Traditions of Easter

You can't think of spring without thinking of Easter. Of course, I am very well aware of the signs of spring that some wildflowers are blooming, song birds are everywhere, and it is finally warm enough that I don't need to wear my coat. By now, I have out all my decorations of Easter bunnies, Easter baskets, and Easter eggs. But have you ever wondered why we associate these things with Easter?

The use of chicken eggs at Easter has many different origins according to an article in Wikipedia. The early Christians of Mesopotamia used the egg to symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus and dyed eggs red to represent the blood of Christ. The use of chicken eggs during the Easter season continued because during the Middle Ages, Catholic Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent. On Easter morning, eggs were blessed and could be eaten. Another tradition in England says the children would go door to door on the Saturday before Lent begging for eggs to eat before they began their Lenten fast. In modern times, people began to use plastic eggs filled with candy for Easter morning because giving up sweets for Lent was a popular idea. A lot of early beliefs and traditions have combined to lead us to filling colored, plastic egg shaped containers with candy.

It is also a tradition for Easter eggs to be hidden for children to find by the Easter Bunny. I was surprised to learn that the hare (not a rabbit) is a religious symbol from medieval times. The idea of the Easter hare was brought to the United States by Protestant German immigrants in the 18th century. Only good children would receive gifts of colored eggs in the nests they made in their caps and bonnets the night before Easter. That sounds a lot like good kids "hanging their stockings by the chimney with care" at Christmas. Being good was not required for the Easter bunny to come to our house, but good behavior was certainly appreciated.

In some denominations, baskets of food items that were given up for Lent are brought to church on the Saturday night before Easter to be blessed. The baskets are then set aside or hidden until Easter morning. I don't think I have ever heard of this tradition but it is similar to the tradition we had when our boys were young. They would find their Easter bucket outside their bedroom on Easter morning filled with chocolates, water guns, and flip flops.

I have fun with these Easter traditions even though I don't have kids at home, but I know the real reason for Easter is to celebrate the empty tomb, Jesus' resurrection, his triumph over death. It is what our faith believes and our trust in in this belief is why Easter is important to us. Come and celebrate with us at First Presbyterian Church on Easter morning at 11:00am and, just for fun, stay after the service for our Easter egg hunt.

--Tina

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg#:~:text=Eggs%20in%20Christianity%20carry%20a,%2C%20bread%2C%20and%20new%20produce.)