Easter Eggs: Pagan or Christian?
Monday March 3, 2008
While there's a lot of discussion in the Pagan community about where the idea of coloring eggs actually came from, in scholarly circles things seem pretty clear. Despite the image of our pre-Christian European ancestors frolicking on an egg hunt in the forest -- and one well-known Wiccan author's tale about a frisky rabbit and the goddess Eostre -- it looks like in Europe, colored eggs didn't come along until after Christianity moved in. However, in Persia, eggs have been painted for thousands of years as part of the spring celebration of No Ruz, which is the Zoroastrian new year.
Learn more about the origins of the Easter egg, and then color your own Ostara eggs with natural dyes!
Learn more about the origins of the Easter egg, and then color your own Ostara eggs with natural dyes!
Coloured and decorated eggs may be a post-Christian occurence (similarly to chocolate eggs and moulded chocolate bunnies), but it is undeniable that eggs are an ancient symbol of fertility predating Christianity (and obviously modern Paganism.)
Eggs and rabbits are enduring symbols of spring in the European countries Christianity came to colonise and it just so happened that Easter occurred in the spring, when these natural signs of spring and new life were everywhere.
Instead of arguing about who had decorated eggs first, it is perhaps more important to notice that the two faiths share these symbols and perhaps use them to foster understanding and a shared heritage, this time of year is a joyful one for everyone; we celebrate new life and the return of springtime and Christians celebrate the risen Jesus. Here’s hoping that with every decorated egg I give out this Ostara I’ll be spreading a bit more inter-religious understanding
Ukranians have been decorating eggs for centuries before Christianity! The batik style process was a way to encourage the return of spring, and the growth for the new year. Psanky held a magic- from planting an egg with the crops to encourage the growth, keeping eggs in the home to help prevent fires, to the need to continue the tradition in order to keep the chains that bind a demon at the end of the world.
But when they started is not as important, as previously pointed out, as the fact that both ends of the spectrum use decorated eggs to represent a season of new life. We are all connected, and share the same Earth!!!