Easter egg

“ There are skilful people in the surrounding district, who devote themselves to decorating and adorning with mottoes Easter eggs.
A PAINTED AND ENGRAVED GOOSE EGG.
Franz Paul Piger, who has lately written a very interesting paper on Easter eggs for the Austrian folk, says that “the art of decorating Easter eggs is not so simple as one might think.” The artist first colours the egg yellow with the bark of apple trees which he has cooked in water; the part which is to remain yellow he covers with fine layers of wax, and then proceeds to cook it in water, with onion skins, which turns it red. ”

“ In order to learn something about Easter eggs one has to turn to some such work as The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, which tells us that "the practice of presenting eggs to our friends at Easter is Magian or Persian, and bears allusion to the mundane egg, for which Ormuzd and Ahriman were to contend till the consummation of all things." ”

“ Easter eggs are no longer blessed nor gilded to be offered to sovereigns, nor are they held over to Easter eve to receive brilliant colors. A fortnight before Easter, in the coffee-houses and beer-shops of Catholic cities, may be seen huge dishes of eggs of various colors, which are eaten by the customers with their beer. And in families a hard egg is added to the salad, after removing the colored shell. ”

“ The constant use of the egg in effecting these cures by transplantation awakens a suspicion that the origin of the pretty custom of giving away Easter eggs, beautifully colored, was induced by something more than charitable impulse. Nearly every usage that remains among us as a game or a play derives from a serious ancestry. Easter was pre-eminently the festival of the Christian church which most tenaciously preserved the rites of paganism. ”

“ This name of Pasch is derived from the Jewish festival of the Passover, and the egg we now regard as an emblem of the resurrection; but all the old peoples of the world looked upon the egg as a symbol of new life coming forth with blessing. It was, in some respects, a sacred thing in the old heathen world of the Egyptians and Persians; while here in this country the Easter eggs used to be blessed by the priests at the altar, and kept all the year as a charm against various ailments. Is it not curious to think, children, how races and religions have come to be linked together by small things? ”

“ The dark blue Easter eggs are especially beautiful covered with heart’s-ease.
In the illustration “Moravian Eggs,” we see in No. 1 a red egg engraved with a sharp-pointed instrument; No. 2 is yellow-red; No. 3 is painted; No. ”

“ POSSIBILITIES OF AN EASTER EGG
Throughout the entire United States Easter eggs are very popular, and the practice of coloring them is increasing rather than diminishing. The stores are full of all sorts of novelties in real or simulated eggs; some valued at very large sums have been manufactured in London, but Uncle Sam does not raise such costly varieties. The real fun is in coloring one’s own eggs, and if the eggs can be transformed into something else, the sport will be doubled. ”

“ In the picture, the children are hunting for Easter-eggs, which the good mother has hidden in different parts of the room. The child who finds the most eggs will have the pleasure of making presents of them to whom he or she may choose.
Baby has set his eyes on the egg that lies on the floor. If he takes it up, I hope he will not let it fall, and break it. The other children will not be slow to find the painted eggs. ”

“ Finding Eggs Is Much Fun, but Hiding Them First Is More Fun
Easter was coming in a week and Donald, Elizabeth and Ruth were going to invite their two cousins to an Easter Egg Hunt.
Their mother had agreed to give them one egg out of every six which they brought in to Mary, their good-natured cook, and it was surprising how many egg nests these industrious little folks discovered in out-of-the-way places around the big barn and the farm buildings. ”

“ The artistic Easter egg, such as we have shown here, is gradually being set aside for eggs of chocolate and sweets, and the time will certainly come when, if we want to see artistic eggs, we must look for them in museums. ”

“ I had been intending for days to ask the Lord to help me find where Leon hid his Easter eggs. It had been the law at our house from the very first, that for the last month before Easter, aside from what mother had to have for the house, all of us might gather every egg we could find and keep them until Easter. If we could locate the hiding place of any one else, we might take all theirs. The day before Easter they were brought in, mother put aside what she required, and the one who had the most got to sell all of them and take the money. ”

