Why Easter Sunday and the Easter Egg Are Important
Any practicing Christian should be able to tell you why Easter is important. It’s the largest feast, the chief of all the holidays in the Catholic liturgical year. The season of Lent leads up to the celebration. At this solemn feast, we commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb.
Christ who is both wholly God and fully man has died, and three days later He is risen from the dead. He has conquered death for every member of the human race and made clear the way to salvation and to Paradise.
What is this way? How do we accomplish it? Thomas, the famous doubter, asked the same question. The answer is through Christ! Our Lord is also the Word of God made flesh, and this Word is truth. What’s the truth? Pontius Pilate made the very same inquiry of Jesus Himself.
But prior to His passion, He had already answered all of those questions. For Jesus told the Apostles, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
Thus, the true purpose of the Son of God’s passion and death has been brought to fruition through His Resurrection on the Sabbath, the third day following His demise on the cross. That’s Easter explained to you in a nutshell. While on the topic of shells, the common cultural symbol of the Easter egg should be touched upon. Easter Sunday is situated at that time of year when Spring is just starting to get into the swing of things.
Because of this timely coincidence, for much of society Easter signals a renewal of life, similar to how Christians recall Christ’s own life being renewed. During the season of Spring, we witness much of nature being reborn. Many flora grow verdant once more; flowers begin to bloom; members of the animal kingdom attract mates.
The renowned Easter egg is itself a symbol of the birth of new life, for all the birds of the air are brought into this world in an egg. When it hatches, it reveals the new life it has held within its shell. In the ancient Egyptian town of Hermopolis, there were four slightly varying creation myths which were rooted in the pagan Egyptian religion.
One of these creation stories claims the world had its beginnings within a cosmic egg. And, get this, it had been laid by a celestial goose. According to the myth, Ra sprung from this egg and made the world. It sort of resembles the Big Bang Theory.
The modern view of the egg, especially the Easter egg, in pop culture is one of bringing forth life. It’s only logical since that’s what eggs were meant for. Though it has been terribly exploited by the sales industry, it remains a Christian-related symbol around Eastertime.
(Originally published on Of Intellect and Interest.)
