Easter egg#Chocolate

The practice of decorating eggshells is quite ancient,{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=S5BZAAAAYAAJ&q=decorating+eggs+pre-Christian|title= Wycinanki and pysanky: forms of religious and ethnic folk art from the Delaware Valley|publisher= University of Pittsburgh|author= Neil R. Grobman|quote= During the spring cycle of festivals, ancient pre-Christian peoples used decorated eggs to welcome the sun and to help ensure the fertility of the fields, river ...|year= 1981|access-date= 18 April 2014|archive-date= 9 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152406/https://books.google.com/books?id=S5BZAAAAYAAJ&q=decorating+eggs+pre-Christian|url-status= live}} with decorated, engraved ostrich eggs found in Africa which are 60,000 years old.{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/egg-cetera-6-hunting-for-the-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-decorated-eggs |title=Egg Cetera #6: Hunting for the world's oldest decorated eggs | University of Cambridge |publisher=Cam.ac.uk |date=2012-04-10 |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-date=2013-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928033503/http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/egg-cetera-6-hunting-for-the-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-decorated-eggs |url-status=live }} In the pre-dynastic period of Egypt and the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete, eggs were associated with death and rebirth, as well as with kingship, with decorated ostrich eggs, and representations of ostrich eggs in gold and silver, were commonly placed in graves of the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians as early as 5,000 years ago.Treasures from Royal Tombs of Ur By Richard L. Zettler, Lee Horne, Donald P. Hansen, Holly Pittman 1998 pgs 70-72 These cultural relationships may have influenced early Christian and Islamic cultures in those areas, as well as through mercantile, religious, and political links from those areas around the Mediterranean.{{cite journal|last=Green|first=Nile|journal=Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean|volume=18|issue=1|year=2006|title=Ostrich Eggs and Peacock feathers: Sacred Objects as Cultural Exchange between Christianity and Islam|quote=This article uses the wide dispersal of ostrich eggs and peacock feathers among the different cultural contexts of the Mediterranean – and beyond into the Indian Ocean world – to explore the nature and limits of cultural inheritance and exchange between Christianity and Islam. These avian materials previously possessed symbolic meaning and material value as early as the pre-dynastic period in Egypt, as well as amid the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete. The main early cultural associations of the eggs and feathers were with death/resurrection and kingship respectively, a symbolism that was passed on into early Christian and Muslim usage. Mercantile, religious and political links across the premodern Mediterranean meant that these items found parallel employment all around the Mediterranean littoral, and beyond it, in Arabia, South Asia and Africa.}}

File:Red Paschal Egg with Cross.JPG, from the Saint Kosmas Aitolos Greek Orthodox Monastery]]

Eggs in Christianity carry a Trinitarian symbolism as shell, yolk, and albumen are three parts of one egg.{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Michael J. |last2=Rea |first2=Michael C. |title=An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion |date=20 March 2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46965-4 |page=68 |language=en}} According to many sources, the Christian custom of Easter eggs started among the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained them with red colouring "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion".{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Victoria |title=Celebrating Life Customs around the World|date=21 November 2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|language=en |isbn=9781440836596|page=2|quote=The history of the Easter egg can be traced back to the time of the advent of Christianity in Mesopotamia (around the first to the third century), when people use to stain eggs red as a reminder of the blood spilled by Christ during the Crucifixion. In time, the Christian church in general adopted this custom with the eggs considered to be a symbol of both Christ's death and Resurrection. Moreover, in the earliest days of Christianity Easter eggs were considered symbolic of the tomb in which Jesus's corpse was laid after the Crucifixion for eggs, as a near universal symbol of fertility and life, were like Jesus's tomb, something from which new life came forth.}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TinZAAAAMAAJ&q=easter+egg+Christians+Mesopotamia&pg=PA558|title=Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 5|publisher=T.B. Noonan|quote=The early Christians of Mesopotamia had the custom of dyeing and decorating eggs at Easter. They were stained red, in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion. The Church adopted the custom, and regarded the eggs as the emblem of the resurrection, as is evinced by the benediction of Pope Paul V., about 1610, which reads thus: "Bless, O Lord! we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to thy faithful servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee on account of the resurrection of the Lord." Thus the custom has come down from ages lost in antiquity.)|year=1881|access-date=7 April 2012|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152351/https://books.google.com/books?id=TinZAAAAMAAJ&q=easter+egg+Christians+Mesopotamia&pg=PA558|url-status=live}}{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CRvzTM0kev4C&q=In+many+countries+the+name+of+the+Christian+feast+we+call+Easter&pg=PA96|title= Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church|author= Vicki K. Black|publisher= Church Publishing, Inc.|quote= The Christians of this region in Mesopotamia were probably the first to connect the decorating of eggs with the feast of the resurrection of Christ, and by the Middle Ages this practice was so widespread that in some places Easter Day was called Egg Sunday. In parts of Europe, the eggs were dyed red and were then cracked together when people exchanged Easter greetings. Many congregations today continue to have Easter egg hunts for the children after services on Easter Day.|date= 1 July 2004|isbn= 9780819219664|access-date= 17 October 2020|archive-date= 9 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152351/https://books.google.com/books?id=CRvzTM0kev4C&q=In+many+countries+the+name+of+the+Christian+feast+we+call+Easter&pg=PA96|url-status= live}} The Christian Church officially adopted the custom, regarding the eggs as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus, with the Roman Ritual, the first edition of which was published in 1610 but which has texts of much older date, containing among the Easter Blessings of Food, one for eggs, along with those for lamb, bread, and new produce. {{blockquote|Lord, let the grace of your blessing + come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for your faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.|author=|title=|source=}}

Sociology professor Kenneth Thompson discusses the spread of the Easter egg throughout Christendom, writing that "use of eggs at Easter seems to have come from Persia into the Greek Christian Churches of Mesopotamia, thence to Russia and Siberia through the medium of Orthodox Christianity. From the Greek Church the custom was adopted by either the Roman Catholics or the Protestants and then spread through Europe." Both Thompson, as well as British orientalist Thomas Hyde state that in addition to dyeing the eggs red, the early Christians of Mesopotamia also stained Easter eggs green and yellow.

