Whether hand-blown and decorated or poached for Eggs Benedict, eggs have long been a staple at Easter. As early as 5,000 BC, eggs were exchanged as a sign of friendship during the spring equinox and annual festivals—colored, blessed, and consumed . The ancient Zoroastrians painted eggs to celebrate New Year celebration, held on the spring equinox and Russia, the tsars celebrated the holiday with more fanfare than they did Christmas, serving Easter breads, and exchanging jeweled eggs made by goldsmith Carl Faberge.
The egg is a symbol of Easter around the world, The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world started with a giant egg, thus securing the notion of the egg as a symbol of rebirth. Christians adopted the egg is a symbol of the resurrection of Christ, who rose from his sealed tomb the same way a bird breaks through an eggshell at birth.
The Germans have long blown out eggs to empty their contents, then painted and decorated the shells with pieces of lace, cloth or ribbon. They hang them with ribbons on an evergreen or small tree. In Moravia, young girls carried the eggs from house to house on the third Sunday before Easter. The tradition came to America via Germans who became known as Pennsylvania Dutch, along with the legend of the Easter bunny who delivers colored eggs to children.
Many more cultures have the egg centered around many Easter traditions.
As part of your traditions, have an afternoon of egg decorating for adults, children or both. There are many creative ideas on how to decorate, from using natural dyes to staining eggs with leaves. Make sure to have each guest take a small basket home from the group to display in their home and celebrate.