“ If you can manage to paint the designs in water-colors they will look best, but even when marked with black ink the little animals are charming; no adequate idea can be gained of this fascinating Easter egg until all the different parts have been made and the egg changed from one to another of the various life-like little creatures. The egg has been so planned that the wings come down and cover the tops of the legs of both rooster and ostrich; the penguin and rabbit need no such cover, as the rabbit’s legs fit in naturally, and those of the penguin merely slide up in the egg. ”

“ A Russian will salute you on Easter morning with "Christ is risen," and offer you his Easter-egg; and what is still stranger, the Mohammedan will do the same. And, my dear little readers, when you break your egg at breakfast, you are doing just what the Greek and Roman boys and girls did centuries ago, for they began the first meal of the day with eggs; and egg-cups resembling ours have been found in Pompeii; only they preferred the egg of the pea-hen or Egyptian goose.
Easter-Monday is the proper time for the presentation of peace eggs, and to prepare them is always a work of love ”

“ The painting and other preparation of Easter eggs form quite an event in a country household, and here and there, especially in Hungary, the preparation is accompanied by national songs.
It is most amusing to note the care bestowed by the maidens on the eggs intended for the betrothed, the usual ornamentation being caressing doves and intertwined hands. If a Ruthenian youth receives from a girl an egg adorned with threads of wool he is thereby assured of her love and fidelity. ”

“ Give each person a certain number of hard boiled eggs. The one who succeeds in cracking the shells of his opponent's by hitting the ends together is the winner. [Pg 160]
EGG RACE
Place six hard boiled Easter eggs on each side of the room about one foot apart. A large basket is placed at the far end of the room. The players are divided in two sides, each side being chosen one at a time by the leaders. A large wooden or tin spoon is then given to one player on each side, who, at a given signal, dishes up the eggs one at a time with the spoon, placing them in the basket provided. ”

“ The eggs, as every one knows, we have at home, and where they are in such abundance chickens will not be very far away. For the lamb and the goat we can find scriptural interpretations, but the rabbit and the hare—what can they have to do with Easter? Nine persons out of ten can only answer, “The hares lay the Easter eggs.” ”

“ Monsieur Nicolas Cerise looked at my good master, winking his eye, and said, with a thin laugh:
"Monsieur l'Abbé Coignard, these eggs, whose beetroot-tinted shells lie scattered on the floor under our feet, are not in their essence as Christian and Catholic as it pleases you to think them. Easter Eggs, on the contrary, are of heathen origin, and recall, at the time of spring equinox, the mysterious burgeoning of life. It is an ancient symbol which has been preserved in the Christian religion." ”

“ A donkey is given as a booby prize to the one most often fooled. This fooling can be done in any way which suggests itself.
EASTER EGG PARTIES Color hard-boiled eggs and hide them. Give your little guests pretty baskets and let them hunt for the eggs, or give each a large wooden spoon to spoon them up. If you live in the country roll eggs down hill at one place as a target at the foot of it.
Draw a bunny holding an egg. Pin it to the wall. The one who, blindfolded, succeeds in putting a pin in the egg receives eggs as presents. ”

“ The hen and chickens may run around as much as they like, only they must keep together by holding on to each other's clothes. The game continues until the hawk has caught the hen and chickens—then a different player is chosen for the hawk and the hen. [Pg 162]
AN EGG HUNT
Hide colored Easter eggs or small candy eggs in various places, in corners, behind curtains, bric a brac, etc., etc. Provide each child with a small basket or paper bag and at a signal they start to hunt for the hidden eggs. ”

“ The most important things on Easter eggs are the mottoes which are usually specially given by the person who orders the eggs. These mottoes are often full of sentiment, of expressions of love, friendship and good wishes; sometimes they are jests.
Not only are hens’ eggs used for this purpose, but those of geese also, which look more stately, and being larger admit of longer mottoes.
Men, women and girls also are occupied in ornamenting Easter eggs.
Our illustration shows a Moravian woman at the work of scratching or engraving. Many of the Easter eggs are quite works of art in Moravia. ”