Peter Gainsford maintains that the association between eggs and Easter most likely arose in western Europe during the Middle Ages as a result of the fact that Catholic Christians were prohibited from eating eggs during Lent, but were allowed to eat them when Easter arrived.

Influential 19th century folklorist and philologist Jacob Grimm speculates, in the second volume of his Deutsche Mythologie, that the folk custom of Easter eggs among the continental Germanic peoples may have stemmed from springtime festivities of a Germanic goddess known in Old English as Ēostre (namesake of modern English Easter) and possibly known in Old High German as *Ostara (and thus namesake of Modern German {{Lang|de|Ostern}} 'Easter'). However, despite Grimm's speculation, there is no evidence to connect eggs with a speculative deity named Ostara. The use of eggs as favors or treats at Easter originated when they were prohibited during Lent.{{cite web |last1=Gainsford |first1=Peter |date=26 March 2018 |title=Easter and paganism. Part 2 |url=http://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2018/03/easter-and-paganism-2.html |website=Kiwi Hellenist |access-date=28 November 2019 |archive-date=28 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128050656/http://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2018/03/easter-and-paganism-2.html |url-status=live }} A common practice in England in the medieval period was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast.{{Cite web |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/beyond-ishtar-the-tradition-of-eggs-at-easter/ |title=Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter |last=D'Costa |first=Krystal |website=Scientific American |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328170422/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/beyond-ishtar-the-tradition-of-eggs-at-easter/ |archive-date=28 March 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2018}}

Although one of the Christian traditions are to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jelly beans; as many people give up sweets as their Lenten sacrifice, individuals enjoy them at Easter after having abstained from them during the preceding forty days of Lent.{{cite book |last1=Shoda |first1=Richard W. |title=Saint Alphonsus: Capuchins, Closures, and Continuity (1956-2011) |date=2014 |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |isbn=978-1-4349-2948-8 |page=128 |language=en}} These eggs can be hidden for children to find on Easter morning, which may be left by the Easter Bunny. They may also be put in a basket filled with real or artificial straw to resemble a bird's nest.

While the practice of giving away easter eggs is, to this day, popular, it was briefly banned in 1916s Hungary in the Easter Egg Act, due to the scarcity caused by the ongoing war, and the ban was only lifted when the war ended. The contemporary news reports emphasised however, that the locsolás was still legal to practice.[//ripost.hu/eletmodi/2021/04/tiltott-tojasfestes-budapest-1917 https://ripost.hu/eletmodi/2021/04/tiltott-tojasfestes-budapest-1917], Előkerült az a budapesti rendelet, ami betiltja a húsvéti tojásfestést - Ripost

{{Main|Egg decorating||Pisanica (Croatian)|Pysanka|Święconka}}

File:Uskršnja košarica2.jpg]]

File:Święcone2007.jpg]]

File:Pasxalina abga.jpg

The Easter egg tradition may also have merged into the celebration of the end of the privations of Lent. Traditionally, eggs are among the foods forbidden on fast days, including all of Lent, an observance which continues among the Eastern Christian Churches but has fallen into disuse in Western Christianity.

Historically, it has been traditional to use up all of the household's eggs before Lent began.

This established the tradition of Pancake Day being celebrated on Shrove Tuesday. This day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins, is also known as Mardi Gras, a French phrase which translates as "Fat Tuesday" to mark the last consumption of eggs and dairy before Lent begins.

In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, rather than Wednesday, so the household's dairy products would be used up in the preceding week, called Cheesefare Week.

File:Mico de Pascua (Torreblanca, Castellón).jpg with chocolate or natural boiled eggs]]

During Lent, since chickens would not stop producing eggs during this time, a larger than usual store might be available at the end of the fast. This surplus, if any, had to be eaten quickly to prevent spoiling. Then, with the coming of Easter, the eating of eggs resumes. Some families cook a special meatloaf with eggs in it to be eaten with the Easter dinner.

To avoid waste, it was common for families to hard boil or pickle eggs that their chickens produced during lent, and for this reason the Spanish dish hornazo (traditionally eaten on and around Easter) contains hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. In Spain it is common for godparents to give a Easter mona to their godchildren during Easter period.

In Hungary, eggs are used sliced in potato casseroles around the Easter period.

Some Christians symbolically link the cracking open of Easter eggs with the empty tomb of Jesus.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/12170383/When-is-Easter-2016-What-are-the-dates-for-Good-Friday-Easter-Sunday-and-Easter-Monday.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224015808/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/12170383/When-is-Easter-2016-What-are-the-dates-for-Good-Friday-Easter-Sunday-and-Easter-Monday.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2016|title=When is Easter 2016? What are the dates for Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday|last=Allen|first=Emily|date=25 December 2016|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|language=en|access-date=26 February 2016|quote=Eggs illustrate new life, just as Jesus began his new life on East Sunday after the miracle of his resurrection. When eggs are cracked open they are said to symbolise an empty tomb.}}

In the Orthodox churches, Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal Vigil (which is equivalent to Holy Saturday), and distributed to the faithful. The egg is seen by followers of Christianity as a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.

