Easter Eggs: Pagan Ritual or Christian Symbol?
By Julie Beckwith McGough and Pastor Dave Beckwith
Do you remember the excitement of your first Easter egg hunt? Dressed in your Sunday best and basket in hand, you ran through the grass hoping to fill your basket with eggs before the others did. Finding a delicious chocolate egg was a rich reward. Did you color real eggs? What fun--and, in all likelihood, what a mess! If you had plastic eggs, did your parents sneak in healthy things like raisins and nuts in place of chocolates? Did you wonder what all that weird plastic grass was for?
If you're like me, Easter egg hunts awaken fond memories. Yet, as I've grown older, I have felt hesitant about participating in a custom often associated with the Easter bunny for fear of detracting from the real meaning of Easter. With my pastor-dad, we decided to do a little research and discovered the egg is an appropriate reminder of the true meaning of Easter.
The giving and receiving of eggs is an ancient custom symbolizing the return of life in springtime. Ancient cultures ate colored eggs during spring festivals and gave decorated eggs as special gifts. The Persians thought the world was hatched from an enormous egg, and the Chinese offered eggs as temple offerings.[1] Easter originally received its name when pre-Christian European tribes worshipped Eostre--the goddess of Spring. However, most of the non-English speaking world refers to Easter as the Pasch or Passover, retaining the Jewish and Christian meaning. How did a rabbit show up in Easter? It seems strange to think of a rabbit laying eggs, but rabbits and bunnies have long been symbols of fertility. Apparently, the Easter egg became associated with the Easter bunny in Germany where tales were related of an Easter bunny who laid eggs for children to find.[2]
It is important to note that the association of the egg with the Passover and resurrection of Jesus Christ precedes the secular tradition and far outweighs it in significance. The Passover, crucifixion, and resurrection are the bedrock of the Christian faith. Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples just before His death on the cross. This meal, or seder as it is called, celebrated God's deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery. Passover begins on the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. On that night, several generations gather together to read the story of God's deliverance of His people. Each item on the menu is symbolic of God's deliverance of His people from bondage. A roasted egg on the table reminds them that the roasted daily temple sacrifice can no longer be offered because the temple no longer stands. This anticipates the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who died once for all "to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."[3] For the Christian, we can look back to Passover and see how it foretold the coming of Christ. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrificial lamb whose blood saves us from death. How apt, then, that the egg which symbolized hope of salvation to the Jews is now a part of our remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As far back as the fourth century, eggs were part of the resurrection tradition of the Christian church. For Christians, the egg represents hope, new life, and the resurrection. In the Middle East and Greece, Orthodox Christians painted eggs bright red to symbolize the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Hollow eggs were decorated with pictures of Christ and other religious symbols. When believers in Greece meet on Easter, they hold out their eggs and tap them lightly together. One says, "Christ is risen," and the other answers, "He is risen indeed!"[4]
In Scandinavian countries, eggs are always on the table on Easter morning. Egg rolling is another tradition still practiced in many countries. Children roll eggs down a grassy hill to see whose egg gets to the bottom first. Egg-rolling probably started during the secular spring festivals, but it came to symbolize the rolling away of the stone from the tomb. The best known egg rolling took place at the White House for many years. Today, it has been replaced by an Easter egg hunt. Adults must be accompanied by a child, and thousands of children hunt Easter eggs on the White House lawn.
In many parts of the world, the egg roll and egg hunt continue. If you are a parent or teacher, how do you bring out the true meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? This teacher captured the teachable moment in an unforgettable way.[5]
He was 9--in a Sunday school class of 8-year-olds.
Eight-year-olds can be cruel.
The third‑graders did not welcome Philip to their group. Not just because he was older. He was "different."
He suffered from Down's syndrome and its obvious manifestations: facial characteristics, slow responses, symptoms of retardation.
One Sunday after Easter the Sunday school teacher gathered some of those plastic eggs that pull apart in the middle‑-the kind in which some ladies' pantyhose are packaged.
