Why We Dye Eggs at Easter
Ever wonder why we dye eggs at Easter. My two children have known that Easter is a time of great joy to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection, yet once they asked me how come people dye eggs and bunny rabbits would come into place. How are these traditions related to Christ’s resurrection? Martha R. Fehl and Randy Bishop posted a very informative article over at ChristianityToday to explain why we do what we do at Easter. Dyeing eggs can be traced back to medieval times:
Eggs are often identified with Easter. Long a symbol of fertility and immortality, the egg reminds Christians of the rock tomb from which Christ arose.
In medieval times, eggs were traditionally given to all servants at Easter. It is said that King Edward I of England (1307) distributed 450 boiled Easter eggs, dyed or covered with gold leaf, to members of the royal household.
Today, in most countries the eggs are stained with plain vegetable-dye colors. The Syrian and Greek faithful present each other with crimson eggs in honor of the blood of Christ.….
Other traditions of gift-giving rabbits and stories behind the many symbols are introduced as well. If your child is an information hunter or a logical learner, he/she must be fascinated with these facts.
Where’d the Eggs and Bunnies Come From? [ChristianityToday]
Related posts:
Fun Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs
How to Dye Easter Eggs With Onion Skins Step-by-step
March 1st, 2008 at 12:57 am
Thankyou so much for putting this info on the web! We are studing Medievil times and we wanted to get away from the evil part! This site is so helpful!
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:13 am
Thank you so much for putting this info our there. My 6 year old wanted to know why we dye eggs and I had no answer. Thanks for helping answer his curiosity in the matter.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
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March 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
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March 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
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March 24th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Actually, the practice originates from Mystery Babylon worshipers during the time of Tammuz who would sacrifice infants and dip eggs in their blood. You are practicing an abomination in the eyes of the LORD. The pagan holiday has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Okay, you say that they used to do it in medieval times, but there’s still no explanation as to why. It sounds like it’s being explained as a relatively “new” tradition, since they didn’t do it in early church times, and it’s definitely nowhere in the new testament. The fact that it ties in so closely to old pagan sun god worship, along with alot of other elements of “Easter”, not to mention other major “holidays” that have their roots in Constantine’s handiwork of attempting to hybridize pagan practices with “christianity”, it smells of too much spoon-fed half-truth and sweet sleepy-time anaesthetic heresy. The Jews, as did Yeshua and His disciples(all Jews), celebrate passover, and every element of the seder(meal) has a rich connection with the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. Bitter herbs and saltwater for the tears of oppression, apple and walnut “mortar” for the bricks they were forced to make, the passover lamb, etc. All we get is that the chick busts out of the egg like the Messiah from the grave? The only problem with that is: how many of those eggs are actually hatched instead of eaten? Funny how it wasn’t until this past year that the Catholic church finally admitted to being wrong about the Inquisition, and that being a Jew doesn’t damn one to hell. Far too long has the truth been clouded in ignorance(on the part of the people) and intimidation(on the part of the leaders). Will “christians” finally start to recognize the very Jewish roots of their faith? Indeed, that they can’t really have faith until they recognize the purpose and the origin…
If none of that is convincing, then answer this question:
Why do we call it “Easter”?
April 13th, 2009 at 6:28 am
I’ve heard though not sure for certain Easter was named after a goddess Eastre the goddess of the vernal equinox
January 19th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Great comment, love the design of the site too.
February 27th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
It’s true, it’s all pagan. If you want to know the truth and not be involved in syncretism, read The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop. Every believer should search out the truth of their traditions.