Similarly, in the Roman Catholic Church in Poland, the so-called święconka, i.e. blessing of decorative baskets with a sampling of Easter eggs and other symbolic foods, is one of the most enduring and beloved Polish traditions on Holy Saturday.

During Paschaltide, in some traditions the Pascal greeting with the Easter egg is even extended to the deceased. On either the second Monday or Tuesday of Pascha, after a memorial service people bring blessed eggs to the cemetery and bring the joyous paschal greeting, "Christ has risen", to their beloved departed (see Radonitza).

In Greece, women traditionally dye the eggs with onion skins and vinegar on Thursday (also the day of Communion). These ceremonial eggs are known as kokkina avga. They also bake tsoureki for the Easter Sunday feast.{{cite web|url=http://www.dominiquesvillas.co.uk/en/blog/index.cfm/kalo-paska-happy-easter|title=Kalo Paska - Happy Easter|first=Natalie|last=Wagstaff|access-date=2014-12-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226123024/http://www.dominiquesvillas.co.uk/en/blog/index.cfm/kalo-paska-happy-easter|archive-date=2014-12-26|url-status=dead}} Red Easter eggs are sometimes served along the centerline of tsoureki (braided loaf of bread).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/todays-recipe-from-our-files-greek-easter-bread-tsoueki/article_847cc875-8028-5b32-a1eb-f57c036f0f3e.html|title=Today's Recipe from Our Files: Greek Easter bread, Tsoueki|first=Judy|last=Walker|website=NOLA.com|date=7 April 2014 |accessdate=18 December 2022|archive-date=18 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218102232/https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/todays-recipe-from-our-files-greek-easter-bread-tsoueki/article_847cc875-8028-5b32-a1eb-f57c036f0f3e.html|url-status=live}}Red and Butter, Martha Stewart magazine

In Egypt, it is a tradition to decorate boiled eggs during Sham el-Nessim holiday, which falls every year after the Eastern Christian Easter.

Coincidentally, every Passover, Jews place a hard-boiled egg on the Passover ceremonial plate, and the celebrants also eat hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt water as part of the ceremony.

File:Ostereier - Easter eggs.jpg

File:Urządzenie podgrzewające kolorowy wosk do malowania pisanek - detal.jpg

The dyeing of Easter eggs in different colours is commonplace, with colour being achieved through boiling the egg in natural substances (such as, onion peel (brown colour), oak or alder bark or walnut nutshell (black), beet juice (pink) etc.), or using artificial colourings.

A greater variety of colour was often provided by tying on the onion skin with different coloured woollen yarn. In the North of England these are called pace-eggs or paste-eggs, from a dialectal form of Middle English pasche. King Edward I's household accounts in 1290 list an item of 'one shilling and sixpence for the decoration and distribution of 450 Pace-eggs!',{{Cite web|title=Pace Egging|url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pace-Egging/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Historic UK|language=en-GB |first1=Ellen |last1=Castelow |date=23 May 2015 |archive-date=2021-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123012457/https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pace-Egging/|url-status=live}} which were to be coloured or gilded and given to members of the royal household. Traditionally in England, eggs were wrapped in onion skins and boiled to make their shells look like mottled gold, or wrapped in flowers and leaves first in order to leave a pattern, which parallels a custom practised in traditional Scandinavian culture.{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=Stephanie|date=2017-04-06|title=The Ancient Art of Decorating Eggs {{!}} Folklife Today|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2017/04/decorating-eggs/#:~:text=In%20some%20regions%20solid-color,a%20symbol%20of%20Christ's%20blood.|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Library of Congress Blogs |archive-date=2021-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321154425/https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2017/04/decorating-eggs/#:~:text=In%20some%20regions%20solid-color,a%20symbol%20of%20Christ's%20blood.|url-status=live}} Eggs could also be drawn on with a wax candle before staining, often with a person's name and date on the egg.{{Cite web|title=The history behind the Easter pace eggs at York's Castle Museum |first1=Stephen |last1=Lewis |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18371517.history-behind-easter-pace-eggs-yorks-castle-museum/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=York Press|date=11 April 2020 |language=en|archive-date=2021-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404095238/https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/18371517.history-behind-easter-pace-eggs-yorks-castle-museum/|url-status=live}} Pace Eggs were generally eaten for breakfast on Easter Sunday breakfast. Alternatively, they could be kept as decorations, used in egg-jarping (egg tapping) games, or given to Pace Eggers. In more recent centuries in England, eggs have been stained with coffee grains or simply boiled and painted in their shells.{{Cite web|title=Pace Egging: A Lancashire Tradition|url=https://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/history/pace-egging.shtml|access-date=2021-02-16|website=TimeTravel-Britain.com |first1=John |last1=Ravenscroft |archive-date=2021-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211060954/https://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/history/pace-egging.shtml|url-status=live}}

