Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs,[1] are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition, which continues to be used in Central and Eastern Europe, is to dye and paint chicken eggs.
This article is about items associated with Easter. For a secret message hidden in media, see Easter egg (media).
Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth,[2] in Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus was resurrected.[3][4][5] In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed as at that time of his crucifixion."[3][6]
This custom of the Easter egg, according to many sources, can be traced to early Christians of Mesopotamia, and from there it spread into Eastern Europe and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches.[6][7][8][9] Additionally, the widespread usage of Easter eggs, according to mediaevalist scholars, is due to the prohibition of eggs during Lent after which, on Easter, they have been blessed for the occasion.[10][11]
A modern custom in some places is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in coloured foil, hand-carved wooden eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate.
Ukrainian Easter eggs
Norwegian Easter eggs
Perforated eggs
Pace eggs boiled with onion skins and leaf patterns.
Easter eggs decorated with straw
Variants[edit]
Chocolate[edit]
Chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in Versailles and in 1725 the widow Giambone in Turin started producing chocolate eggs by filling empty chicken egg shells with molten chocolate.[46] In 1873, J.S. Fry & Sons produced the first hollow chocolate egg using egg moulds.[47] Manufacturing their first Easter egg in 1875, Cadbury created the modern chocolate Easter egg after developing a pure cocoa butter that could be moulded into smooth shapes.[48]
In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone. Formerly, the containers Easter eggs were sold in contained large amounts of plastic, although in the United Kingdom this has gradually been replaced with recyclable paper and cardboard.[49]
In Brazil, Argentina, Chile Uruguay and Paraguay,[50] hollow chocolate eggs known as Ovos de Páscoa or Huevos de Páscua (Easter eggs) are popular and are commonly sold around Easter in supermarkets.[51][52] Variations of this dessert containing fillings such as pistachio cream, hazelnut cream, or doce de leite, are known as Ovos de Páscoa de colher (Spoon Easter eggs) or Ovos de colher (Spoon eggs).[53][54][55][56]
