ANSWERS: 11
  • Easter eggs, and the inclusion of an egg into a springtime religious festival has been around long before the beginning of christianity. However, with any religion using eggs, the symbolism has always been the same - that is the symbol of rebirth. So in the instance of Christianity, and the resurrection of Jesus, the inclusion of eggs into the holiday is showing the symbolism of rebirth, and new beginnings. Here are a few pages with the history of easter eggs: http://www.night.net/easter/egghist.html-ssi http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8149/egg.html http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/icons/easter_egg.htm
  • Traditionally when the Catholic Church came into a new area, they would try to merge the local customs into the Catholic teachings as a "learning crutch" to more easily integrate the loacals into the church. The Easter ritual of egg hunts (colored eggs) and bunny rabbits are based on Afrikaan fertility rites. Most religons/philosophies have a "SPRING" rebirth/renewal as part of their custom. The Catholics, who dominated the practice of "christianity" until about 300 or so years ago have integrated many customs/rituals into common religeous practice. Most survive in today's christian rituals without a hint of where it began.
  • One of the traditions that gradually developed in the Roman Catholic Church was the abstaining of eating certain foods during the 40 day season of Lent, which preceeds the Easter Holiday. Now, animals could simply not be slaughtered in this period, but the chickens kept producing eggs. So, by the end of the partial fasting period, many people had an abundance of eggs. These eggs were then colored or used for feasting, etc. Since the eggs were used in Easter, they were associated with Easter. This tradition of manditory Lenten fasting developed over time, partly through an ignorance of the Scripture, as Paul writes, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." (KJV)
  • In my humble opinion, easter eggs and cute little bunnies have nothing more to do with the Crucifixion, death and resurrection of Christ than a decorated tree and exchanging gifts have to do with Christmas. Just a bunch of hullabalu that means nothing. I let my kids hunt easter eggs and we exchanged gifts, but it was just for the kids.
  • Nothing its a Pagan ritual
  • I don't know but my sons veggie tales movie about easter has a bunch of colored eggs in it!!! So it must have something to do with it right????
  • I've always understood the 'hunt' part to be basically a reenactment of the search for Christ's body after He has been resurrected, as the Disciples have done. Not unlike the opening of gifts on Christmes to symbolize the three gifts the Wisemen have brought for the Christ child.
  • the thing that has always amazed me is that a magnanimous chocolate rabbit has been saddled with the conspiracy to distribute billions of colored eggs to children the globe over... jesus gave us the gift of life and, in some bizarre pegan way, that chocolate bunny's distribution of eggs has, too. the way i see it, some rituals are based in fact and some rituals are based on compromises in dogma. in my opinion, as long as i live a proper life, knowing that i love my creator and my creator loves me, i don't get to freaked out by christmas trees, stocking, santa coming down the chimney, rabbits, eggs ... i play along knowing that these are not all that relevant, but, certainly they can be appreciated!!!
  • Easter asctually started as a Pagan holiday Ostara. It was a celebration of birth and the regeneration of life. (symbolism behind eggs) Christian's do have this horrible habit of stealing holidays. The church saw Paganism as a threat and thus manipulated or adapted many of the holidays celebrated by Wiccans and Pagans. So despite the fact that easter is represented as a resurection it is due to the symbolism behind the fertility and rebirth behind the orginal Pagan holiday base.
  • Nothing much I guess... but most Catholic/Christian holidays have deviated from their original meanings.
  • Maybe Jesus was into the habit of laying colored eggs to feed the poor with at that time of the year?

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