In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, with further symbolism being found in the hard shell of the egg symbolizing the sealed Tomb of Christ—the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead. The tradition of red easter eggs was used by the Russian Orthodox Church.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tripsavvy.com/red-in-russian-culture-1502319|title=In Russia the Color Red Represents More Than You Know|website=TripSavvy |first1=Kerry |last1=Kubilius |date=June 3, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-19|archive-date=2019-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329074523/https://www.tripsavvy.com/red-in-russian-culture-1502319|url-status=live}} The tradition to dyeing the easter eggs in an Onion tone exists in the cultures of Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Czechia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Israel.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-with-onion-skins-holiday-projects-from-the-kitchn-217489|title=How To Dye Easter Eggs with Onion Skins|website=Kitchn|language=en |first1=Coco |last1=Morante |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-19|archive-date=2019-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329075912/https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-with-onion-skins-holiday-projects-from-the-kitchn-217489|url-status=live}} The colour is made by boiling onion peel in water.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/327928-how-to-paint-easter-eggs|title=How to paint Easter eggs with onion, coffee and beets (PHOTOS)|last=Sorokina|first=Anna|date=2018-03-29|website=Russia Beyond |language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-19|archive-date=2019-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329074427/https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/327928-how-to-paint-easter-eggs|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastbook.eu/en/2015/03/28/the-easter-tradititons-in-belarus/|title=The Easter Traditions in Belarus|last1= Forman |first1=Daria |date=2015-03-28|website=Eastbook.eu|language=en-US |access-date=2019-03-19 |archive-date=2019-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329074423/https://www.eastbook.eu/en/2015/03/28/the-easter-tradititons-in-belarus/|url-status=usurped}}

When boiling them with onion skins, leaves can be attached prior to dyeing to create leaf patterns. The leaves are attached to the eggs before they are dyed with a transparent cloth to wrap the eggs with like inexpensive muslin or nylon stockings, leaving patterns once the leaves are removed after the dyeing process.{{cite web|url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally-without-a-box-onion-skins-beets-cabbage.html|title=How to Dye Easter eggs naturally without a box onion skins beets cabbage|publisher=Serious Eats |first1=Blake |last1=Royer |date=April 30, 2023 |access-date=|archive-date=2014-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214143021/http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-naturally-without-a-box-onion-skins-beets-cabbage.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/03/19/natural-easter-eggs-3-ways/|title=Natural Easter Eggs 3 Ways! |date=20 March 2013|publisher=Natasha's Kitchen |access-date=|archive-date=24 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024082512/http://natashaskitchen.com/2013/03/19/natural-easter-eggs-3-ways/|url-status=live}} These eggs are part of Easter custom in many areas and often accompany other traditional Easter foods. Passover haminados are prepared with similar methods.

PysankyCulture – Pysanky, [http://www.ukrainiandirectory.org/index.htm Ukrainian International Directory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920211238/http://ukrainiandirectory.org/index.htm |date=2021-09-20 }} are Ukrainian Easter eggs, decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method. The word comes from the verb pysaty, "to write", as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax. Lithuanians create intricately detailed margučiai using a hot wax application and dipping method, and also by dipping the eggs first and then etching designs into the shells.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-03 |title=Velykos Traditions |url=https://lithuanianmha.org/holiday-traditions/velykos/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Filadelfijos Lietuvių Namai |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530152627/https://lithuanianmha.org/holiday-traditions/velykos/ |url-status=dead }}

Decorating eggs for Easter using wax resistant batik is a popular method in some other eastern European countries.

In some Mediterranean countries, especially in Lebanon, chicken eggs are boiled and decorated by dye and/or painting and used as decoration{{Cite web|title=Osterdeko - fünf Ideen rund um das Osterei {{!}} Anton Doll Holzmanufaktur|url=https://www.antondoll.de/blog/osterdeko-fuenf-ideen-rund-um-das-osterei|access-date=2020-08-18|website=www.antondoll.de|archive-date=2020-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813060509/https://www.antondoll.de/blog/osterdeko-fuenf-ideen-rund-um-das-osterei|url-status=live}} around the house. Then, on Easter Day, young kids would duel with them saying "Christ is resurrected, Indeed, He is", breaking and eating them. This also happens in Georgia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. In Easter Sunday friends and family hit each other's egg with their own. The one whose egg does not break is believed to be in for good luck in the future.

In Germany, eggs decorate trees and bushes as Easter egg trees, and in several areas public wells as Osterbrunnen.

There used to be a custom in Ukraine, during Easter celebrations to have krashanky on a table in a bowl with wheatgrass. The number of the krashanky equalled the number of departed family members.Yakovenko, Svitlana 2017, “The Magical Dyed Egg – Krashanka” in [http://sovabooks.com.au/the-book-about-ukrainian-easter/ Traditional Velykden: Ukrainian Easter Recipes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326225539/http://sovabooks.com.au/the-book-about-ukrainian-easter/ |date=2017-03-26 }}, Sova Books, Sydney

File:Pysanky2011.JPG|Ukrainian Easter eggs

File:Sorbische Ostereier.jpg|Easter eggs from Sorbs

File:Marguciai2. 2007-04-21.jpg|Easter eggs from Lithuania

File:Sleepingbeauty.jpg|Perforated egg from Germany, Sleeping Beauty

File:Egg dekorerte.jpg|Norwegian Easter eggs

File:Ostereier-Griechenland.JPG|Easter eggs from Greece

File:Pisanki ażurowe.jpg|Perforated eggs

File:Oeuf de paque.JPG|Easter eggs from France

File:White House Easter Egg Roll.jpg|American Easter egg from the White House Washington, D.C.