The Sunday school teacher gave one of these plastic eggs to each child.
On that beautiful spring day each child was to go outdoors and discover for himself some symbol of "new life" and place that symbolic seed or leaf or whatever inside his egg.
They would then open their eggs one by one, and each youngster would explain how his find was a symbol of "new life."
So . . .
The youngsters gathered 'round on the appointed day and put their eggs on a table, and the teacher began to open them.
One child had found a flower.
All the children "oohed" and "aahed" at the lovely symbol of new life.
In another was a butterfly. "Beautiful," the girls said. And it's not easy for an 8‑year‑old to say "beautiful."
Another egg was opened to reveal a rock. Some of the children laughed.
"That's crazy!" one said. "How's a rock supposed to be like a 'new life'!"
Immediately a little boy spoke up and said, "That's mine. I knew everybody would get flowers and leaves and butterflies and all that stuff, so I got a rock to be different."
Everyone laughed.
The teacher opened the last one, and there was nothing inside.
"That's not fair," someone said. "That's stupid," said another.
Teacher felt a tug on his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up he said, "It's mine. I did do it. It's empty. I have new life because the tomb is empty."
The class fell silent.
From that day on Philip became part of the group. They welcomed him. Whatever had made him different was never mentioned again.
Philip's family had known he would not live a long life; just too many things wrong with the tiny body. That summer, overcome with infection, Philip died.
On the day of his funeral nine 8‑year‑old boys and girls confronted the reality of death and marched up to the altar‑-not with flowers.
Nine children with their Sunday school teacher placed on the casket of their friend their gift of love‑-an empty egg.[6]
The empty egg, the empty tomb shout the message first spoken by an angel: "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."[7]
[1] Gilda Berger, Easter and Other Spring Holidays (New York: Franklin Watts Publishing, 1983), p. 39.
[2] Information Please Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
[3] Hebrews 9:26 NIV
[4] Gilda Berger, Easter and Other Spring Holidays (New York: Franklin Watts Publishing, 1983), p. 40.
[6] Rev. Larry Pritchett Jr. as told to Paul Harvey, "The Day Philip Joined the Group" in the book by Alice Gray, Stories for the Heart (Portland: Multnomah Books, 1996), p. 15-16.
[7] Matthew 28:6 NASB.
If you're like me, Easter egg hunts awaken fond memories. Yet, as I've grown older, I have felt hesitant about participating in a custom often associated with the Easter bunny for fear of detracting from the real meaning of Easter. With my pastor-dad, we decided to do a little research and discovered the egg is an appropriate reminder of the true meaning of Easter.
The giving and receiving of eggs is an ancient custom symbolizing the return of life in springtime. Ancient cultures ate colored eggs during spring festivals and gave decorated eggs as special gifts. The Persians thought the world was hatched from an enormous egg, and the Chinese offered eggs as temple offerings.[1] Easter originally received its name when pre-Christian European tribes worshipped Eostre--the goddess of Spring. However, most of the non-English speaking world refers to Easter as the Pasch or Passover, retaining the Jewish and Christian meaning. How did a rabbit show up in Easter? It seems strange to think of a rabbit laying eggs, but rabbits and bunnies have long been symbols of fertility. Apparently, the Easter egg became associated with the Easter bunny in Germany where tales were related of an Easter bunny who laid eggs for children to find.[2]
It is important to note that the association of the egg with the Passover and resurrection of Jesus Christ precedes the secular tradition and far outweighs it in significance. The Passover, crucifixion, and resurrection are the bedrock of the Christian faith. Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples just before His death on the cross. This meal, or seder as it is called, celebrated God's deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery. Passover begins on the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. On that night, several generations gather together to read the story of God's deliverance of His people. Each item on the menu is symbolic of God's deliverance of His people from bondage. A roasted egg on the table reminds them that the roasted daily temple sacrifice can no longer be offered because the temple no longer stands. This anticipates the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who died once for all "to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."[3] For the Christian, we can look back to Passover and see how it foretold the coming of Christ. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrificial lamb whose blood saves us from death. How apt, then, that the egg which symbolized hope of salvation to the Jews is now a part of our remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As far back as the fourth century, eggs were part of the resurrection tradition of the Christian church. For Christians, the egg represents hope, new life, and the resurrection. In the Middle East and Greece, Orthodox Christians painted eggs bright red to symbolize the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Hollow eggs were decorated with pictures of Christ and other religious symbols. When believers in Greece meet on Easter, they hold out their eggs and tap them lightly together. One says, "Christ is risen," and the other answers, "He is risen indeed!"[4]
In Scandinavian countries, eggs are always on the table on Easter morning. Egg rolling is another tradition still practiced in many countries. Children roll eggs down a grassy hill to see whose egg gets to the bottom first. Egg-rolling probably started during the secular spring festivals, but it came to symbolize the rolling away of the stone from the tomb. The best known egg rolling took place at the White House for many years. Today, it has been replaced by an Easter egg hunt. Adults must be accompanied by a child, and thousands of children hunt Easter eggs on the White House lawn.
