What is an Easter egg hunt and why do people celebrate it?

What is an Easter egg hunt?

An Easter egg hunt is a treasure hunt played during Easter, where children look for hidden decorated eggs, chocolate eggs or sweets. The hunt only ends once the children have found all the hidden eggs. 

Why do people celebrate it?

Currently, most people celebrate the tradition as a fun family activity, however, the tradition traces back to the 16th century when Germans coined the phrase, ‘Easter egg’ to symbolize the empty tomb from which Jesus Christ resurrected.

Additionally, since women like Mary Magdalene discovered the Saviour’s empty tomb, as the Bible states, men began concealing the eggs so that women and children would seek them. 

Also, in ancient times, people painted eggshells red to signify the blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross. 

People would give the shells as gifts to commemorate the tradition. They would sheath the egg shells in flowers before boiling them to make them more colourful or boil them covered in onion rings, which would turn the shells golden. 

Also, the Easter eggs have a relation to the Easter Bunny, which originated in 1682 from the Germans. 

It is believed that the Easter Bunny began as a hare, hence the common phrase ‘Easter Hares’.

Hares signified fertility and the Virgin Mary, as they make an appearance in some of her portraits.

Hares’ linkage with Christ’s mother stems from the fact that hares can produce a second offspring while still pregnant with the first.  

Traditions state that the Easter bunny would have a basket full of decorated eggs and give them out to the children who had been good, similar to the popular Santa Claus custom.

Artificial eggs made their first appearance in the 1850s in London, which consequently made the Royals, during Queen Victoria’s reign, adopt the German tradition.

Later, the customs outstretched across other continents, where artificial eggs became more common. Chocolate eggs, which are still being used, would later be introduced to mark the tradition.

The Easter egg hunt tradition seems to have lost its religious touch as most people practice it as a family activity as compared to the religious one.

The custom remains unknown by various people, although it is now gaining ground in Kenya, as some modern families are celebrating it.