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Easter-Eggs

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The egg was the symbol of creation in Egypt, and of hope and the resurrection among early Christians; and the custom of giving colored pasch eggs on Easter morning is found in the East, in the Tyrol, in Russia, in Greece, in many parts of England, where it may be traced back to the time of Edward I, and was observed at Gray's Inn in the reign of Elizabeth. In France the pasch egg is eaten before any other nourishment is taken on Easter day. Tansy pudding, according to Selden, is a memorial of the bitter herbs eaten by the Jews; and peculiar cakes in some places formed the staple fare on this day. Paul II issued a form of benediction of eggs for England, Scotland, and Ireland. Henry VIII received a paschal egg in a case of silver filigree from the pope. The Jews regarded the egg as a symbol of death. — Walcott, Sac. Archaeol. s.v. (See EGG).