observed at the spring equinox. The association of this pagan goddess with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was only be adaptation and synthesis. There is no real connection. Jesus, being the Lamb of God, was crucified at passover time and is the true Passover (see 1 Cor. 5: 7). He was raised from the grave on the third day thereafter. It thus became a springtime anniversary, and has come to be called Easter in the Christian world.

Answer 4

There's an old Pagan practice of burying eggs as if they were seeds, around this time of year,. but prior to Easter...it's part of the Fertility of the Earth theme of Spring.

Although many Pagan customs were absorbed into Christianity, this one has a slightly different history. The "egg hunt" has it's origins in an attempt to root OUT Pagan customs. Priests were often sent into Pagan areas to convert them, and while some Pagan traditions that were considered harmless were incorporated into the local Church customs, others were not.

Priests paid children a small amount of money for each egg that they dug up and took to the Priest. This was done to counteract the fertility magic that the Pagans were practicing, as such things were considered "demonic".

It was just another way to subvert Pagan practices.

Answer 5

Hard-boiled eggs, dyed deep red to symbolize the redeeming blood of Christ, are an Eastern Orthodox tradition at Pascha (We Orthodox don't call it "Easter", the pagan term. We call it "Pascha" for "passover"). The egg is further symbolic in that it is an emblem of the Resurrection: it contains life motionless; in the same manner, after being motionless in the grave, the resurrected come forth with new life. On Easter and the following weeks until Pentecost, the greeting "Christos Anesti!" (Christ is Risen!) and the reply "Alethos Anesti!" (Indeed He is Risen!) are heard among the faithful. This is repeated, at our church, in Greek, Russian, Romanian, Arabic and English.

An interesting piece of Greek folklore provides another explanation for the eggs of red color. According to the story, one of the Apostles told a woman that Christ had risen. Not believing the Apostle, she glanced down at her apronful of eggs and said, "If these eggs turn red I will believe He is risen." Apparently she soon believed, because the eggs all turned red. Another story is that Mary Magdalene, carrying a basket full of eggs, was told by Emperor Tiberius Caesar, "I'll only believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead if all those eggs turn red." The eggs immediately turned red.

When Orthodox Christians celebrate Pascha (Easter), at the end of the service, the priest gives us each a red egg. At that point, we eat the egg and break our 40 day fast from all animal products.

Answer 6

The Catholic Encyclopedia says: "A great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring....The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility."

The book "The Two Babylons," by Alexander Hislop states: "What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name,...as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar....Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to is Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now."

Answer 7

That tradition started because people were trying to make Easter a season for everyone, not just Christians. So they decided to make easter into a celebration of spring (hence the eggs, baby animals, bright colors, flowers, etc.) It has nothing to do with Jesus.

Answer 8

I wish I knew. Not to sidetrack the question but as a kid I was very confused when i found out there was no Santa Clause or Easter Bunny. I thought, well, I've seen Santa Clause Yet he's not real and I've seen the Easter Bunny but he's not real either.Now, I've never seen Jesus But He is real? I didn't want to be made a fool of again for the third time so I believed it was all just make believe. Im sure I wasn't the only one.

Answer 9

You do that because you probably don't know of the corrupting influence that the Catholic Church has had on Christianity. The Church absorbed the pagan observance of spring and fertility and "Christianized" it the same way it did Christmas. True Christians shun all paganism, including Easter, which is the pagan goddess of spring and fertility.

Answer 10

We don't. We hunt easter eggs to celebrate the Spring Equinox.