Easter Eggs

What does an egg symbolize on Easter Sunday?

The egg has always held particular symbolic significance, partly because it is a visual shorthand for new life or rebirth and resurrection. The egg brings hope and purity. It is a symbol of fertility and the circle of life. 

From the outside, eggs appear stone cold, yet inside they nurture young life. Just as a grave keeps life locked in, eggs stood for the tomb in Jerusalem, from which Christ rose from death like a bird hatching an egg.

The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolized new life emerging from the eggshell. In the Orthodox tradition, eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The egg-coloring tradition has continued even in modern secular nations.