14 April, 2022
Easter Eggs And How The Tradition Began
You can’t have Easter without chocolate easter eggs, so how did this tradition come about. There are many theories on the origin, so we thought we’d discuss some of them here.
According to the legend, followers of Eastern Christianity say Mary Magdalene brought cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus when the eggs she was carrying suddenly turned bright red when she saw the risen Christ.
Many sources attribute the Christian custom of Easter eggs to come from the adoption of a Persian tradition where they stained the eggs with red colouring as a memory of the blood of Christ shed at his crucifixion. It was officially adopted as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus around 1610 with the “Roman Ritual”.
The association between eggs and Easter is also believed by many to have risen in western Europe during the Middle Ages due to the fact Catholic Christians were not allowed to eat eggs during Lent but could eat them when Easter arrived. A common practice in England in medieval times was for kids to go door-knocking and beg for eggs on Saturday before Lent began. The eggs were handed out as special treats to kids prior to their fasting.
Eggs were also prized around Easter time as there were not many eggs produced during the wintertime. The lack of light in winter meant egg production would almost stop. In Spring, the hens would start laying again, so eggs were a prized possession, that at times were also used as currency to act as partial payments to people such as servants, parish clerks and even pastors.
So, where the heck does the Easter Bunny fit into all of this? The modern-day version comes from the Germanics in 17th-century folklore called Osterhase – a German egg-laying hare. The symbol of the rabbit is used because it has a close connection to its historical use as a symbol of fertility. For the Northern Hemisphere, Easter falls in spring, which is the time of rebirth and new life. It is when baby animals are born and flowers spring to life and start blooming.
Egg-shaped toys for kids at Easter started to be manufactured in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Victorians gifted satin and cardboard covered eggs at Easter which were also filled with gifts or chocolates. The more famous of the Easter eggs, though not edible, are the fabulous jewel-encrusted Faberge eggs made for the Russian Czar and Czarina in the 19th century.
The company credited with creating the modern-day chocolate Easter Egg is Cadburys in 1875. These, however, were not the first chocolate eggs. It has been reported that Louis XIV in Versailles had chocolate easter eggs in his court and in Turin in 1725 a widow Giambone started making chocolate easter eggs by filling empty chicken eggs with molten chocolate. In Britain, they were first introduced in 1873, but the true chocolate egg shape is attributed to Cadburys. This is because they were the first company to be able to separate cocoa butter from the cocoa bean. This meant they could then create moulded smooth shapes and the chocolate easter egg as we know it was born.
Whatever the origins, we just know Easter eggs are delicious to eat and are a proven winner when it comes to a promotional gift over Easter. There are many styles from larger single eggs, to packs of smaller chocolate eggs that come in bags with different types of branding. If you would like to use Easter eggs for the upcoming season maybe look through our yummy selection.
The Confectionery Only Team