The Easter Eggs Tradition
- Eggs were one of the foods forbidden during Lent, the 40-day fasting period of reflection and penitential preparation leading up to Easter.
- In the medieval period, any eggs laid during Lent were boiled for preservation so that when Easter Sunday rolled around, eggs were back on the menu.
- And eggs weren't just used as a food source: a rural practice known as 'pace-egging' was common, where costumed groups roamed villages for eggs then given as gifts to the church as Good Friday offerings and to the lord of the manor.
- Many of these eggs were brightly painted; a practice truly ancient. Red was used to symbolise the blood of Christ, first by early Christians then the Orthodox Church.
- There are suggestions that 16th-century German Protestant reformer Martin Luther organised egg hunts for his congregation.
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Learn more about religionandspirituality with this collection
Different Easter traditions around the world
The significance of Easter eggs and bunnies in modern culture
The importance of the holiday in the Christian faith
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