What's with easter and and the easter eggs?

The origin of the Easter Bunny seems to have emerged in pre-Christian folklore. Rabbits and hares were recognized for their fertility and therefore became symbols of new life for Spring. Likewise, eggs are also considered fertility symbols and are also a symbol of new life in Spring. German Protestants during the 1700s wished to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter without having to fast. (Catholics were forbidden to eat eggs during lent, and were therefore abundant on Easter Sunday). German immigrants introduced the “Osterhase”, which means Easter Hare, to Pennsylvania in the 18th century. The Germans told their children about the hare that would only lay colourful eggs in nests created for him by good boys and girls. The tradition has spread and is now celebrated among many cultures, some with slight differences. I left a link for you to read about as well. http://shop2.aol.ca/shop/content--cid_86__name_Easter+Bunny+Origins__catId_1002363.html

Very good discussion post here. I have to say that I love to color eggs for easter. I have 3 children and wanted to know how to explain easter and what the eggs represent to them so I had to do a little research on it and here is what I found. In midievel times a festival of egg throwing was held in the church, where the priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to the chior boys. It was then tossed from one chior boy to the next and when the clock struck 12 the one holding the egg was the winner and retained the egg. The traditional act of painting eggs is called pysanka. To the Egyptians the egg was a sacred token of the renovation of mankind after the flood. The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to the Egyptian, Persians, Gauls, Greeks, and Romans, to whom the egg was a symbol of life. To many the egg is the symbol of fertility and new life. Eggs are painted many different colors by some, but for some there are specific colors which represent different meanings. In Greece people paint eggs crimson in color in order to represent the blood of Christ. In parts of Germany and Austria eggs are painted green. Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver. Well those are just a few things I have found about why we have decorated eggs for Easter. I also like the idea of having a hollowed out easter egg to represent that empty tomb of Jesus. Thanks for the discussion post and Happy Easter!!

eggs are a carry over from an early pagan celebration of fertility celebrated by the Romans and realy have no business in a Christian celebration!

We always made sure that our children knew the true meaning of Easter, was the resurrection of Christ from the tomb. The eggs are a very secular part of Easter, although, they could be connected with Spring, rebirth and the renewal of life. It's a stretch. My husband and I just told the kids that it was a fun way to spend the afternoon with their friends from church, their cousins etc... Which is what Easter IS about....getting together to celebrate our Lord!

I have no idea about the easter bunny. Maybe it was just a way for parents to involve their children in believing their easter eggs were delivered by a santa like rabbit? I personally think that easter is just a way for big confectionery companies to make more money. It has become a commercial time of year that makes us spend too much money on a few bars of chocolate that are dressed up in pathetic packaging and sold for massive mark-ups.