Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2008 | Page 56
life
ANTIQUES
By Philip Hoare
Easter - it's not
just about
chocolate eggs
A
fter the great high
of Christmas and
New Year, we are all
feeling the January blues. The
skies are grey, and it’s back to
reality for most of us! It all
seemed to go by so quickly,
as if time were speeding up.
Christmas, I recall, was being
prepared for by the major
advertising companies in late
august! And it was with
the
strike of the
bell at
midnight
on January
31st that
adverts went
up all over the
country for
various
chocolate
eggs,
heralding
the
coming
of
Easter.
But
hang on a
minute! Isn’t that one
month away?? And is Easter
really about chocolate eggs,
cards and gifts in our society?
It’s interesting to think about
the many different cultures
across the globe, how we all
celebrate Easter differently,
and its significance in both
our cultural and religious
heritage. Not only that, but
where did all the traditions
56
we follow for Easter actually
come from? It may interest
you to know that Eggs, Cards,
Rabbits and Hampers did not
all come from one historical
source. In fact, the celebration
of Easter including its festive
paraphernalia, came from a
host of countries and religions,
it is how people have come to
interpret these elements that
is so interesting. Eggs, for
example, were pagan symbols
of fertility. Early Romans,
Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and
Persians all cherished the egg
as a symbol of the renewing
universe. In ancient Egyptian
and Persian cultures, eggs
were decorated and exchanged
during the spring equinox.
Christians later used the
imagery of the
egg to
In Armenia, Hollow eggs
(created by piercing the shell
with a needle and removing the
contents) were decorated with
images of Christ, the Virgin
Mary, and other sacred figures.
Germans gave green eggs as
presents on Holy Thursday,
and hung empty eggs on trees.
Austrians placed miniature
plants around the egg and
then boiled them. When
the plants were taken away,
white patterns appeared.
Rabbits and hares have been
symbols of fertility since
ancient times. The addition of
the hare into Easter customs
stems from Germany, They
told tales of an "Easter hare"
who laid eggs for children
to find. German émigrés to
America brought the folklore
with them and spread it to a
vast audience. The “Easter
Hare” soon became known
as ‘The Easter Bunny’
Easter cards arrived in
Victorian England when a
stationer added a greeting to
a drawing of a rabbit. The
name "Easter" is derived
from a pagan goddess of
Spring named "Eastre."
Easter commemorates
the rebirth of Jesus Christ
after his execution. Three
days later Jesus rose from
his tomb. Christians have
celebrated this resurrection
for hundreds of years, since
the first century AD.
We still celebrate today, and
perhaps while you are nibbling
on your egg, you will give a
thought to the thousands of
years of religion, folklore and
tradition that have led to the
way Easter is perceived and
consumed today. And enjoy
your chocolate bunny! I know
I’ll enjoy tucking into mine!!
For further information
please email Philip Hoare at
[email protected]
exemplify
not nature's
rebirth, but the rebirth
of humanity through the
sacrifice of Christ. Christians
embraced the egg symbol
and likened it to the tomb
from which Christ rose.
Orthodox Christians in
Greece and the Middle East
hand painted eggs red to
symbolize the blood of Christ.
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