Easter eggs
Easter is one of the festivals that are celebrated by the Christians. This is a festival that symbolizes the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Holy Bible, Jesus died and resurrected on the third day. Jesus broke the pangs of death and rose again on the third day so the day is celebrated as Easter. Jesus came to this world as an unblemished lamb to die for the sins of all the people in this world. In olden days, people used to give sacrifice an unblemished lamb to cleanse their sins. As the time passed by, people stopped worshipping the god and worshipped man made idols.
God loved the people so much, that he sent his only son, Jesus to this world as an unblemished lamb to save the lost people and show them the right way. Easter is celebrated by the Christians, with Easter cakes, Easter eggs, Easter service and Easter feast etc. Easter candles and Easter crafts and decorated Easter eggs are also available to decorate the houses during Easter. All the families will get together during this festival. Families will have a very joyous time and spend their time with their family members. On Easter, people wish each other by saying “Christ is risen” for which other should reply “Yes he is”.
Easter
This festival is called as Easter from the 2nd century. The missionaries, who preach the gospel of Jesus Christ visited northern parts of Germany to preach the gospel. Many people of the tribes accepted Jesus as their god and worshipped him. These tribal people celebrate a Pagan festival during spring season to welcome the spring. They worship their goddess Eastre. The people who believed Jesus were not willing to worship and celebrate that festival and were punished severely by the tribal elders. So, the missionaries saw that the day the people celebrate the pagan festival was the same day that Jesus was resurrected and advised the people to celebrate the festival as Easter, symbolizing the re-birth of Jesus Christ. Thus, the name Easter came into existence.
The date of the festival varies from year to year as Easter is celebrated on the following Sunday to the ecclesiastic full moon day. According to this calculation, Easter falls in between 22nd of March and 25th of April.
Easter Eggs
Easter is well known for the Easter eggs. As Easter approaches, the first thing all the people remember are the Easter eggs. In all the symbols of Easter, Easter eggs play a vital role. It has become traditional to exchange Easter eggs with friends and relatives right from the time when Mary Magdalene met the king, presented him an egg and wished him “Christ is risen”. There are many kinds of Easter eggs, such as cherry nut Easter egg, chocolate covered Easter egg, coconut cream Easter egg, cream Easter egg, peanut butter Easter egg, Easter fruit and nut egg etc. These eggs are available in various shops and often made at home as Easter recipes. In these, chocolate egg recipe is a must demanded by the kids.
In some places, there are competitions held for the kids, decorating and coloring the Easter eggs. For the people who cannot see properly, beating eggs are invented which makes noise to indicate its presence and help the kids to find them. People decorate their houses with hand made painted Easter eggs. Bright colors are engraved welcoming the spring with its bright colors. The colors painted on Easter eggs indicate a particular reason. Red color resembles the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for the sake of all man kind. Green color resembles the holiness. Easter egg crafts are made in simple way. These can be done at home by just boiling an egg and fixing colored papers with water on it. Houses are decorated mostly by these eggs. Home made eggs are exchanged as a token of their good wishes, among friends and relatives sharing their love.
Celebrating with easter eggs
Parents in all the families get Easter eggs and hide it in their house. Next morning on the day of Easter all the children will search their houses for the Easter eggs and enjoy its taste. All the children will be happy to get more number of Easter eggs. Family members will enjoy the service in the morning and then have a great feast with delicious Easter eggs and cake. The importance of the Easter festival is indicated by the Easter eggs that will be decorated in every house. In some societies, eggs are hidden in the public places and a big competition is held, in which who ever gathers more eggs can get a prize. So, this festival helps to have a good relationship with Society too.
Easter eggs are also made in hollow forms in which various types of candies, chocolates are stuffed in it. Kids enjoy breaking these eggs and eat the delicious chocolates. Decorated eggs were in existence before Easter festival came into light. Easter eggs are also decorated with straw.
Decorating easter eggs
There are different ways of decorating an egg in various cultures and traditions. In Greece, an egg colored in crimson is used denoting blood of Jesus Christ. In most places of Germany, green eggs are used symbolizing the holiness of the day. The Indo- European families make their eggs in special prints in silver and gold color. The people in Austria decorate the egg with different ferns and some other plants and then boil it. After it is boiled, all the ferns and plants are removed which leaves a beautiful imprint on the eggs. Then the eggs are colored. There are pysanki eggs made in many parts of the world. These eggs are made by applying beetle wax on an egg and dipped in different colors. For each dip, a coating of wax is made. Thus there is a combination of different colors on the eggs.
In some places, the whole contents inside the eggs, is taken out and the shells are used to draw pictures and hanged to decorate the houses. The Romans celebrate Easter by playing some special egg games like Easter egg hunt and Easter egg roll. They have a competition, a running race on an oval ground and gifts of eggs are given to the winners.
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