The History of Easter - Five Fun Facts About Easter Traditions
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- 3 min read
You're probably thinking you know all there is to know about the Easter story. Christ was crucified then came back to life a few days later. That's it, right? What more is there to know about the history of Easter?
Well, the traditions behind Easter celebrations go back much further than modern-day Christianity. Ever wondered where the Easter bunny came from? Or why Easter eggs are colourfully decorated? Or why everyone seems so obsessed with hot cross buns at this time of year? Find out below with our five fun facts about Easter traditions:
The History of Easter - Five Fun Facts About Easter Traditions
Early chocolate eggs weren't hollow
That's right folks, the first chocolate eggs were pure, solid chocolate all the way through! None of this hollowed out in the middle nonsense. The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 1800's and were made of bitter, dark chocolate. But these eggs weren't mass produced like the eggs today. They were handmade and very fancy, which made them very expensive. What's more, they were hard as a rock and were often described as "teeth shattering". Eek!
Eggs have been associated with spring for thousands of years
Eggs were used by the Ancient Egyptians as part of their spring festival to represent new life around 5000 years ago. But this wasn't the only thing the Egyptians used them for. Eggs were associated with resurrection (ring any bells from modern Christian celebrations?) and were often placed in royal tombs with mummified remains. The Ancient Egyptians would take enormous ostrich eggs and decorate them with engravings, intricate patterns or even gold leaf. Ostrich eggs were highly valued, after all, could you imagine stealing an egg from a bird as tall as your living room ceiling that can run as fast as a car? No thank you!
Hot cross buns were thought to bring good luck
The 14th century monk, Thomas Rocliffe is thought to have been the first to bake a hot cross bun (although the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Anglo-Saxons may have also made similar bakes). The bun was originally called the Alban Bun and it's popularity spread very quickly across the country. And so did the superstitions surrounding it. It was once thought that hanging a hot cross bun in your kitchen would protect your home from fire and evil spirits. But the bun in question had to be baked on Good Friday because it was thought that Good Friday buns never went mouldy. Probably for the best, considering the bun would have to be hung in the kitchen for an entire year for full protective effect!
Easter may have been named after a pagan goddess
The Venerable Bede, an English monk born in the late 600 AD (also known as the "Father of History") claimed that the name for the Christian celebration of Easter actually came from a pagan goddess called Eostre. Eostre was the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and the dawn and Bede claimed that a festival took place in her honour during April every year. Both the festival and the goddess have close links with hares and eggs - things that we still associate with modern celebrations of Easter today. So how did Eostre become Easter? Pope Gregory the Great sent a bunch of monks over to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their pagan religion (where they worshipped many different gods) to Christianity. During the switch from pagan to Christian, Eostre's name was used for the spring festival celebrating Christ's resurrection.
The Easter bunny used to be a bird
In the traditional folklore story of Eostre and the hare, the Anglo-Saxon goddess found a wounded bird in the snow and magically transformed it into a hare to save it's life. The creature kept it's bird-like ability to lay eggs and decorated them beautifully before gifting them to Eostre as a thank you for saving its life. This Easter hare became known as the Osterhase to German children, who would make small nests and tuck them in hidden corners of their gardens for the hare to fill with eggs. Later, the tradition changed from nests to hats or easter bonnets and was shared worldwide. It was at this time that the Easter hare started to become known as the Easter bunny.
