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The Culinary Significance Of Easter
The Christian festival of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ. Interestingly though, go back far enough in time, and historically Easter was a pagan festival and not a Christian one. Indeed, many of the Easter traditions that we are familiar with today have pagan origins.
The Christian festival of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ. Interestingly though, go back far enough in time, and historically Easter was a pagan festival and not a Christian one. Indeed, many of the Easter traditions that we are familiar with today have pagan origins.
Passover and the spring equinox Ancient scholars believed that, over time, the word Easter evolved from the word `Eostre`, the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess who represented the coming of spring and who gave fertility to the earth. Christianity took on this festival, symbolising the rebirth of the earth by linking it with the resurrection. The date of Easter is linked to pagan times too and is determined by the lunar calendar.
The Egg and Rebirth The traditional Christian symbols of Easter also have pagan origins. In ancient times the egg was a symbol of fertility and rebirth of the earth. From this, the egg became a powerful symbol and to Christians it represented the rebirth of Christ. Throughout the centuries, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations.
Painting Eggs The tradition of colouring eggs in bright colours, representing the sunlight of Spring, goes back to the middle ages and is still a favourite and important custom in many Christian cultures. The practice of giving decorated eggs at Eastertide is very old and in many countries egg rolling and Easter egg hunts take place as part of the celebrations. In Germany it is traditional to paint eggs green and eat them on Maundy Thursday. Greece and Slavic nations dye eggs red as a symbol of the blood of Christ. As time has gone on, the decoration of eggs has become more elaborate with the use of many bright colours, patterned with flora and fauna, decorated with delicate gold and silver leaf. In the Ukraine eggs have become masterpieces of artistry. The most famous of Easter eggs must be the jewelled and enamelled eggs that Faberge was commissioned to make for the Russian Tsars.
Rabbit, Lamb and Simnel Cake Other traditional symbols of Easter are the hare and the rabbit (more so the rabbit) as they were known as the most fertile animals signifying new life. The lamb, sacrificed for Passover of the Jewish tradition, to Christians came to signify Christ`s death on the cross. The Greeks and Egyptians ate small cakes or buns in honour of the respective goddesses that they worshipped. Buns marked with a cross were eaten by the Saxons to honour their goddess Eostre - it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon`s quarters. To Christians the cross came to symbolise the crucifixion cross. In the late 1600s, daughters in service brought home a rich fruit cake, called a Simnel cake , to their mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The cake was enriched with marzipan and decorated with eleven marzipan balls symbolising Christ`s eleven apostles.
Break the Lenten Fast For hundreds of years it has been customary to celebrate the end of Lent with a vast feast of seasonal and symbolic foods and nowadays it is no different.
Bureau Report
Passover and the spring equinox Ancient scholars believed that, over time, the word Easter evolved from the word `Eostre`, the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess who represented the coming of spring and who gave fertility to the earth. Christianity took on this festival, symbolising the rebirth of the earth by linking it with the resurrection. The date of Easter is linked to pagan times too and is determined by the lunar calendar.
The Egg and Rebirth The traditional Christian symbols of Easter also have pagan origins. In ancient times the egg was a symbol of fertility and rebirth of the earth. From this, the egg became a powerful symbol and to Christians it represented the rebirth of Christ. Throughout the centuries, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations.
Painting Eggs The tradition of colouring eggs in bright colours, representing the sunlight of Spring, goes back to the middle ages and is still a favourite and important custom in many Christian cultures. The practice of giving decorated eggs at Eastertide is very old and in many countries egg rolling and Easter egg hunts take place as part of the celebrations. In Germany it is traditional to paint eggs green and eat them on Maundy Thursday. Greece and Slavic nations dye eggs red as a symbol of the blood of Christ. As time has gone on, the decoration of eggs has become more elaborate with the use of many bright colours, patterned with flora and fauna, decorated with delicate gold and silver leaf. In the Ukraine eggs have become masterpieces of artistry. The most famous of Easter eggs must be the jewelled and enamelled eggs that Faberge was commissioned to make for the Russian Tsars.
Rabbit, Lamb and Simnel Cake Other traditional symbols of Easter are the hare and the rabbit (more so the rabbit) as they were known as the most fertile animals signifying new life. The lamb, sacrificed for Passover of the Jewish tradition, to Christians came to signify Christ`s death on the cross. The Greeks and Egyptians ate small cakes or buns in honour of the respective goddesses that they worshipped. Buns marked with a cross were eaten by the Saxons to honour their goddess Eostre - it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon`s quarters. To Christians the cross came to symbolise the crucifixion cross. In the late 1600s, daughters in service brought home a rich fruit cake, called a Simnel cake , to their mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The cake was enriched with marzipan and decorated with eleven marzipan balls symbolising Christ`s eleven apostles.
Break the Lenten Fast For hundreds of years it has been customary to celebrate the end of Lent with a vast feast of seasonal and symbolic foods and nowadays it is no different.
Bureau Report