The Egg Hunt
Easter is a joyful celebration around the world that celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion. As a kid, I attended a Catholic elementary school. That means reciting a prayer every morning as a start, attending church for communion and celebrating its festivities like Easter.
I remember the Easter celebration because it was quite weird. First off, you received a wooden cross. The one similar to where Jesus was crucified on, hence a bit smaller of course. Secondly, you received the task of decorating the cross with colourful paper. Finally; put a rooster brioche on top of the cross by penetrating the rooster from its buttocks up with the cross. Armed and ready for the crusade.
We had to spend an hour parading around town with this cross plus rooster brioche. You were not allowed to eat the bunny bread. I failed that objective after 10 meters and what was left of the rooster was its mere torso connected to the cross.
Apart from touring the town with a rooster pinned on a cross, Easter is home to many traditions. The king of Easter traditions is Egg hunting. What does Easter have to do with eggs and an Easter bunny have to do with Jesus being reborn? Well, let’s find out.
Eggs, eggs, eggs
First off; why do we eat eggs for Easter? In pre-Christian society, the egg holds the symbolic meaning of the arrival of spring and new life. Early Christians adopted this belief and used the egg as a metaphor for Jesus’ tomb and his resurrection.
During medieval times you were forbidden to eat eggs during Lent (the 40 days before Easter). On Easter Sunday, the fast ended and the eggs were an important part of the celebrations, especially for peasants who couldn’t afford meat. Eggs were also given to the church as Good Friday offerings, and villagers often gave eggs as gifts to the lord of the manor at Easter.
Hide and seek
The tradition of egg hunting comes from Germany. Some researchers point toward the late 16th century when Protestant reformer Martin Luther (no, not the same Martin Luther) organized egg hunts for his churchgoers. The preachers would hide eggs for the children and women to find. A subtle nod to the Biblical story of the tomb of Jesus as his tomb was discovered by women.
The bunny out of the hat
The Easter bunny got its first literature mention when Georg Franck von Franckenau wrote in his 1682’s “De ovis paschalibus (‘About Easter eggs’).”
In Alsace and neighbouring regions, these eggs are called rabbit eggs because of the myth told to fool simple people and children that the Easter Bunny is going around laying eggs and hiding them in the herb gardens. So the children look for them, even more enthusiastically, to the delight of smiling adults.
In Central Europe. Hares and rabbits were often associated with fertility and were often featured in paintings with Virgin Mary and the Christ Child. The hare could be portrayed with a basket of brightly painted eggs for children who had been good.
Egg hunting’s rise to popularity
Like any popular festivity, we have to look no further than the British Royal Family. Just like Christmas celebrations, Queen Victoria enjoyed egg hunting. As she wrote in her diary on the 7th April 1833.
‘Mama did some pretty painted & ornamented eggs and we looked for them’.
Victoria and Albert continued this German tradition of hiding eggs. Albert was responsible for hiding the eggs and used little moss baskets and hid it around the Kensington Palace.
‘During our breakfast & after, the Children hunted for Easter eggs, it being Maundy Thursday, & they were in the greatest delight.’
A touch of colour
A common practice in preparing eggs was to use onion skins to give the shells a golden colour. Another way was to wrap the eggs in gorse flowers.
Egg hunting for everyone
The Industrial Revolution saw many families become richer and society started changing. The family became more and more important for the rising middle class. With time and disposable income on their hands, the Victorian middle class became fascinated by old traditions. Like Christmas, Easter moved away from its religious roots and became a celebration of family, home and a focus on the children.
Commercializing an egg
The egg and Easter bunny are the symbols of Easter. With the rise of capitalism, capitalists saw a way to capitalize on the fast-growing interest in Easter. According to the National Retail Foundation Easter (2017) was estimated to have cost $18.4 billion altogether, more than the $18.2 billion from Valentine’s Day. Where in the past, feasting on eggs was a reward for the 40 days of fasting, nowadays it's just a thing to do. Just like Christmas modern traditions are mere left symbolic in their meaning