Egg Hunt - tomorrow @ 10:00 am

Tomorrow is St. Andrew’s annual Easter Egg Hunt.  We gather together at 10:00 am so don’t be late as you can imagine how quickly the eggs are scooped up.

But what is the origin of the Egg Hunt and why do we color/dye the eggs?

Basically, eggs are a symbol of new life, both in Christian tradition and in earlier pagan practice.  It is not hard to see how the egg was associated with the prospect of new life, as a new life is begun when an egg hatches.

One legend tells a story of Mary Magdalene where she tells Pilate that “Christ is risen” only to be rebuked with “he is as much alive as that egg is red” and upon looking at a previously white egg to find it now colored red.  

Other thoughts pin this practice to the Medieval period when it was forbidden to eat eggs during Lent.  The eggs were hard-boiled or preserved in other ways and often painted or dyed to provide a fun entertainment for the children and something to do with the eggs.  This made eggs an Easter day specialty.

The practice of coloring the eggs may also come from early pagan spring festivals and rituals, later adapted and tweaked to celebrate Christian ideology in the resurrection of Christ.

I don’t seem to be able to find any real details about the beginnings of the Easter Egg Hunt, but I’m guessing it was a way to get rid of all those eggs that piled up over Lent.

Whatever  the origin, the symbol of an egg as new life and its use in the Easter celebration of Christ’s Resurrection is here to stay.

And, it’s fun!

So come over to St. Andrew tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.  Bring your Easter basket to collect your eggs.  The hunt is open to children up to age 10.  The event is FREE and will be held rain (indoors) or shine(outdoors)!  Refreshments will be served following the egg hunt.

www.elcaAndy.org