Easter Eggs! & Easter Bunnies!
Easter Eggs! & Easter Bunnies!
So where do Easter Eggs, Easter bunnies and chocolate fit in? They are just external signs of celebration, traditions that people have made popular because they enjoy following them.
Originally, church leaders did not allow people to eat eggs during Holy Week. Families saved the eggs their chickens laid that week, boiled and painted them and gave them to children on Easter morning. People then made egg shapes out of cardboard and later papier mache, filled them with treats and got children to paint these and hand out as presents. People also saw the egg as a symbol of new life and so used it as a symbol of the new life that’s celebrated at Easter. Soon other ideas started being used like making chocolate, marzipan or sugar icing eggs instead of boiling eggs. To add more fun people started the Easter Egg hunts and Easter Egg rolling, two popular traditions followed even today.
An egg hunt involves hiding eggs in the garden for children to find on Easter morning. Egg rolling is when hard boiled eggs are rolled as a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Jesus’ tomb. In the United States, the Easter Egg Roll is an annual event held on the White House south lawn each Monday after Easter. This is a family day, entry is won by public lottery and the winners spend a day of family activity with the President and the First Lady.The story of the Easter Bunny is thought to have originated in Germany. Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a symbol of new life. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny decorates and hides eggs for children to find on Easter Sunday. Though the rabbit doesn’t do the work alone. In Switzerland Easter eggs are delivered by the Easter Cuckoo and in Australia by the Easter Bilby (small rat like animal).
The story of the Easter Bunny is thought to have originated in Germany. Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a symbol of new life. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny decorates and hides eggs for children to find on Easter Sunday. Though the rabbit doesn’t do the work alone. In Switzerland Easter eggs are delivered by the Easter Cuckoo and in Australia by the Easter Bilby (small rat like animal).
The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem
Looking at the meaning of Easter and the traditions associated with it we can see that traditions change to suit our convenience. We do the things we like and they become tradition. We avoid the things we don’t like and those traditions slowly disappear. In contrast, Jesus’ resurrection was and remains the most amazing divine event of all time. It is recorded in Jewish and Roman history, and the sites of his birth, death and resurrection and the places where he lived and worked are preserved in Jerusalem and available for the public to visit. Easter proves who Jesus is, it shows us that God accepted his sacrifice on our behalf, it shows us that God has created all things and has power over everything, even life and death. Unlike tradition, these facts have not changed for the last 2000 years, there are no updates or versions of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Easter helps us accept our present circumstances, gives us courage to meet our trials and hope for the future because our future belongs to God.
A Blessed Easter to each one.