Why Do We Hide Easter Eggs ?
Besides Christmas, the biggest holiday celebrated by Christians all over the world is Easter which they belief marks the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. With Easter, another tradition is associated and that is of hunting down hidden Easter eggs. Often parents and churches organize these hunts for the neighborhood children. |
However, many people wonder why do we hide Easter eggs. In order to understand this, we first have to look at the Easter bunny. Without this bunny, it would not be possible for us to enjoy Easter eggs or Easter egg hunts.
The Anglo Saxons considered the rabbit to be an animal associated with the goddess of fertility, Ostara. Also, rabbits are connected with fertility due to their prolific rate of procreation. It is believed that the legend of the Easter bunny began in Germany where children believed that each Easter the egg laying hare would come and lay its eggs. They called this hare Osterhase. Children would build a nest for this hare so that it could come and lay its eggs in the nest.
However, this belief that the rabbit laid eggs may have originated from the Romans, who believed that all life on earth began from eggs. Another connection between eggs and rabbits is the pagan belief where rabbits were related to the moon and the eggs to the sun. And, during the spring equinox the days and nights are of equal lengths and this allows the rabbit and the egg to come together.
The tradition of Easter egg hunt started in the 1700s in Pennsylvania when the Germans migrated to the New World. They brought with them their belief about the egg laying rabbit. However, soon this tradition spread across the country and parents were hiding eggs for children to find. As time went by, the traditional hard boiled eggs turned into eggs made out of chocolates and thus, began the practice of hiding Easter eggs.
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The Christians all over the world believe that Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ after His crucifixion. Christ was crucified on Good Friday, and on the third day, which was Sunday, he rose from the death to take His rightful place besides God, His father. 