During the span of recorded history, the egg has represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. For the Christian faith, it is a universal symbol of Easter. During Easter celebrations it has been dyed, painted, adorned and embellished to show special symbolisms.

According to some accounts, the history of easter eggs all be began back during the pagan rituals during the rite of Spring festivals. It was a symbol of the universe for the Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians, Persians and others. We've come a long way since those ancient rituals to the torture we put eggs through now by dyeing and hard boiling them.

Polish Traditions

The first Polish legend to make a note of combines folklore and Christian thinking during the Easter celebration that it well documented and expresses an unusual take on the history of easter eggs. It is a very endearing story involving the Virgin Mary and some pretty remarkable eggs. Mary is said to have given eggs to the soldiers at the cross. She asked for them to be less cruel and wept. It is said that the tears of Mary fell onto the eggs, spotting them with dots in fantastic techni-colors. Which in my opinion is a fantastic explanation of the history of easter eggs and why we do with them what we do.

The other Polish legend worth a mention tells of Mary Magdalen and is another historical event that could help us explain the history of easter eggs and why we decorate them in the way that we do. This legend says that Mary Magdalen went to the sepulcher to anoint the body of Jesus. Mary took a basket of eggs with her as a snack. It is said that when she arrived at the sepulcher, she uncovered the eggs to discover that the shells had taken on a rainbow of colors that was quite magnificent to look at and helps explain why we color our easter eggs today.

English Traditions

People of England have been coloring and decorating their easter eggs since way back in the middle ages. The records for the house of Edward I, in the year 1290, have listed an expense for four hundred and fifty eggs to be gold-leafed and colored as Easter gifts which would make sense as it is not far off from what we do today.

What Does Faberge and Russia Have To Do With The Price of Eggs

The most famous version of Easter egg comes from the well known goldsmith Peter Carl Faberge. The Russian Czar, in 1883, commissioned Peter Faberge to create a special Easter gift for the Empress Marie.

One of Faberge's first eggs was a fantastic design with an outer shell made out of enamel - needless to say it would be priceless today. When the outer egg was opened, it revealed a smaller golden egg. The smaller egg when opened, revealed a chicken and the Imperial crown in replica. Does this sound familiar? It is just what we do today when we put goodies inside our easter eggs.

To add to the her collection, the Czar immediately paid Faberge to create more eggs for the Empress to be delivered to her every Easter. The Czar's son Nicholas II picked up where his father left off and continued paying Faberge to create more and more eggs in his lifetime. A total of 57 specialized Easter eggs have been documented.

You can see some striking resemblances to how we regard eggs today and can see how the history of easter eggs has shaped our own modern day traditions of easter egg hunts and easter egg decorations.