File:Oeufs.jpg|Pace eggs boiled with onion skins and leaf patterns.

File:Red and blue Easter eggs.jpg|Easter eggs decorated with straw

File:04 Easter eggs at a Cultural Miner's House in Sanok.JPG|Easter egg from Poland

File:Washi Egg Japan US 2.png|Washi egg from Japan

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File:Easter Egg Hunt (5623253840).jpg]]

An egg hunt is a game in which decorated eggs, which may be hard-boiled chicken eggs, chocolate eggs, or artificial eggs containing candies, are hidden for children to find. The eggs often vary in size, and may be hidden both indoors and outdoors.{{cite book| author= A. Munsey Pu Frank a. Munsey Publishers| title= The Puritan April to September 1900| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yWRr8MnGI7EC&pg=PA119| date= March 2005| publisher= Kessinger Publishing| isbn= 978-1-4191-7421-6| page= 119}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} When the hunt is over, prizes may be given for the largest number of eggs collected, or for the largest or the smallest egg.

Some Central European nations (Czechs, Slovaks, etc.) have a tradition of men gathering eggs from women in return for whipping them with an easter whip and splashing them with water. The ritual is traditionally believed to preserve the women's health and beauty.

Cascarones, a Latin American tradition now shared by many US States with high Hispanic demographics, are emptied and dried chicken eggs stuffed with confetti and sealed with a piece of tissue paper. The eggs are hidden in a similar tradition to the American Easter egg hunt and when found the children (and adults) break them over each other's heads.

In order to enable children to take part in egg hunts despite visual impairment, eggs have been created that emit various clicks, beeps, noises, or music so that visually impaired children can easily hunt for Easter eggs.{{cite news |last= Tillery |first= Carolyn |title= Annual Dallas Easter egg hunt for blind children scheduled for Thursday |work= The Dallas Morning News |date= 2008-03-15 |url= http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-elfocus_15met.ART.North.Edition1.462ecab.html |access-date= 2008-03-27 |archive-date= 2008-03-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080319015005/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-elfocus_15met.ART.North.Edition1.462ecab.html |url-status= dead }}

Egg rolling is also a traditional Easter Egg game played with eggs at Easter. In the United Kingdom, Germany, and other countries children traditionally rolled eggs down hillsides at Easter.{{cite web |url=http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/easter_2.htm |title=Easter Eggs - Egg Rolling |publisher=Inventors.about.com |date=2012-04-09 |access-date=2012-09-24|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713182412/http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/easter_2.htm|archive-date=13 July 2012}} This tradition was taken to the New World by European settlers,{{cite web|url=http://www.wyrdology.com/festivals/easter/egg-rolling.html|title=Easter Eggs: their origins, tradition and symbolism|publisher=Wyrdology.com|access-date=2008-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517013408/http://www.wyrdology.com/festivals/easter/egg-rolling.html|archive-date=2008-05-17|url-status=dead}} and continues to this day each Easter with an Easter egg roll on the White House lawn. Rutherford B. Hayes started the tradition of the Easter Egg Roll at the White House.{{Cite web |url=https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/WH/glimpse/Easter/ |title=History of the White House Easter Egg Roll |access-date=2022-11-20 |archive-date=2022-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120173831/https://clintonwhitehouse3.archives.gov/WH/glimpse/Easter/ |url-status=live }} The Easter Monday Egg Roll was normally held at the United States Capitol, however, by the mid-1870s, Congress passed a law forbidding the Capitol's grounds to be used for the activity due to the toll it was taking on the landscape. The law was enforced in 1877, but the rain that year canceled all outdoor activities. In 1878, Hayes was approached by many young Easter Egg rollers who asked for the event to be held at the White House. He invited any children who wanted to roll eggs to come to the White House in order to do so. The tradition still occurs every year on the South Lawn of the White House. Now, there are many other games and activities that take place such as "Egg Picking" and "Egg Ball". Different nations have different versions of the Easter Egg roll game.

File:Eierkippen.jpg

In the North of England, during Eastertide, a traditional game is played where hard boiled pace eggs are distributed and each player hits the other player's egg with their own. This is known as "egg tapping", "egg dumping", or "egg jarping". The winner is the holder of the last intact egg. The annual egg jarping world championship is held every year over Easter in Peterlee, Durham.{{cite news |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Pamela |title=Egg jarping: when hard-boiled eggs come to blows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2012/apr/08/egg-jarping-hardboiled-eggs-blows |access-date=14 June 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=8 April 2012 |archive-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028185901/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2012/apr/08/egg-jarping-hardboiled-eggs-blows |url-status=live }}

It is also practiced in Italy (where it is called scuccetta), Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia (where it is called turčanje or trkanje), Ukraine, Russia, and other countries. In parts of Austria, Bavaria and German-speaking Switzerland it is called Ostereiertitschen or Eierpecken. In parts of Europe it is also called epper, presumably from the German name {{Lang|de|Opfer}}, meaning "offering" and in Greece it is known as tsougrisma. In South Louisiana, this practice is called pocking eggs{{cite web|title=Pocking eggs or la toquette|date=17 March 2008|url=http://creolecajun.blogspot.com/2008/03/pocking-eggs-or-la-toquette.html|publisher=Creolecajun.blogspot.com|access-date=2008-03-20|archive-date=2011-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716180103/http://creolecajun.blogspot.com/2008/03/pocking-eggs-or-la-toquette.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=If Your Eggs Are Cracked, Please Step Down: Easter Egg Knocking in Marksville |url=http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/creole_art_egg_knocking.html |access-date=2008-03-20 |archive-date=2017-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316053553/http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/creole_art_egg_knocking.html |url-status=live }} and is slightly different. The Louisiana Creoles hold that the winner eats the eggs of the losers in each round.

