Easter egg

An Easter Egg is a colored, often painted with designs or decorated egg; usually a hard-boiled egg, which is traditionally given away or eaten at Easter.

Furthermore, not intended for human consumption decorative objects called Easter eggs, which are used as jewelry or in part as a gift during the Easter season. There are usually blown eggs, usually chicken eggs, or eggs of other materials such as cardboard, plaster, wood, natural stone or plastic. Depending on the purpose and type of material such eggs are mostly also colored, produced colored painted or dyed and usually with ornaments in a variety of ways. Also offered in large quantities and brightly wrapped chocolate eggs are Easter eggs.

Origins of the custom

The dyeing eggs for Easter is a widespread Christian tradition, which is known from Armenia to Russia, Greece, the Mediterranean through to Central Europe. In children's games, the brightly colored Easter eggs are coveted profits; on the morning of Easter Sunday the children can locate hidden Easter eggs.

The Christian Easter stems from the Jewish Passover. For Seder meal includes eggs, but no correlation between the egg at the Seder and Easter traditions is demonstrated.

The origin of the Christian custom of eggs is not known. It is thereby repeatedly pointed to the symbolic interpretation of the egg in the ancient world as well as in other cultures and religions. In the presence of colored eggs are found in the custom of Nowruz festival in the Iranian economy, particularly in Zoroastrians and Yazidis.

In Christian theology is made to the Eisymbolik reference for ages; In the Middle Ages the interpretation of the egg on the resurrection of Christ is known. In European art history Generally the egg as a symbol of the resurrection - to Marie pictures, it comes in the background or as a border motif as a reference to the virgin birth before.

To give away the custom of decorated eggs for Easter as friendship and love gift ( Fabergé egg ), was initiated and promoted by various events:

• Food ordination - since the 12th century was prayed in the paschal food consecration to the blessing of eggs "... that they are a wholesome food for your faithful servants who take them in gratitude and in memory of the resurrection of the Lord unto himself. "
• Zinsei and egg donation - the tithe, the tax levy of the peasants to their landlords, which was paid in the Middle Ages in the spring in the form of eggs on Holy Thursday, as it came to an egg surplus through Lent and simultaneously increased Legefreudigkeit of hens (similar to Martin geese were slaughtered in November, because the grazing period was over ).
• Fasting - In the forty days of Lent before Easter, many Catholics and Orthodox Christians do not eat meat and dairy foods. Previously, eggs and other animal products are often also classified under the abstinence requirement. The ever popular dining -been received you therefore Easter with joy back, let them consecrate the churches and distributed them dyed as gifts.

Colored eggs are first mentioned in the early 13th century for Germany. The word Easter appears in the 14th century with the meaning ' at Easter abzulieferndes Zinsei '. 1553 is reported of red eggs at Easter food consecration. 1617 puteanus speaks in his work Ovi enconium of inscribed, painted and etched eggs, as did Georg Franck 1682 in Scripture Satyrae, which also hiding the Easter eggs for kids and the Easter Bunny are described.

Decoration types

Blown or hard boiled and often elaborately decorated eggs as Easter decoration, especially in the Sorbian Lusatia and in the Slavic dominated parts of Europe still a very lively art, ranging from "simple" painting on batik up to scratch and etching techniques. Especially with the batik technique three traditional patterns are applied. The sun rays that arise when one applies the hot beeswax as solid drops or strokes with a glass needle, are in the symbolism of happiness and satisfaction. The Wolfzähnchen be applied with a trimmed quill as triangles in different formations and are in the symbolism for protection from evil and disease. And the honeycomb caused by triangular pattern that tops can form the ' Wolfszähnchen ', are in the symbolism of wealth and good harvest and income.

Often, these eggs are a bunch of birch twigs - the so-called Easter bouquet - hanged or artful (sometimes together with other gifts ) decorated in an Easter basket. Widespread it is to decorate the still bare branches of standing trees in the garden during the Easter time. To be admired, with over ten thousand eggs a Easter eggs such tree in Saalfeld, Thuringia - the entry in the Guinness Book of Records with 76 596 succeeded in April 2007, however, the zoo of Rostock. The Sorbs give themselves the ornate eggs not only at Easter but also for baptisms, communions, weddings and other special occasions personal to emphasize with the symbols of the wishes to the recipient.

The colors used when painting in some regions have the following meanings:

• Red symbolizes Christ's sacrifice
• Yellow stands for the desire for enlightenment and wisdom
• White is the color of purity
• Green stands for youth and innocence
• Orange for strength, endurance and ambition

The Easter egg in German folk customs

The Concise Dictionary of German superstition leads the folk customs back to the egg at Easter to the arrangements established by the Church since the 12th century " benedictio ovorum " that made this grow so blessed eggs in popular belief many forces. The first mention of dyed Easter eggs in Germany from the 16th century. An early mention of the custom to hide the eggs for children, comes from the diary of Jacob Abbot of the monastery Schuttern ( Ortenaukreis ) for the year 1691st

Children was - depending on the area - told that these eggs come from the tap, the cuckoo, the fox, the stork or the hare. Even the bells on their return from flight to Rome at the Easter Vigil, the eggs were attributed. In recent times, the Easter Bunny has established itself as eggs Bringer nationwide.

More Traditions with Easter eggs are, for example, coin-tossing ( the coin remains in the egg, the egg stuck heard the thrower ), Ostereiertitschen, Easter eggs or Slide ( for example, in Austria, Croatia, Russia) the Eierpecken. When eggs spin ( in Bavaria and egg throwing, shooting eggs in Ostfriesland ) in the Vogtland an Easter egg is inserted into a crocheted wool bag with a long strap: The hurls you and let it go. The throwing takes place on a meadow or pasture. Meadows with dense grass are best suited. For throwing itself there are different or even no rules. It is important that the eggs that you want to cast, are hard boiled, so the egg is not so fast to go to break. Often throwing two or more people to the eggs until the shell is completely broken. It tries to throw the egg on the net as high as possible. If the egg broke it, will leave you. This continues until only one child with heilem egg remains, which then has won or is hailed as king. In some regions, throwing eggs is widespread. The eggs are eaten on the spot. In order to bring his home happiness consists in South Tyrol, the custom to throw an egg on the house and bury it.

Others

• Especially sumptuously are the precious Easter eggs by Carl Fabergé Peter.
• In the Czech Libotenice where is the Easter egg painting by hand tradition, there is an Easter egg gallery.
• In the Swabian municipality in the district of Sonnenbühl Erpfingen exists since 1993 the first Easter Egg Museum in Germany, which shows over a thousand exhibits from all over Europe.
• The largest Easter egg Germany was in Betz village. It has a height of 9.27 m and a diameter of 5.71 m.
• So-called " Easter Eggs " ( Easter eggs ) are computer software undocumented incorporated additional functions ( or images ) that have nothing to do with the actual program or even amusing additions to DVD movies and Computer-/Videospielen that the programmer or producer have hidden behind a menu or keyboard shortcut.