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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe early Christians had to link up with something that was relevant and familiar in order to help their new religion get off the ground, so using familiar symbols helped to move their ministry forward and also provided a helpful tool for what they were trying to say. Both rabbits and eggs were pagan symbols of fertility and new life. Over time, eggs gained the representation of Jesus\u2019 emergence from the tomb. In the middle ages, it was forbidden to eat eggs during Lent, so once Easter arrived, the egg shells were painted to celebrate the end of this period and that Christ rose from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legend of an egg-laying, candy-giving bunny rabbit was born in Germany and the tradition didn\u2019t arrive in the United States until the first Germans immigrated to America in the 1700s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously we\u2019re all thinking about Ukraine this year, but while the tradition of dyeing eggs at Easter began as a religious practice, the custom of decorating those eggs comes from a Ukrainian craft dating back thousand of years. The eggs, called pysankas, are created using wax and dyes, a process Ukrainian immigrants brought with them to the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A co-worker of mine used to say that Orthodox Easter was later because then you get stuff cheaper, but Easter, and Orthodox Easter, is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal and new life \u2014 Happy Easter.
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Today is Easter, celebrating Jesus\u2019s resurrection \u2014 the foundation upon which Christianity was built. It\u2019s obviously one of the most important Christian holy days, and like most special days, it has its traditions, symbols and customs. Many historians believe that … Continue reading