“ You can buy the eggs, and fill some of them with candy and some with peanuts; put tiny dolls in some and small toys in others, so that no two eggs will be filled alike. Then blindfold one child at a time; give him a small cane and let him make one strike and see what he can bring down. It is a good idea to spread a sheet under the chandelier on the floor, so that the shells can be gathered up quickly. Then announce refreshments.
In the centre of the supper-table upon a mound of smilax place a large rabbit on his haunches, and in his front paws an Easter egg. ”

“ In some Eastern countries there is a very old custom, which still prevails, of presenting eggs at this season of the year—some say because the egg is an emblem of creation, or recreation, there being a tradition that the world was created in the spring. In parts of Russia people present eggs to one another on Easter day, saying, “Jesus Christ is risen,” being answered, “It is so of a truth,” or “Yes, He is risen.” The Russians also serve red eggs on that day, symbolising at the same time the resurrection and the blood of the Saviour. ”

“ The Pace-Egg play was performed at Easter. The Christian Easter was fastened upon the Aryan Spring festival, substituting for the celebration of the regeneration of nature the more spiritual celebration of the immortality of the soul of man, so that the egg which symbolised the one attained a higher significance in the other. But the connection between them is indisputable: there is continuity and modification. Similarly, in the Easter or Pace-Egg play the Aryan root of the matter remained under changed conditions and altered signification, as may be illustrated from the Northern mythology. ”

“ The Meaning of Easter Eggs.—Larousse's "Dictionnaire Universel" says: "The use of Easter eggs is general among all the people of the different Christian communities. It appears to have been a symbolic tradition of the Christian Church, which has been explained in different ways. ”

“ The decoration of Easter eggs is a custom with the Sclavonic National Races of Austro-Hungary, and our illustration shows us something of the Gallician skill. In Poland the women blow Easter eggs and cover them with coloured satin, after which they stick on them all sorts of threads and tinsel. ”

“ Grandma had told Bobby and Alice and Pink of the first Easter, and had explained about the egg being the symbol of life because it contains everything necessary for the awakening of new life.
“When I was a little girl,” she said, “we had lots of chickens and of course we had lots of eggs. We got so many eggs that we could not use them all—not even if Mother made custards and omelets and angel cake every day.
“Father or the boys would take the eggs we did not need to the store and trade them for sugar or coffee or pepper or rice. ”

“ Easter is a special time not only because of its religious significance but also because it heralds the beginning of the growing season, and Easter eggs as a symbol of fertility are an important element of the festivities. Eggs are decorated with highly ornamental patterns in various ways and often become respected works of art. ”

“ On Easter Monday begins the presentation of the paschal eggs: lovers to their mistresses, relatives to each other, servants to their masters, all bring ornamented eggs. Every offering at this season is called a paschal egg. ”

“ Dear St. Nicholas: I am very busy now putting pictures on Easter eggs, the insides of which have been blown out and replaced by very fine caraway-seed candy, put in through a little hole at one end and then covered by a picture. The money I get for these eggs is for my Easter offering. Duck-eggs are the prettiest to use, because they are of such a lovely greenish-blue tint. May be some of your other readers may like to make some of these Easter eggs. Mamma says she could scarcely keep house without the St. Nicholas now, and I think so too.—Your friend,
George M. A.
Chicago, Ill. ”

“ The egg is then boiled in water containing any colored dye or solution, and the color will not attach itself to the shell in any part which has been covered with grease, and consequently all ornaments will appear white. An egg with a text of Scripture on one side, and the flower that is sacred to Easter-Monday—that is, the star-of-Bethlehem, or marsh-marigold—drawn on the other with tallow, and then dyed purple with logwood, would make a very pretty gift for your Sunday-school teacher. ”