Traditional Easter Foods and Their Origins
Traditional Easter Foods and Their Origins
Nothing says Easter like a fabulous Easter dinner with friends and family. Every year there are a few traditional Easter dishes that make their way onto dinner tables across America and many of them have interesting symbolism behind them that you may not even be aware of. Cross Buns These currant or raisin filled yeast bun is a traditional favorite in England. Usually eaten on Good Friday they also have a “cross” on top of the bun. Mostly thought of as a Christian symbol it the hot cross bun finds its roots in pagan tradition. There is some disagreement with the symbolism of the cross from the pagan custom. Some thoughts are that the cross represents the sun wheel while others believe the cross might symbolized the four quarters of the moon.When the Christian Church attempted to ban the buns the people balked so the church did the next best thing and “Christianized” the bread. Queen Elizabeth I passed a law that only allowed the bun to be eaten during Christmas, Easter or funerals. Pretzels Originally created by monks with leftover scraps of dough and given to students as rewards, pretzels became a popular part of Lent celebration during the Middle Ages. Pretzels do not contain eggs, milk, butter or lard, ingredients which are avoided during lent. Pretzels are said to represent praying arms and the three holes represent the trinity. In some countries, pretzels used to hidden together with eggs at Easter as well.Greek Easter Bread Greek Easter bread, or tsoureki, is a sweet dessert bread traditionally served as part of the Greek Orthodox Easter feast. Tsoureki was also traditionally given as an Easter gift from children to their godparents. Different versions many include a citrus flavor, topped with nuts. A red egg is traditionally cooked with the bread as well.This Easter treat is traditional shaped into a braid with a red egg tucked into the braids of dough. The bread is said to represent the light given to us by Christ’s resurrection and the red egg represents Christ’s blood. Another version of Greek Easter bread is cooked as a circle with red eggs forming a cross across the top of the bread. Ham Ham is a traditional part of the Easter feast in many American homes, and it’s origin is more practical rather then symbolic. In early years, before refrigeration, fresh pork slaughtered in the fall that hadn’t been consumed before Lent had to be cured for preservation. Curing was a slow process and the first hams were generally ready around Easter time, making it a common choice for Easter feasting. Today, many American families still serve ham as part of their Easter celebrations. Lamb Another meat commonly served at Easter time is Lamb. This tradition is actually a combination of two symbolisms. The original use of lamb dates back before Easter as part of the Jewish Passover where a sacrificial lamb is roasted and eaten as a reminder of the angel of God passing over their homes in Egypt.Later, Jesus was often referred to by Christians as The Lamb of God. As Christianity grew, Hebrews converting to Christianity brought their traditions with and the combination resulted in the use of lamb as part of many Easter dinners.
The one good thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs!
Easter Eggs – A History
If you celebrate Easter then you probably purchase dozens of eggs to decorate but do you know why you do it? Is it simply because that’s what your mother did each year because that’s what her mother did? And why does a bunny deliver them?
Though-out history, eggs have been a part of many spring celebrations. Eggs are generally thought of as a symbol of life and Easter is in Spring when new life abounds in the world. The Romans, who believe that “All life comes from an egg” used eggs in their spring festivals and feasts and salted hardboiled eggs were part of Jewish traditions as well.
Pagan beliefs viewed the egg as a sacred symbol and an old fable told of an egg that fell from heaven and hatched the goddess of Fertility, Astarte (Easter) Since then eggs have been found as symbols of new life and fertility in Rome, Northern Europe, China and Japan.
Christians later adopted the use of eggs into their Easter celebrations as the “seed of life” symbolizing Christ’s resurrection. Many different beliefs have been held about the actual use of eggs. It was once believed that eggs laid on Good Friday and cooked on Easter would promote fertility of the trees and crops will protecting against sudden deaths.
Today Easter Eggs have become a central part of Christian Easter celebrations in North America with chocolate Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and decorating Easter eggs. It is unclear as to the specific reason for decorating eggs, but painted eggs have been part of spring celebrations in many cultures for centuries, each with their own styles and color traditions. Red and version of red have been the most common color in many cultures, symbolizing the blood of Christ.
The most famous Easter egg to date is the first Faberge egg. This small gold egg encased in platinum and enamel was created by Peter Carl Faberge in 1883 as an Easter gift for the Empress Marie of Russia from her husband Tsar Alexander. The egg was gorgeous, and a tradition began with a new egg being designed each Easter. Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, continued this tradition with a total of 57 eggs designed in total.
Today, Easter eggs are generally connected with the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts. The Easter bunny came to be part of Easter tradition because rabbits and hares are known for their ability to produce multiple births and that made them a natural choice for the celebration of spring and new life. For many decades, young children have taken part in Easter egg hunts, searching for colorful eggs laid by the Easter bunny in the grass. Easter egg hunts have become a traditional part of American Easter celebrations, with the Whitehouse and many community churches hosting annual Easter egg hunts each year.