In the Greek Orthodox tradition, red eggs are also cracked together when people exchange Easter greetings.

Egg dance is a traditional Easter game in which eggs are laid on the ground or floor and the goal is to dance among them without damaging any eggs{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/eggateasterfolkl00newa|url-access=registration|title=An egg at Easter: a folklore study|publisher=Routledge & K. Paul|year=1971|isbn=978-0-7100-6845-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/eggateasterfolkl00newa/page/344 344]|author=Venetia Newall}} which originated in Germany.

The Pace Egg plays are traditional village plays, with a rebirth theme. The drama takes the form of a combat between the hero and villain, in which the hero is killed and brought back to life. The plays take place in England during Easter.File:Osterstrauss 08.jpg

Chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in Versailles and in 1725 the widow Giambone in Turin started producing chocolate eggs by filling empty chicken egg shells with molten chocolate.{{cite journal |last1=Caramia |first1=G |last2=Degl'Innocenti |first2=D |last3=Mozzon |first3=M |last4=Pacetti |first4=D |last5=Frega |first5=NG |title=[The role of eggs in the diet: nutraceutical and epigenetic aspects]. |journal=La Pediatria Medica e Chirurgica: Medical and Surgical Pediatrics |year=2012 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=53–64 |doi=10.4081/pmc.2012.1 |pmid=22730629 |doi-access=free }} In 1873, J.S. Fry & Sons produced the first hollow chocolate egg making a smooth paste that could be poured into egg moulds.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-09 |title=How the hollow chocolate Easter egg was produced |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-65190254 |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=The history of the first chocolate egg |date=8 April 2020 |url=https://prestonparkmuseum.co.uk/the-story-behind-the-uks-first-chocolate-egg/}} Manufacturing their first Easter egg in 1875, Cadbury created the modern chocolate Easter egg after developing a pure cocoa butter that could be moulded into smooth shapes.{{cite news |title=Amazing archive images show how Cadbury cracked Easter egg market |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/easter-2015-amazing-archive-images-8963621 |access-date=21 May 2019 |work=Birmingham Mail |archive-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809002239/https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/easter-2015-amazing-archive-images-8963621 |url-status=live }}

In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone. Formerly, the containers Easter eggs were sold in contained large amounts of plastic, although in the United Kingdom this has gradually been replaced with recyclable paper and cardboard.{{cite web|url=http://www.wasteconnect.co.uk/page.aspx?ID=36d6a9bc-a62a-4809-98cf-49dae76f2626|title=The End of Egg-cessive Easter Waste??|publisher=Waste connect|access-date=15 April 2014|archive-date=16 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416183045/http://www.wasteconnect.co.uk/page.aspx?ID=36d6a9bc-a62a-4809-98cf-49dae76f2626|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Steven |date=2023-03-22 |title=Easter eggs with highest and lowest calorie counts compared |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/easter-eggs-highest-lowest-calorie-26530201 |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Wales Online |language=en}}

In Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay,{{cite web |url=https://www.telemetro.com/2016/2016/03/20/paises-comen-huevos-chocolate-pascua/1509794.html |title=¿Por qué en otros países se comen huevos de chocolate en Pascua? |date=20 March 2016 }} hollow chocolate eggs known as {{Lang|pt|Ovos de Páscoa}} or {{Lang|es|Huevos de Páscua}} (Easter eggs) are popular and are commonly sold around Easter in supermarkets.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-31 |title=Ovos de Páscoa: que países têm essa tradição e como eles comemoram a data |trans-title=Easter eggs: which countries have this tradition and how they celebrate the date |url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/comida/2023/03/ovos-de-pascoa-que-paises-tem-essa-tradicao-e-como-eles-comemoram-a-data.shtml |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Folha de S.Paulo |language=pt-BR}}{{Cite web |date=2023-04-06 |title=Saiba como surgiu a tradição de pendurar ovos de páscoa em lojas |trans-title=Find out how the tradition of hanging Easter eggs in stores came about |url=https://istoedinheiro.com.br/saiba-como-surgiu-a-tradicao-de-pendurar-ovos-de-pascoa-em-lojas/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=IstoÉ Dinheiro |language=pt-br}} Variations of this dessert containing fillings such as pistachio cream, hazelnut cream, {{Lang|pt|furrundu}}{{Cite web |date=6 April 2020 |title=Confeiteira faz ovos de Páscoa com recheios de doces típicos da culinária cuiabana |trans-title=Confectioner makes Easter eggs filled with typical sweets from Cuiabá cuisine |url=https://g1.globo.com/mt/mato-grosso/noticia/2020/04/06/confeiteira-faz-ovos-de-pascoa-com-recheios-de-doces-tipicos-da-culinaria-cuiabana.ghtml |access-date=29 May 2024 |website=G1 |language=pt-br}} or doce de leite, are known as {{Lang|pt|Ovos de Páscoa de colher}} (Spoon Easter eggs) or {{Lang|pt|Ovos de colher}} (Spoon eggs).{{Cite web |date=2024-02-29 |title=Bacio di Latte cria ovo de pistacchio, exclusivo para a Páscoa |trans-title=Bacio di Latte creates exclusive pistachio egg for Easter |url=https://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/saideira/post/2024/02/bacio-di-latte-cria-ovo-de-pistacchio-exclusivo-para-a-pascoa.ghtml |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=O Globo |language=pt-br}}{{Cite web |title=Sodiê Doces lança oito sabores de ovo de colher para a Páscoa |trans-title=Sodiê Doces launches eight flavors of spoon egg for Easter |url=https://campinas.com.br/agenda/sodie-doces-lanca-oito-sabores-de-ovo-de-colher-para-a-pascoa/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Campinas.com.br |language=pt-br}}{{Cite web |date=2023-03-30 |title=Ovo de Páscoa é mesmo 'melhor' que barras, e receita 'de colher' só existe no Brasil |trans-title=Easter egg is even 'better' than bars, and 'spoon' recipe only exists in Brazil |url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folhinha/2023/03/ovo-de-pascoa-e-mesmo-melhor-que-barras-e-receita-de-colher-so-existe-no-brasil.shtml |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Folha de S.Paulo |language=pt-BR}}{{Cite web |last=Rolim |first=Laura |date=2024-02-26 |title=Ovo de chocolate tradicional ou de colher? Veja como o comércio se prepara para as vendas de Páscoa |trans-title=Traditional chocolate egg or spoon? See how retailers are preparing for Easter sales |url=https://www.abcmais.com/brasil/rio-grande-do-sul/vale-do-rio-dos-sinos/novo-hamburgo/ovo-de-chocolate-tradicional-ou-de-colher-veja-como-o-comercio-se-prepara-para-as-vendas-de-pascoa/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=abc+ |language=pt-br}}

