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Jim
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| Joined: | Fri Dec 29th, 2006 |
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Posted: Sun Mar 23rd, 2008 04:39 pm |
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Where did the easter egg come from?
A chicken of course! lol! But I am of course talking about
the origin of the tradition.
When I was a boy I was told that Halloween was stolen
from the Catholics and that the Easter Egg was originally
part of the Resurrection story. Here’s the story
According to a tradition, the first Easter egg was a gift
from Saint Mary Magdalene to Roman Emperor Tiberius.
Shortly after Christ's Ascension, Mary Magdalene
came to Rome to preach the gospel, people coming were
supposed to bring the emperor a present. Wealthy people
used to bring jewelry, and poor people, what they could
afford. Therefore, Mary Magdalene, once a noble and rich
woman, who then lost everything, except her faith in Jesus,
offered to Emperor Tiberius a chicken egg and exclaimed:
"Christ has resurrected!"
The emperor, doubting her words, noted that nobody could
rise from the dead and that it was as hard to believe as that
a white egg could turn red. Tiberius was still saying those
words when the egg began changing to scarlet. From the
first century , colored eggs have always been the symbol
of Jesus' Resurrection and, with it, a purification in the name
of a new, better life to the believers in God the Son.
The eggs' red color has symbolized Christ's blood and at the
same time was the symbol of the Resurrection. If a man
keeps the sacred commandments, he communicates with
the expiatory virtues of the Savior and new life. «A believer,
even if he dies, will revive,* says Christ, «and I shall revive
him.» Just like the life hidden in an egg is born from it, the
Son of God rose from the tomb and the dead will rise for
eternal life. When you crack the egg you are part of the
liberation and resurrection of Christ and your own salvation
is secured.
The origins of the egg ritual? Not quite apparently:
Historic documentation tells us that in 722 B.C. a
Chinese Chieftain gave painted eggs as gifts in
celebration of a spring festival.
The Chinese believed in the sacredness of eggs and
gave them as gifts during joyful celebrations.
Eggs have been a symbol of spring and fertility in pagan
culture and Egyptians buried eggs as a sign of renewal!
At least 3000 years ago the Chinese painted eggs
red for spring festivals.
Pictured here Russian "Easter" eggs part of the
Russian Orthodox religious tradition
Whatever you believe in, it is an ancient ritual!Attachment: Russian eggs.png (Downloaded 32 times)
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"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith
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