Decorating an Easter egg and 5 other Easter traditions we love

Easter Day is celebrated worldwide, specially by Christians because it is believed that God raised Jesus on the third day after his Crucifixion, restoring him as Christ and Lord, known as the ‘Resurrection of Jesus’. The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events, the foundation of the Christian faith, as honoured by Easter. Easter is also known as Resurrection Sunday, celebrated with many traditions such as decorating an Egg with various Egg games, festive family dinners, gifts ceremony and many more. Did you know that the day the Easter eggs and Easter bunny play a symbolic role in this celebration of rebirth?

They are involved in traditions because they are a symbol of fertility in connection to the restoration of Jesus for the greater good of humanity. For hundreds of years, followers of Christian and Catholic faiths have been celebrating Easter by attending church services and gathering with friends and family for spring-inspired celebrations. There are many classic Easter traditions you can incorporate into how you mark the holiday, and so with being said, let’s take a look at some of those traditions that we find fun.

Decorating the Easter egg

The tradition of decorating Eggs of all kinds, from a chicken’s egg to ostrich’s egg is the most liked activity and celebrated with enthusiasm all around the world. The significance of decorating an egg on Easter or using eggs the most in the Easter traditions comes from the rebirth theology of the day, how Jesus came back from the death to restore humanity. The egg symbolises birth, fertility, as mentioned above and it’s easy to see why eggs represent rebirth and life, so associating them with spring and new growth isn’t much of a stretch. To celebrate the new season, it’s said that people coloured eggs and gave them to friends and family as gifts. Many people decorate the eggs by dyeing them with different colours. There’s a reason we’re still dyeing Easter eggs today for our predecessors passed down the fun activity at Eastertime. According to the Christian history, it is believed Mary Magdalene could be responsible for the tradition as, she went to the store to buy vinegar and dye tablets. As the story goes, Mary brought eggs with her to Jesus’s crucifixion, and blood from his wounds fell on the eggs, coloring them red which made it a tradition for many to dye eggs. Many people even invent games within the Easter eggs tradition, such as a treasure hunt of eggs for the children, breaking of the egg, etc.

The Easter Bunny

Easter bunnies are pretty famous when it comes to the celebration of this day and as much as it is hard to believe that what a giant bunny has to do with a religious holiday, many people believe that the tradition again dates back to the pagans. They celebrated a goddess of fertility named ‘Eostre’ and you may recall that fertility is exactly the trait rabbits are most famous for. Most of the Easter traditions are associated with Christian beliefs and fertility. It’s thought that German immigrants brought their tradition of an egg-laying hare called ‘Osterhase’ to the U.S. in the 1700s. Many dress up as bunnies, makes hollow chocolate bunnies to eat as a little chocolate treat id good for everyone and it is made hollow so that it is easy to consume.

Baking with family

This is the one non-negotiable Easter tradition, baking a cake with the family as a tradition. There should always be an Easter cake. It is a little hard to trace back from where this tradition was involved but it is believed that because Good Friday falls under the same week, many people started to bake cakes and hot cross buns for Easter. It’s said the tradition started in the 12th century with a monk who was inspired to mark his baked goodies to celebrate Good Friday. Many families bake cakes like carrot cakes for Easter bunny tradition and buns in association with Good Friday.

Going to the church

Many churches hold Sunrise services so parishioners can experience the event similar to how it happened as to honor the occasion of Mary opening Jesus’s tomb at dawn on Easter morning to find it empty. It was first reported back in 1773, when masses went to the Church at dawn to celebrate the rebirth of Jesus. And so, many people go to the church in the morning with their families to pray, listen to the church music and baptize their babies for churches hold christening on Easter Sunday for a meaningful blessing. People wear their best Sunday clothes and celebrate the day in churches as a ritual.

Flying kites

As mentioned above, Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall under the same week and so, both days have some similar traditions to follow such as flying kites. According to local legend, a teacher once used a kite to give her students a visual of how Jesus ascended into heaven.  It is actually called Good Friday Kites but is celebrated on Easter also as it is to honor the fact that Jesus was ascended to heaven by symbolizing it with kites. 

Well, there are many other small traditions such as gathering around the table for a festive dinner, sending out lilies and playing music through piano with the family. Easter day is an essential holiday as it celebrates goodness, sense of belongingness and marks a solid reasonable belief that makes people have faith and anything associated with faith shall never be forgotten always be celebrated.

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