I’ve always wondered what the deal was with Easter and eggs, and why eggs were chosen for celebrating this holiday. I love what South Park did with the thing about Easter and rabbits, and I still don’t quite understand the rabbit thing, unless they’re some symbol of springtime or something. But with eggs, I think I may have figured it out. I’ve heard it’s also to do with Pagan sites of spring, but I think it works so well for the resurrection of Jesus idea, I think it’s hard to believe it’s just a coincidence.
So what is it about eggs that make them such a good metaphor for the resurrection of Jesus? Well, for one thing, eggs represent the idea of rebirth really well, seeing as how they are laid from the bird first (a first birth of sorts), and then a baby bird is hatched from the egg afterwards (a second birth for the same creature). And then there’s something else: what hatches from an egg? (We will forget for the moment that snakes and lizards also hatch from eggs, as they’re not generally used in Easter egg hunts.) Well, a bird does. And what does a bird have? It has wings. And what is it about wings that makes them appropriate for symbolizing Jesus’s ascending to heaven? Well, angels have wings, and as such, they tend to symbolize divinity; also, they symbolize the ability to rise up, which is also known as ascending. And wings also symbolize a journey up into a new dimension, and a new life. So this is what I believe is behind the symbolism of eggs on Easter, at least as far as it relates to Christianity. (Plus, the whiteness of an egg could symbolize purity, and since a bird comes out of an egg, rather than out of another creature with a mess of placenta, it could also symbolize the immaculate conception.) But there are plenty of other traditions as well, from Pagan roots, to apocryphal oral traditions, etc., so take your pick! (I wonder if Pope Benedict serves Eggs Benedict for breakfast on Easter.)
Here’s the traditional explanation about Easter eggs:
