Easter is right around the corner. Time for a big lunch, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and loads of chocolate! But where did these traditions come from? Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Easter with a bunny and eggs, but no chicken? The answers might surprise you!
Eggs: symbols of rebirth
Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Since no one knows, let’s just start with the eggs! It’s easy to see why eggs symbolise life, renewal, and rebirth. For that reason, early Christians began using eggs as a symbol of the resurrection. Some historians believe that for these ancient people, the eggshell represented the tomb and the little chick hatching out represented Jesus.
A little Easter egg history…
But Easter Eggs are different from regular eggs, aren’t they? They’re much more colourful for a start! During Lent (the 40-day period leading up to Easter), and especially during the week just before Easter, known as Holy Week, many Christians abstained from eating animal products. Meat? No. Dairy? Nope! Eggs? No, sir!
But just because people weren’t eating eggs, didn’t mean chickens stopped laying them! To preserve all of the unused eggs, people would hardboil them, decorate the shells and save them to eat on Easter Day.
The colourful Easter egg tradition further evolved with the British Victorians, who began celebrating Easter with beautiful, satin-covered cardboard egg that they’d fill with small gifts.
Interestingly, historians believe that the Pennsylvania Dutch in the US started the tradition of the modern Easter egg hunt in the 1700s. Who knew?!
Chocolate time!
And the part you’re all waiting for: the chocolate eggs! Everyone’s favourite Easter treat originated in Europe, in particular France and Germany, in the early 1800s. It’s believed that the first chocolate eggs were bitter and hard – nothing like the delicious ones we buy at the supermarket!
Fortunately, people saw the potential here and worked hard to improve their chocolate-making techniques. Eventually, they landed on with the hollow, sweet eggs we enjoy today!
What about the Easter Bunny?
Last but not least, let’s talk about bunnies.
Of course, tiny baby bunnies are a symbol of new life! But some people believe the Easter Bunny comes from a story about an Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre. Legend has it that she found an injured bird and transformed it into a rabbit so it’d have a better chance of surviving the long, cold winter.
However, the rabbit wasn’t fully transformed — it soon discovered that it could lay eggs! It decorated the eggs each spring and left them as offerings to the goddess, a thank you for saving its life.
The modern Easter Bunny was born sometime in the 1800s. This is the bunny we all know and love, who lays eggs, decorates them, and hides them away for us to find!
But not everybody believes in this bunny! Did you know that in Switzerland, a cuckoo bird is thought to deliver the Easter eggs? And in Germany, a sly fox helps with the sweet deliveries! Guess it doesn’t matter how it gets there, as long as we all get our chocolate!
For some cool toys & games to go with your chocolate eggs, check out our website!
What did the egg say when the Easter Bunny told him a joke? You crack me up!