44Nothing says Easter like a fabulous Easter dinner with friends and family. Every year there are a few traditional Easter dishes that make their way onto dinner tables across America and many of them have interesting symbolism behind them that you may not even be aware of. Cross Buns These currant or raisin filled yeast bun is a traditional favorite in England. Usually eaten on Good Friday they also have a “cross” on top of the bun. Mostly thought of as a Christian symbol it the hot cross bun finds its roots in pagan tradition. There is some disagreement with the symbolism of the cross from the pagan custom. Some thoughts are that the cross represents the sun wheel while others believe the cross might symbolized the four quarters of the moon.When the Christian Church attempted to ban the buns the people balked so the church did the next best thing and “Christianized” the bread. Queen Elizabeth I passed a law that only allowed the bun to be eaten during Christmas, Easter or funerals. Pretzels Originally created by monks with leftover scraps of dough and given to students as rewards, pretzels became a popular part of Lent celebration during the Middle Ages. Pretzels do not contain eggs, milk, butter or lard, ingredients which are avoided during lent. Pretzels are said to represent praying arms and the three holes represent the trinity. In some countries, pretzels used to hidden together with eggs at Easter as well.Greek Easter Bread Greek Easter bread, or tsoureki, is a sweet dessert bread traditionally served as part of the Greek Orthodox Easter feast. Tsoureki was also traditionally given as an Easter gift from children to their godparents. Different versions many include a citrus flavor, topped with nuts. A red egg is traditionally cooked with the bread as well.This Easter treat is traditional shaped into a braid with a red egg tucked into the braids of dough. The bread is said to represent the light given to us by Christ’s resurrection and the red egg represents Christ’s blood. Another version of Greek Easter bread is cooked as a circle with red eggs forming a cross across the top of the bread. Ham Ham is a traditional part of the Easter feast in many American homes, and it’s origin is more practical rather then symbolic. In early years, before refrigeration, fresh pork slaughtered in the fall that hadn’t been consumed before Lent had to be cured for preservation. Curing was a slow process and the first hams were generally ready around Easter time, making it a common choice for Easter feasting. Today, many American families still serve ham as part of their Easter celebrations. Lamb Another meat commonly served at Easter time is Lamb. This tradition is actually a combination of two symbolisms. The original use of lamb dates back before Easter as part of the Jewish Passover where a sacrificial lamb is roasted and eaten as a reminder of the angel of God passing over their homes in Egypt.Later, Jesus was often referred to by Christians as The Lamb of God. As Christianity grew, Hebrews converting to Christianity brought their traditions with and the combination resulted in the use of lamb as part of many Easter dinners.
The one good thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs!
Easter Eggs – A History
If you celebrate Easter then you probably purchase dozens of eggs to decorate but do you know why you do it? Is it simply because that’s what your mother did each year because that’s what her mother did? And why does a bunny deliver them?
Though-out history, eggs have been a part of many spring celebrations. Eggs are generally thought of as a symbol of life and Easter is in Spring when new life abounds in the world. The Romans, who believe that “All life comes from an egg” used eggs in their spring festivals and feasts and salted hardboiled eggs were part of Jewish traditions as well.
Pagan beliefs viewed the egg as a sacred symbol and an old fable told of an egg that fell from heaven and hatched the goddess of Fertility, Astarte (Easter) Since then eggs have been found as symbols of new life and fertility in Rome, Northern Europe, China and Japan.
Christians later adopted the use of eggs into their Easter celebrations as the “seed of life” symbolizing Christ’s resurrection. Many different beliefs have been held about the actual use of eggs. It was once believed that eggs laid on Good Friday and cooked on Easter would promote fertility of the trees and crops will protecting against sudden deaths.
Today Easter Eggs have become a central part of Christian Easter celebrations in North America with chocolate Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and decorating Easter eggs. It is unclear as to the specific reason for decorating eggs, but painted eggs have been part of spring celebrations in many cultures for centuries, each with their own styles and color traditions. Red and version of red have been the most common color in many cultures, symbolizing the blood of Christ.
The most famous Easter egg to date is the first Faberge egg. This small gold egg encased in platinum and enamel was created by Peter Carl Faberge in 1883 as an Easter gift for the Empress Marie of Russia from her husband Tsar Alexander. The egg was gorgeous, and a tradition began with a new egg being designed each Easter. Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, continued this tradition with a total of 57 eggs designed in total.
Today, Easter eggs are generally connected with the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts. The Easter bunny came to be part of Easter tradition because rabbits and hares are known for their ability to produce multiple births and that made them a natural choice for the celebration of spring and new life. For many decades, young children have taken part in Easter egg hunts, searching for colorful eggs laid by the Easter bunny in the grass. Easter egg hunts have become a traditional part of American Easter celebrations, with the Whitehouse and many community churches hosting annual Easter egg hunts each year.
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