Friday, April 10, 2020

Easter Egg

I just read about the Easter Egg.  Why an egg at Easter?  Once upon a time in old Medieval Europe, Lenten fasting meant that no one ate animal products.  An egg is an animal product.  So no eggs were eaten during Lent even though plenty were produced, given the chicken was not baptized and knew no better.  Second, the egg served as a symbol of Resurrection, the chick breaking through the egg shell, as Jesus resurrected through the rocky tomb.  Third, Eastern Art showed Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb on Easter predawn not with oil to anoint but with an egg, a whole basket of eggs.  Why? Who knows? Maybe she was multitasking and had gathered some eggs for a later breakfast with those cowardly Apostles.  Miraculously, the eggs turned red, and thus you have the Ukrainian pysanka tradition of coloring eggs which I did with my Mom and my sister Maureen as a kid.  So, are you coloring some eggs for this Easter?  

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