Origins of Easter Eggs
Easter always falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Since this fact makes Easter a spring holiday although the exact date changes every year, it stands to reason that the season and the holiday share many symbols. Both represent an awakening, spring from the long darkness of winter, and Easter as Jesus' triumphant resurrection from the grave symbolizing death and sin to save humanity from its transgressions. The growth and blooming of flowers, birth of young animals, and hatching of eggs all happen in the spring, making these appropriate symbols of the season and of Easter.
Eggs symbolize this awakening in several ways. First, they serve as the vessel by which young birds and other animals come into the world. They only hatch under the warmth of the mother, much as a Christian's true life can only be revealed and flourish with the help of God. When the egg is first laid, the mass that will become the baby is nothing more than a mushy pile of chromosomes and the protein to nourish them to birth, making many people wonder how life arises from within it. This parallels what the women that first Easter morning thought would be the dead body of Christ arising from the grave like the bird hatches from the darkness of the egg.
Eggs also show that the animal who lays them has fertility. This links them to spring since people see this time of year as the most fertile with so many living things being born and growing. In many ancient cultures, spring was the time to celebrate fertility, hence many weddings took place in that season so couples would conceive. Eggs, grains of rice, and other such symbols of fertility became common ways of celebrating the marriage and the childbearing the married state entailed. Since procreation within marriage is looked upon as holy, and because the Church has also been called the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21:2), Christians naturally adopted use of the egg to stand for the spring festival of Easter.
From this symbol of newness of life grew the tradition of hunting for brightly colored eggs by the children. Originally, eggs were either hollowed out and the contents cooked for breakfast or hard boiled before being hidden. While some families still follow those traditions and color the eggs brightly to stand for the sunrise, spring, and resurrection, others purchase colored plastic eggs so treats may be hidden with them. When the child who finds the plastic egg opens it, the act of opening it stands for a true egg hatching into a young animal and beginning the circle of life.
This circle of life, whether natural or symbolic, often involves eggs. The egg, along with baby animals and blooming flowers, beautifully symbolizes spring. Since Easter happens during spring, the symbolism continues into the holiday as well as the season in which it falls.
