The miraculous egg

Last week our youth club were decorating eggs for Easter.

This involved gently inserting needles in the eggs, blowing out the contents (which were then made into omelettes) and microwaving the egg before dipping them in food dye. As you can imagine there were several possibilities for disaster here. Fortunately, however, no eggs were thrown, no children impaled themselves on the needles and no outbreak of salmonella has been reported!

Eggs have fascinated humanity since antiquity. They were revered in ancient Egypt, China and in Persia where they were seen as a symbol of the universe. Meanwhile, in the pagan world the egg was revered as a symbol of springtime and miraculous rebirth.

The Church reinterpreted this understanding the egg as a symbol of the tomb from which Christ was miraculously resurrected. Records show that in 1290 Edward I spent eighteen pence to have four hundred and fifty eggs covered in gold leaf to be given as Easter gifts. The eggs that Fabergé made for the Czar were famously a little more pricey.

So if this Easter morning you have already marvelled at your breakfast egg or failed to stop your children digging into their chocolate one, why not treat it as part of your Easter devotion to the empty tomb from which Christ arose this day.

With best wishes for a happy Easter!

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