In many parts of the world, the egg roll and egg hunt continue. If you are a parent or teacher, how do you bring out the true meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? This teacher captured the teachable moment in an unforgettable way.[5]
He was 9--in a Sunday school class of 8-year-olds.
Eight-year-olds can be cruel.
The third‑graders did not welcome Philip to their group. Not just because he was older. He was "different."
He suffered from Down's syndrome and its obvious manifestations: facial characteristics, slow responses, symptoms of retardation.
One Sunday after Easter the Sunday school teacher gathered some of those plastic eggs that pull apart in the middle‑-the kind in which some ladies' pantyhose are packaged.
The Sunday school teacher gave one of these plastic eggs to each child.
On that beautiful spring day each child was to go outdoors and discover for himself some symbol of "new life" and place that symbolic seed or leaf or whatever inside his egg.
They would then open their eggs one by one, and each youngster would explain how his find was a symbol of "new life."
So . . .
The youngsters gathered 'round on the appointed day and put their eggs on a table, and the teacher began to open them.
One child had found a flower.
All the children "oohed" and "aahed" at the lovely symbol of new life.
In another was a butterfly. "Beautiful," the girls said. And it's not easy for an 8‑year‑old to say "beautiful."
Another egg was opened to reveal a rock. Some of the children laughed.
"That's crazy!" one said. "How's a rock supposed to be like a 'new life'!"
Immediately a little boy spoke up and said, "That's mine. I knew everybody would get flowers and leaves and butterflies and all that stuff, so I got a rock to be different."
Everyone laughed.
The teacher opened the last one, and there was nothing inside.
"That's not fair," someone said. "That's stupid," said another.
Teacher felt a tug on his shirt. It was Philip. Looking up he said, "It's mine. I did do it. It's empty. I have new life because the tomb is empty."
The class fell silent.
From that day on Philip became part of the group. They welcomed him. Whatever had made him different was never mentioned again.
Philip's family had known he would not live a long life; just too many things wrong with the tiny body. That summer, overcome with infection, Philip died.
On the day of his funeral nine 8‑year‑old boys and girls confronted the reality of death and marched up to the altar‑-not with flowers.
Nine children with their Sunday school teacher placed on the casket of their friend their gift of love‑-an empty egg.[6]
The empty egg, the empty tomb shout the message first spoken by an angel: "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."[7]
[1] Gilda Berger, Easter and Other Spring Holidays (New York: Franklin Watts Publishing, 1983), p. 39.
[2] Information Please Database, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
[3] Hebrews 9:26 NIV
[4] Gilda Berger, Easter and Other Spring Holidays (New York: Franklin Watts Publishing, 1983), p. 40.
[6] Rev. Larry Pritchett Jr. as told to Paul Harvey, "The Day Philip Joined the Group" in the book by Alice Gray, Stories for the Heart (Portland: Multnomah Books, 1996), p. 15-16.
[7] Matthew 28:6 NASB.