EASTER
Hop Along
TO ONE OF THE UK’ S BEST EASTER EGG HUNTS
DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ENJOY AN ANNUAL EASTER EGG HUNT? IF YOU DO, YOU’ RE NOT ALONE – EASTER EGG HUNTS ARE FAST BECOMING A MUST-DO ACTIVITY FOR FAMILIES UP AND DOWN THE COUNTRY, AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF DIFFERENT ORGANISED HUNTS TO ATTEND IF YOU DON’ T WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN.
But if you thought the Easter egg hunt was a relatively new idea, think again. It’ s actually been around for thousands of years.
Today, Easter is celebrated as a Christian holiday, commemorating the period of Jesus’ s death and resurrection. However, Easter is said to have Pagan roots; even the word‘ Easter’ is derived from the name of the Teutonic goddess of spring, Eostre. And what about the Easter Bunny? That’ s all down to Eostre too. She was often associated with rabbits since the springtime is all about fertility and growth. Eostre’ s rabbit familiars were rather special though – they lay eggs. It may seem strange, but to those who worshipped Pagan gods, the combination of eggs and rabbits was the best possible luck for a good harvest and a bright spring. Early Pagans believed that when Eostre and her rabbits walked the earth, spring was soon to follow.
Spring forward to the 1600s, and these Pagan beliefs were almost completely merged with Christian culture. Esotre’ s rabbits’ eggs remained as part of the celebration, although now, rather than a sign of spring, the egg was used to represent Jesus’ s resurrection as they were seen as a symbol of new life. Easter eggs were originally real eggs dyed red( to represent Christ’ s blood). Chocolate eggs didn’ t appear until the 1900s in Europe.
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