The history of Easter eggs

Easter eggs, celebrating life

My favourite Easter eggs were crafted in St. Petersburg, in the manufacture of Peter Carl Fabergé from 1885 to 1917. These precious jewels were designed mostly for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as annual Easter gifts for Tsarinas Maria and Alexandra. It is believed that a total of 66 eggs were produced. Each one was unique, with some opening to reveal marvellous miniatures and others functioning as clocks. Only 57 have survived to the present day. 

Unlike the Christmas tree, the Easter egg is part of traditions which spread over thousands of years. In almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life. Already 2500 years ago the ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the spring equinox. At the Jewish Passover Seder, hard-boiled eggs called Beitzah dipped in salt water symbolize the Qorban Chagigah or Hashlamim, the festival peace-offerings sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem.

For Christians the egg symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. However, the word Easter has a pagan origin. Historians have traced the origin of the word Easter to the Scandinavian word 'Ostra' and the Germanic 'Ostern' or 'Eastre'. All derive from the names of mythological goddesses of spring and fertility. 

Pagan origins did not stop the Roman Catholic Church to form legends connected with Easter eggs. One legend says hat Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned brilliant red when she saw the risen Christ. The egg represents the boulder of the tomb of Jesus.

A different legend concerns Mary Magdalene's efforts to spread the Gospel. After the Ascension of Jesus, Mary went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." It is said the egg immediately turned blood red.

In Europe the Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent. During the strict Lenten fast of forty days no eggs were eaten. A notation in the household accounts of Edward I of England in the year 1307 showed an expenditure of eighteen pence for 450 eggs to be gold-leafed and coloured for Easter gifts. Nowadays, Easter eggs are decorated all over the world in many different ways.

The first chocolate Easter eggs were produced in Europe in the early 19th Century with France and Germany taking the lead in this new artistic confectionery. Today, chocolate eggs are available throughout the world. My favourite chocolate Easter eggs are made by the Swiss company Lindt.