10 Symbols of Easter

Eggs have strong symbolic value in virtually all religions of the world. Christianity adopted them from Pagans who saw them as the symbol of (especially female) fertility and new beginnings. In Christianity, an egg became a symbol of hope and eternal life.

When Easter became a widely celebrated holiday, additional meanings of eggs appeared. One explanation is that eggs represent Christ's tomb which was empty when opened. The tomb was the place where his dead body was laid and from where he was raised back to life. Another popular explanation is that eggs mean drops of Christ's blood. This is why they are traditionally colored red although many other religions way older than Christianity used the same color many thousand years before.

No matter what, eggs are always perceived as something positive and with the potential to bring life (chicken) closely associated with hope which coincides with the beginning of the new year (Pagans started the year with the beginning of spring). This means we are focused on the future: eggs produce chickens, and chickens will become hens.

Hens will lay eggs which gives us a perfect circle as was observed by our ancestors many thousand years ago.

Here are a few more fascinating facts about eggs!

A butterfly is a symbol of transformation. It comes out of an egg, starts life in one form, disappears into a cocoon, and finally develops into a spectacular form that appears very close to our perception of angels. The stages in the life of a butterfly are a metaphor for the life cycle of Jesus Christ and consequently every Christian.

This puts a butterfly among the most important Easter symbols, yet its symbolic power has roots in older religions as well. Egyptians saw their mummies as cocoons and Greeks put butterflies made of gold into their tombs believing they could help with reincarnation. By the way: the Greek word for butterfly is psyche, which means soul.

Easter Bunny seems a pretty modern addition to Easter symbols yet it, again, comes from ancient times, way before children perceived bunnies as chocolate products. Rabbits and hares (despite their similar looks they are completely different species) were typically seen as the early signs of spring. If there was no food, there was no offspring for rabbits but when nature really awoke suddenly there were masses of bunnies.

Bunny is, just like an egg, a symbol of fertility. Rabbit is a symbol of Eostra, the Germanic goddess of spring who - if you didn't notice - gave name to the biggest Christian holiday - Easter.

Lambs were traditional sacrificial animals by early Christians and we can easily find examples in well-known Bible stories about Cain and Abel or Abraham. Later, after the birth of Jesus, the lamb is used more metaphorically. The Crucifixion is perceived as the sacrifice of Jesus for mankind and Jesus is often called a Lamb of God.

In essence, the lamb is a symbol of gentleness and innocence. In many contexts, it also represents abundance and peace.

Flowers are another powerful symbol of Easter which is pretty obvious considering it's essentially the spring holiday. Easter is not just Easter Sunday but a holiday that is intertwined with Lent (starting 40 days before) and Ascension of the Lord (40 days after) just like spring doesn't last one day only.

This gives plenty of opportunities for different kinds of flowers to take more or less important roles in the celebration. We need to expose at least palm leaves (giving the name to Palm Sunday, falling exactly one week before Easter Sunday, commemorating the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem) and Easter lilies (which were supposed to start blooming on the ground where Jesus' blood fell and by their trumpet-shaped blooms reminding us of the horns announcing the resurrection).

Other flowers, blooming around Easter in different areas with Christians have their roles in celebration as well.

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Easter baskets have a pretty long tradition which could be traced to the 13th century. It's another part of old spring rituals where some food was sacrificed to ensure better living conditions with warmer weather. In the Christian version, a basket is covered with some nice cloth and decorated with evergreen plants. Then it's filled with samples of available food and brought to church to be blessed.

Today most people perceive Easter baskets as an opportunity to gift to friends and relatives.

There are at least seven colors closely associated with Easter although their meanings are not perceived the same in every area.

Here is a simplified list:

• black - death and mourning
• gold - glory and triumph
• green - growth and maturation
• purple - penitence and royalty
• pink - hope and joy
• red - love and sacrifice
• white - grace and innocence

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During the Easter service large white candle is lit. Typically after the big candle several smaller candles are lit as well. The largest candle which, to be honest, is often of yellowish or ivory shade, represents hope and victory of lighter colors (day, life) against darker ones (night, death). It is often decorated with religious symbols like a cross or stylized picture of Jesus. This candle has a special name: Paschal candle and is also used at baptisms symbolically connecting the resurrection of Jesus with the new life of a Christian.

The Cross is the major symbol of the Christian religion. It represents the faith and the crucified Jesus at the same time. There are numerous types of crosses and even Christians often disagree about the type used for the Crucifixion.

Cross had an important role in many other religions as well although this role is not changing just from one religion to another but inside the same religion through time and locations. Cross, of course, is indispensable at all Easter rituals but it has a bit lighter side too. We can see it in popular hot cross buns, made of sweet dough and decorated with crosses made of flour paste. It is believed that spices used for cross buns remind us of the spices used to embalm the body of Jesus. Hot cross buns are typically eaten on Good Fridays.

Even the type of dough reminds us of Jesus Christ. Made with yeast it is a typical rising dough that makes an association to the rising of Jesus from the dead.

Easter bonnets are among the newest symbols and traditions related to the Easter holidays. While provisional covers for the head made of leaves and flowers were worn at spring festivals for many centuries, Easter bonnets became popular only after the First World War. Symbolically such bonnets or hats (and actually all new pieces of cloth) represent new beginnings. Yes, again. Spring is all about optimism and new beginnings.