Page 114 - Southern Oregon Magazine Spring 2019

chow | local habit

took place in Celtic and Germanic Europe. There’s not much It is thought that the practice of dyed eggs spread from the Greek
evidence beyond Bede for this theory, other than the language Churches through other Eastern Orthodox Churches, to Roman
connection to the English word Easter and the German word Catholicism, and eventually Protestantism. While the direction of
Ostern. I think the connection is tenuous—at best—consid- spread is conjecture, it was almost definitely still a tradition among all
ering first that most other European languages have a word Christians even after the split of Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism,
for Easter that is based on the root for Passover (Spanish Pascua, since it was officially adopted by the Catholics at the time of the Roman
Italian Pasqua etc.). And second, the confirmed historical traditions of Ritual, published 1610, indicating that decorating eggs was at that
a more modern Christian Easter and its eggs first appear in a different point an established tradition in all forms of Christianity.
geographical place in the historical record, a place considered at that
time to be the “east.” There is also a tradition of food taboos that indicates the Easter egg
as an obvious symbol in the Christian Churches. The season of Lent,
Easter eggs, closer to how we understand them today begin with the which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days as a represen-
early Christians of Mesopotamia. How the practice first arrived there tation of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, is traditionally a time of
is another point of conjecture and dispute. It may have spread from fasting and spiritual readiness for Easter. Particularly in the Eastern
Persia via the silk roads, from Egypt via regular trade by land and ocean Church, food prohibitions were extended to meat, milk, and eggs dur-
routes, or it may simply have been a holdover from the Sumerian prac- ing this time. However, since chickens don’t stop laying eggs during
tice of decorated eggs in tombs. Whatever the origin to this point, we this period, it was necessary to boil them in order to preserve them
know that the early Christians were dying eggs red to represent the until the end of the Lenten Fast.
blood of Christ at the crucifixion.
By the end of 40 days, most people had a stockpile of boiled eggs
From a metaphorical standpoint, the egg offered a concrete and full ready to be dyed and used as theological symbols, but also to be eaten
theological teaching that was too well suited to Christianity to pass when breaking the fast, usually on Good Friday (although the Catholic
up. The egg was already a symbol of life and birth, which was modi- Church regards Good Friday and Holy Saturday as part of the Paschal
fied into rebirth, it was dyed red to represent the blood of Christ,
and cracking the egg represented breaking the seal of Jesus’ tomb. In
a single object the church could hold the entire Easter tradition. It’s
hard for us to imagine now, in a world were almost everyone reads, but
these kinds of physical metaphors were indispensable for theological
understanding.

112 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | spring 2019