Easter eggs: The history of a spring tradition

If you celebrate Easter, and if you have children, you’re probably getting ready for one of the most colorful pageants of spring: the Easter Egg Hunt. Watching the joy on a young child’s face as they search for brightly decorated Easter eggs is a timeless tradition. As you start to make your own Easter plans, here are some interesting facts about Easter eggs and other festive traditions of the season:

Why eggs?

The egg has long been a symbol of new life dating back to the ancient Persians, Hindus, and Egyptians. For Christians, Easter celebrates the revival and rebirth of Jesus Christ, so the symbolism is appropriate. Decorating eggs for Easter is believed to have begun in the 13th century. Eggs were once considered a forbidden food during the season of Lent so people would paint and decorate eggs to mark the end of their penance and fasting and eat them on Easter.

The history of decorating Easter eggs

An early citation of dyed eggs in British history dates back to 1290. That’s when the household of Edward I bought 450 eggs to be colored or covered in gold leaf as Easter gifts for “the royal entourage,” according to Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain by Ronald Hutton. If you lived in an English village in the 13th century, it was common to give Easter eggs to manor lords for the holiday. People also gave decorated eggs to the church as a special offering on Good Friday. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dyed Easter eggs became a gift given to children. When Easter became a public holiday with extra time off for workers, it became popular for families to incorporate Easter eggs into games that could be enjoyed as a family activity.

Games with Easter eggs

The most popular family games with Easter eggs are the Egg Hunt and the Egg Roll. In an egg hunt, decorated eggs — usually hard-boiled chicken eggs, chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs containing candy — are hidden around outside waiting for children to find them. Easter egg rolling is a European tradition brought to America by the settlers. The most famous Easter egg roll, of course, is the one held at the White House. This tradition was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. Globally, Easter eggs are used for other games as well, including:

1. Cascarones, a Latin American tradition in which Eastereggs are emptied, dried, and filled with confetti, The eggs are then hidden and, when found, participants break them over each other's heads.

2. Egg tapping, a game in which you try to break your opponent’s Easter eggs, that is played in the north of England.

3. In Germany, the egg dance is a traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the floor and participants try to dance among them without breaking them.

Other Easter egg fun facts

1. The largest Easter egg ever made was 25 feet high and weighed more than 8,000 pounds. It was made of chocolate and marshmallow and supported by a steel frame.

2. Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, right after Halloween.

3. According to the National Confectioners Association, more than 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year for Easter. That’s enough jelly beans to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide.

4. In 1873, J.S. Fry & Sons of England introduced the first chocolate Easter egg. Cadbury introduced the modern chocolate Easter egg in 1875.

Easter eggs are a source of fun and enjoyment for families around the world, and a great reason to enjoy the early Spring weather. However, you plan to celebrate or recognize the season, know that the traditions of Easter eggs span centuries and are deeply rooted in history and culture.

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