It appears that the giving of eggs to commemorate a death has been going on for some time!!!!

There are records of this custom in early Egyptian history... now too it seems that it was a practice shared by
others of the middle East????

There is Pagan history in the easter celebration as well. One of my favourite holidays actually when I was a pagan.

This is a shot in the dark, but maybe they were easy to write on when there was no paper hmmm

danm spelling hehe

I also found this. Hope it helps:

Easter Egg History
and
More on Easter Eggs

Jody

Did you just lick me ? lol cute new av Jody

Thanks! Happy Easter

Origins of the name "Easter":
The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre."



http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/redir?src=e...tion=WebResults

Its true then; the egg came first!

In many cultures the Egg represents the soul.

Wouldnt it make more sense for the yolk to represent the soul and the egg to represent the body?

Previously I had always wondered what decorated eggs had to do with the passing of Jesus... but it appears that it was how people commemorated those who had passed in the ancient days... Maybe it was a way for those that had passed to carry on the good will ,blessings.. thanks.. gratitiude for their good deeds... and ongoing wishes and to have it karmically sent on onto their next life...

... So maybe we should decorate the eggs with Jesus quotes... ???
Where did Bunnies come into it ???

Was it to symbolically multiply Jesus's influence on this world???

Should we really have had a Fish to represent him......and caviar???

Or some other egg laying critter???

The easter bunny was originally a hare, which has great religious and cultural significance in Britain, Boudicca would release a hare onto the battle field when she was fighting the Romans, it was thought Eostre could turn herself into a hare.

But Easter is not commemorating Jesus's death, but his supposed rebirth. An egg is an obvious symbol of birth and new life, don't ya think?

Well actually, none of the symbols you have mentioned were invented by Christians.

The bunny, the egg, even the "Jesus Fish" were symbols "borrowed" from previous religions.

(EASTER) also sprang from the fountain of Babylon. It is not a Christian name, since its derivation is from Ishtar one of the Babylonian titles of the Queen of Heaven. It was the worship of this woman by Israel which was such an abomination in the sight of (GOD).-(1 Sam.7:3; Jer.44:18) Round cakes, imprinted with the sign of the cross, were made at this festival, the sign being, in a Babylonian mysteries, a sign of life. This day was observed centuries before Christ and is possibly a factor in the origin of Easter and hotcross buns. The Easter eggs which played a great part in this day's celebration were common in heathen nations.The fable of the egg affirms that "an egg of wondrous size fell form Heaven into the Euphrates;the fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves settled upon it and hatched it and out came Astarte, or Ishtar, the goddess of "EASTER"."EASTER" is used only one time in the Bible. (Acts 12 :4 ). The Greek word for Easter in this passage should have been translated "passover"as it is in all other places. email me i can help you,

well here is the egg via Ukrainians

( and we have a few dozen of the wooden ones in the house - the cat loves batting them off Grans 'egg' display)


Archeologists have discovered ceramic pysanky in Ukraine dating back to 1300 B.C. They have linked pysanky designs to those of Egyptian ceramics created in 1500 B.C., and to symbolism of the Trypilljan culture in Ukraine of 3000 B.C. 6000 years ago the Trypilljan culture flourished in Ukraine. The society existed 3000 years before biblical Abraham and long before Greek mythology and the Bronze Age. Trypilljan people lived in the land of Ukraine at the same time as the Egyptian pyramids were build. The Trypilljans were a matriarchal society that worshipped "mother earth" and had little interest in power struggles concerning politics, taxes, money and ruling, as in patriarchal societies. Trypilljans lived peacefully with each other and with their neighbors. The tools which were most used were hoes and sickles, not clubs and arrows. Their homes were decorated inside and out with beautiful drawings and paintings. Because they took time for artistic and aesthetic beauty, scientists feel they had enough food and time to spend on higher pursuits such as beauty and art. In both design and color, Trypilljan symbolism echoed the people's close attachment to the soil and other elements of nature. Ukrainian symbolic art is based, in large measure, on these early ideograms. The most notable example is the Ukrainian meander or unending line, which denotes the cyclical nature of life. Other examples include such motifs as the circle, cross, stars, dots, matriarchal symbols, wheat, fir tree, horse, stag, horns and bear's paws. What is a symbol on "pysanka"? It is a word picture, an ideogram, a code, containing the secrets of a culture. More effectively than words it reveals feelings: love, happiness, hope, dread ,despair, etc. To those who understand symbolic art, it means something, and to those who cannot decipher the code, it remains a mystery.

The sense of mystery is inherent because each pysanka involves a trinity of symbolisms: the symbolism of the egg itself, the symbolism of design, and the symbolism of color.

The original source of creation! The Universe! The symbol of life! Our planet Earth looks like an egg: crust = shell; magma = egg white; core = yolk.

In the folk life of Ukrainian people, the pysanka possess talismanic powers. Receipt of a pysanka is not only a token of friendship or esteem but also brings with it protection from harm. Ukrainian ancestors believed that pysanky in the home would bring good fortune, wealth, health, and protection from lightning and fire. Pysanky are said to possess curative powers for both men and animals. With the acceptance of Christianity in 988 A.D., the pysanka has been part of the Christian tradition and Easter ritual. The pysanka came to symbolize the rebirth of man, as represented by the Resurrection. Beeswax was considered as a magical ingredient of the writing process. This was entwined with the sun cult. The wax was made from honey; the honey was collected from flowers; flowers grew because of the sun.

<a href="http://eggs-files.tripod.com/pysanky_4.html" target="_blank">http://eggs-files.tripod.com/pysanky_4.html</a>

an example of what can go wrong if you perform magic with an egg

hocus pocus flippy flam a razzamataz and alakazam

<a href="http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-henpecked-duck-redrawn-colorized/1233439356" target="_blank">http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-henp...ized/1233439356</a>