Some people will also be painting regular eggs, making them look like chicks, bunnies, and other things synonymous with the holiday.
But where do these images and symbols come from, and why are they significant to Easter? Also, when is the best day to hand over your Easter eggs to your loved ones?
Here is what you need to know.
Why do we have Easter eggs?
To look at why we give Easter eggs we must first look at the meaning of the holiday itself. It’s a Christian festival celebrating when Jesus died on the cross but was resurrected to allow people to to have eternal life in heaven.
There is an Anglo-Saxon legend that tells of goddess Eostre that ties into why eggs are this symbol of new life.
Eostre found a bird that had been wounded and turned it into a hare so it would be able to survive the winter. Upon doing this, the hare realised it could lay eggs itself, and would decorate them during Springtime and offer them to the goddess who helped her.
Some believe that Easter eggs came about to show the new life that Christians believe Jesus gave, evolving on from the ancient tradition of the Saxons. This is likely also where the tale of the Easter Bunny came from.
Due to the fact some Christians fast over Easter (and use up all their eggs on Shrove Tuesday), it’s also thought that the giving of eggs signals the return to enjoying them and a follow-on from when folks would have to eat the surplus of eggs that chickens had laid around fasting time.
Initially, gifts given on Easter were painted bird’s eggs, but as chocolate became more common in the 20th, the ones we know today were developed.
When is the best time to give Easter eggs?
For many people, the fasting period of Lent finished on Maundy Thursday (April 6 in 2023. However, some churches will finish their Lenten period on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday (April 8 and 9).
Because of this, it’s best to give your eggs on Easter Sunday itself – just so you don’t wag chocolate in the face of someone who can’t eat it.
MORE : Are there any travel disruptions across Easter 2023 in London?
MORE : Are Easter eggs or chocolate bars cheaper? Tesco, Aldi and Sainsbury’s prices compared
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