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Why do we color eggs?
Originally, the Persians, and later the Egyptians, exchanged colored
eggs to celebrate the return of spring. They also used these decorated
eggs as token of goodwill. Later the Greeks adopted the custom and used
colored eggs during the spring festivals as sign of fertility and
regenerative power of nature. The Pennsylvania Dutch brought it to the New
World in the 1700s. By 1880, the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Ukrainians
were the only ones practicing this custom. Because coloring eggs was a
long, detailed process, most people couldn't be bothered. (Unlike today,
most Easter eggs were colored by boiling them with onion skins for yellow
color, hickory bark for shades of brown, etc.). Dyes, such as indigo,
logwood, and gamboge were also used, but you had to go out and buy these
in big quantities. One day William M. Townley, a druggist in NJ, came up
with a way to package these dyes for easier use and purchasing. This made
coloring eggs easier, the idea caught on and today, many people color eggs
for the Easter holiday.
Easter, the principal festival of the Christian church
year, celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after
his Crucifixion. The origins of Easter date to the beginnings of
Christianity, and it is probably the oldest Christian observance after the
Sabbath (originally observed on Saturday, later on Sunday). Later, the
Sabbath subsequently came to be regarded as the weekly celebration of the
Resurrection.
Meanwhile, many of the cultural historians find, in the celebration of
Easter, a convergence of the three traditions - Pagan, Hebrew and
Christian.
According to St. Bede, an English historian of the early 8th century,
Easter owes its origin to the old Teutonic mythology. It was derived from
the name Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of
April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal
equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.
The English name "Easter" is much newer. When the early English Christians
wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter
for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring
celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept
Christianity.
But it is pointed out by some that the Easter festival, as celebrated
today, is related with the Hebrew tradition, the Jewish Passover. This is
being celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year.
The Jewish Passover under Moses commemorates Israel's deliverance from
about 300 years of bondage in Egypt.
It was in during this Passover in 30 AD Christ was crucified under the
order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate as the then Jewish high priests
accused Jesus of "blasphemy". The resurrection came three days later, on
the Easter Sunday. The early Christians, many of them being brought up in
Jewish tradition regarded Easter as a new feature of the Pascha
(Passover). It was observed in memory of the advent of the Messiah, as
foretold by the prophets. And it is equanimous with the proclamation of
the resurrection. Thus the early Christian Passover turned out to be a
unitive celebration in memory of the passion-death-resurrection of Jesus.
However, by the 4th century, Good Friday came to be observed as a separate
occasion. And the Pascha Sunday had been devoted exclusively to the honor
of the glorious resurrection.
Throughout the Christendom the Sunday of Pascha had become a holiday to
honor Christ. At the same time many of the pagan spring rites came to be a
part of its celebration. May be it was the increasing number of new
converts who could not totally break free of the influence of pagan
culture of their forefathers.
But despite all the influence there was an important shift in the spirit.
No more glorification of the physical return of the Sun God. Instead the
emphasis was shifted to the Sun of Righteousness who had won banishing the
horrors of death for ever.
The Feast of Easter was well established by the second century. But there
had been dispute over the exact date of the Easter observance between the
Eastern and Western Churches. The East wanted to have it on a weekday
because early Christians observed Passover every year on the 14th of
Nisan, the month based on the lunar calendar. But, the West wanted that
Easter should always be a Sunday regardless of the date.
To solve this problem the emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea
in 325. The question of the date of Easter was one of its main concerns.
The council decided that Easter should fall on Sunday following the first
full moon after the vernal equinox. But fixing up the date of the Equinox
was still a problem. The Alexandrians, noted for their rich knowledge in
astronomical calculations were given the task. And March 21 was made out
to be the perfect date for spring equinox.
The dating of Easter today follows the same. Accordingly, churches in the
West observe it on the first day of the full moon that occurs on or
following the Spring equinox on March 21., it became a movable feast
between March 21 and April 25.
Still some churches in the East observe Easter according to the date of
the Passover festival.
The preparation takes off as early as on the Ash Wednesday from which the
period of penitence in the Lent begins. The Lent and the Holy week end on
the Easter Sunday
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