Easter is a holiday and for Christians, it is a celebration of Jesus Christ returning from the dead. Christians believe that it is the holiest day in the year. Some people who are not Christians celebrate it as the beginning of Spring.
Jesus died on the cross about 2000 years ago in a city called Jerusalem (most of Jerusalem is in the modern country of Israel). The people who killed him did so because they believed that he was causing trouble for the government, and because he was claiming to be the Messiah. When they crucified him (meaning they nailed him to a cross), they even hung a sign over his head, which said, “King of the Jews.” The day he was crucified is known by Christians as Good Friday.
The New Testament states that on the Sunday after Jesus was killed, his body was no longer in the tomb where he was laid. Later, Jesus is said to have appeared to over 500 people and preached to them. The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus is what Christianity is based on. The resurrection made people believe that Jesus was the powerful Son of God.
It is also spoken of as proof that God will judge the world fairly. Christians believe that God has given Christians “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. Christians believe that through faith in God they are spiritually made alive with Jesus so that they may lead a new life.
Eggs
An Easter egg is an egg, eaten and used for decoration during the Easter holidays. The egg was a symbol of the earth to celebrate spring. It was used by early Christians as a sign of the resurrection (rising from the dead) of Jesus.
At the Passover, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water is a symbol of both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. In Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg.
Eggs were viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals.
It was during Easter that everybody was trying to get rid of the eggs before the fast. Eggs were given as gifts for children and servants, and used for decoration. And this is probably the reason why eggs came to be associated with Easter.
The dying of Easter eggs in different colors is commonplace, with color being achieved through boiling the egg in natural substances (such as, onion peel (brown color), oak or alder bark or walnut nutshell (black), beet juice (pink) etc.), or using artificial colorings.
In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, with further symbolism being found in the hard shell of the egg symbolizing the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead.
In 1873 J.S. Fry & Sons of England introduced the first chocolate Easter egg in Britain.
In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace.
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