The practice of decorating eggs dates from c. 60,000 years BCE. Iranians and others decorated eggs on Nowruz, the Iranian New Year which falls on the Spring equinox. Eggs were also associated with death and rebirth, and decorated ostrich eggs placed in the graves of ancient Egyptians and Sumerians (c. 3000 BCE). 

From these areas the practice spread around the Mediterranean and Europe. In 1290, records show that England’s King Edward I ordered 450 gold-leaf decorated eggs for his relatives and court. In addition, villagers at that time gifted eggs to the church or lords of the manor.  Spid and friends also decorates their eggs in Spid the Spider Investigates a Mystery at Easter.

Colouring hard-boiled eggs is an Easter tradition

For Christians, the Easter egg is a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Painting or dying Easter eggs red is a tradition in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. This represents the blood of Christ. The egg shell represents Christ’s sealed tomb, and cracking the shell represents his resurrection. After blessing the Easter eggs, they were then given to the worshippers. During Lent, Christians abstained from eating eggs and meat, and as a result, Easter was the first opportunity to eat eggs.  To help children understand more about the provenance of Easter check our Easter discussion prompts.

So while you prepare for your Easter egg hunt or egg-rolling, keep your children amused by downloading our free printable Easter eggs to colour in. To add to the challenge ask them to design their own Easter eggs to colour in too. You could also offer a prize of a few seconds head start in the Easter egg hunt!

  • Download our free template of Easter eggs to colour in
  • Download our free template of Easter eggs to colour in

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