Why do we eat eggs at Easter?

Has it ever crossed your mind when scoffing down those yummy chocolate eggs why it relates to Easter? Here we’ll crack into the history of Easter eggs and how it’s become a tradition – even though most of us haven’t got a clue why.

Before we look at why eggs are a symbol of Easter we’ll explain why it’s celebrated. On Good Friday Christians believe that Jesus was crucified so they could be forgiven for their sins and on Easter Sunday Jesus resurrected after his crucifixion.

You might be thinking what does a delicious chocolate egg have to do with Jesus? Throughout history, eggs have been used to symbolise rebirth and new life – just like Jesus coming back to life on Easter Sunday. The hard outer shell of an egg represents the tomb that Jesus buried in and the cracking of the shell represents Jesus’s victory of defeating death.

The Easter egg tradition also celebrates the end of Lent. Eggs were originally forbidden during Lent, however, nowadays Lent is normally when you give up something that you enjoy – such as chocolate. Chickens of course do not stop laying eggs during Lent so during this time they were hard-boiled and decorated into colours and patterns and were made into gifts.

Well similar to the egg symbolising new life, so do bunnies. They symbolise fertility, spring and new life as they produce many litters which are called kittens. Legend has it the Easter Bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs which are why children go Easter egg hunting.

So the Easter egg comes from mainly two main factors: Jesus’s crucifixion, resurrection and also Lent. At least now you’ll know why you’re munching down chocolate eggs this year.

We hope you have a lovely Easter and have hopefully a much more normal spring ahead!

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