File:Chocolate egg.jpg|Hollow chocolate Easter egg

File:Easter-Chocolate-egg-bunny.jpg|Chocolate Easter egg bunny

File:Easter egg with candy.jpg|Easter egg with candy

File:Gladys as a Chocolate Easter Bunny.jpg|Gladys as a Chocolate Easter Bunny with Easter eggs

File:Ovos de Páscoa 2.jpg|Brazilian {{Lang|pt|Ovos de Páscoa}} for sale in a supermarket

In the Indian state of Goa, the Goan Catholic version of marzipan is used to make easter eggs. In the Philippines, mazapán de pili (Spanish for "pili marzipan") is made from pili nuts.

File:Marzipan easter eggs.jpg|Marzipan easter eggs

The jewelled Easter eggs made by the Fabergé firm for the two last Russian Tsars are regarded as masterpieces of decorative arts. Most of these creations themselves contained hidden surprises such as clock-work birds, or miniature ships.

In Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and other Central European countries' folk traditions, Easter eggs are carved from wood and hand-painted, and making artificial eggs out of porcelain for ladies is common.Anderson, F.L.M., 1864, Seven Months' Residence in Russian Poland in 1868, London:Macmillan and Co.{{rp|45}}

Easter eggs are frequently depicted in sculpture, including a {{convert|27|ft|m|0|order=flip|adj=mid}} sculpture of a pysanka standing in Vegreville, Alberta.

File:Fabergé egg Rome 05.JPG|Fabergé egg

File:Huevo de chocolate en Bariloche (Argentina).jpg|Giant easter egg, Bariloche, Argentina

File:Vegreville Pysanka.jpg|Giant pysanka from Vegreville, Alberta, Canada

File:Zagrebacko uskrsnje jaje 4 050409.jpg|Giant easter egg or pisanica in Zagreb, Croatia

File:Easter egg sculpture in Gogolin 2014 P01.JPG|Easter egg sculpture in Gogolin, Poland

File:Oul uriaş din Suceava2.jpg|Giant easter egg in Suceava, Romania

File:Vasnetsov Maria Magdalene.JPG, 1899 by Viktor M. Vasnetsov, depicted as one of the Myrrhbearers]]

While the origin of Easter eggs can be explained in the symbolic terms described above, among followers of Eastern Christianity the legend says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned bright red when she saw the risen Christ.{{cite web |url=http://www.melkite.org/Lent.htm |title=Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week |publisher=Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton |access-date=2012-09-24 |archive-date=2012-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122031726/http://www.melkite.org/lent.htm |url-status=dead }}

A different, but not necessarily conflicting legend concerns Mary Magdalene's efforts to spread the Gospel. According to this tradition, after the Ascension of Jesus, Mary went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kBGKYE26y50C&q=egg+turned+red&pg=PA167|title= Leap|publisher= Random House Digital, Inc.|author= Terry Tempest Williams|quote= After the Ascension, she travelled to Rome and was granted entrance to the court of Tiberius Caesar. At dinner, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. He did not understand. To explain, Mary Magdalene picked up an egg from the table. Caesar responded by saying that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red.|date= September 18, 2001|isbn= 9780679752578|access-date= 7 April 2012|archive-date= 9 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152425/https://books.google.com/books?id=kBGKYE26y50C&q=egg+turned+red&pg=PA167|url-status= live}}{{cite book |last1=Newall |first1=Venetia |title=An egg at Easter: a folklore study |date=1971 |page=216 |publisher=Routledge & K. Paul |isbn=9780710068453 |url=https://archive.org/details/eggateasterfolkl00newa/page/216|quote=In Russian tradition an egg, which she held in her hand, turned red, as a proof of the Resurrection. }}

Red Easter eggs, known as {{Transliteration|el|kokkina avga}} ({{Lang|el|κόκκινα αυγά}}) in Greece and krashanki in Ukraine, are an Easter tradition and a distinct type of Easter egg prepared by various Orthodox Christian peoples.[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/orthodixie/2006/04/red-eggs-at-pascha-easter.html Red eggs at Pascha Easter]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405112224/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/orthodixie/2006/04/red-eggs-at-pascha-easter.html|date=2018-04-05}} he Most Useful KNOWLEDGE for the Orthodox Russian-American Young People,” compiled by the Very Rev’d Peter G. Kohanik, 1932-1934.{{Cite web|url=http://stdgocunion.org/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221072635/http://www.stdgocunion.org/easteregg.html|url-status=dead|title=Easter EGG|archivedate=21 December 2014|website=stdgocunion.org|accessdate=18 December 2022}}{{cite web|url=http://greekfood.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/easter.htm|title=Your Guide to the Food and Traditions of Greek Orthodox Easter|access-date=2014-12-10|archive-date=2016-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013053357/http://greekfood.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/easter.htm|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/questions/liturgicalyear/red-easter-eggs|title=Red Easter Eggs - Questions & Answers|website=www.oca.org|accessdate=18 December 2022|archive-date=18 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218102233/https://www.oca.org/questions/liturgicalyear/red-easter-eggs|url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Stephen |title=With the Russian pilgrims to Jerusalem |date=1905 |page=245 |publisher=T. Nelson |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435064816259&view=1up&seq=249 |access-date=2021-04-09 |archive-date=2021-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514024254/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435064816259&view=1up&seq=249 |url-status=live }} The red eggs are part of Easter custom in many areas and often accompany other traditional Easter foods. Passover haminados are prepared with similar methods.

Dark red eggs are a tradition in Greece and represent the blood of Christ shed on the cross.[http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekcookingtips/ht/redeggs.htm Red eggs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213102043/https://www.thespruceeats.com/dye-red-eggs-greek-easter-1705690 |date=2021-02-13 }} About.com The practice dates to the early Christian church in Mesopotamia.

In Greece, superstitions of the past included the custom of placing the first-dyed red egg at the home's iconostasis (place where icons are displayed) to ward off evil. The heads and backs of small lambs were also marked with the red dye to protect them.

File:Noruz1387.jpg]]

The egg is widely used as a symbol of the start of new life, just as new life emerges from an egg when the chick hatches out.

Painted eggs are used at the Iranian spring holidays, the Nowruz that marks the first day of spring or Equinox, and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The painted eggs symbolize fertility and are displayed on the Nowruz table, called Haft-Seen together with various other symbolic objects. There are sometimes one egg for each member of the family. The ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs for Nowruz, their New Year celebration, which falls on the Spring equinox. The tradition continues among Persians of Islamic, Zoroastrian, and other faiths today.{{Cite news|url=https://theotheriran.com/2016/03/26/photos-painted-eggs-across-tehran/|title=Photos: Painted eggs across Tehran|date=2016-03-26|work=The other Iran|access-date=2018-04-02|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401210159/https://theotheriran.com/2016/03/26/photos-painted-eggs-across-tehran/|url-status=live}} The Nowruz tradition has existed for at least 2,500 years. The sculptures on the walls of Persepolis show people carrying eggs for Nowruz to the king.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

The Neopagan holiday of Ostara occurs at roughly the same time as Easter. While it is often claimed that the use of painted eggs is an ancient, pre-Christian component of the celebration of Ostara, there are no historical accounts that ancient celebrations included this practice, apart from the Old High German lullaby which is believed by most to be a modern fabrication. Rather, the use of painted eggs has been adopted under the assumption that it might be a pre-Christian survival. In fact, modern scholarship has been unable to trace any association between eggs and a supposed goddess named Ostara before the 19th century, when early folklorists began to speculate about the possibility.Winick, Stephen. [https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/04/ostara-and-the-hare/ Ostara and the Hare: Not Ancient, but Not As Modern As Some Skeptics Think] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508135124/https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/04/ostara-and-the-hare/ |date=2019-05-08 }}. Folklife Today, 28 Apr 2016. Accessed 8 May 2019 at https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/04/ostara-and-the-hare/

There are good grounds for the association between hares (later termed Easter bunnies) and bird eggs, through folklore confusion between hares' forms (where they raise their young) and plovers' nests.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A18190677|publisher=BBC.com|title=H2g2 - The Easter Bunny|access-date=2012-09-24|archive-date=2010-11-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106113755/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A18190677|url-status=live}}

In Judaism, a hard-boiled egg is an element of the Passover Seder, representing festival sacrifice. The children's game of hunting for the afikomen (a half-piece of matzo) has similarities to the Easter egg hunt tradition, by which the child who finds the hidden matzah will be awarded a prize. In other homes, the children hide the afikoman and a parent must look for it; when the parents give up, the children demand a prize for revealing its location.

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Balut
• Century egg
• Chinese red eggs
• Cascarón
• Easter Bilby
• Egg decorating in Slavic culture
• Festum Ovorum
• Kinder Surprise
• List of egg dishes
• List of foods with religious symbolism
• Resurrection of Jesus
• Salted duck egg
• Sham El Nessim
• Smoked egg
• Tea egg
• Vegreville egg
• Washi eggs

{{div col end}}

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Category:Christianity and religious syncretism

Category:Easter Bunny