The Real and Not-So Real Reasons Why We Hide Easter Eggs
There are a lot of traditions in and around the Easter season that make a whole lot of sense to me. I have knowledge of the spiritual side of the season and what it means to different religious affiliations. I know that Easter and Springtime are both symbols of rebirth, whether that is of a spiritual nature or a biological nature.
However, there is one Easter tradition that baffles me totally. Why do we hide Easter Eggs?
I understand the symbols of the Easter Egg. For many, the egg itself is a sign of new birth. The shell of the egg is said to be symbolic of the tomb that Christ was buried in. Many of the decorations on the eggs carry symbolic and spiritual messages. But why do we hide them?
Rolling Easter Eggs is reportedly symbolic of the rolling away of the stone at the tomb of Christ. I can stretch far enough to see that but still why do we hide the darn eggs?
If you're telling me it's fun. I will respectfully disagree with you. Having to look for anything is a real pain the butt. Have you ever misplaced your car keys and been late for work? At no time during that process does the thought of "Happy Easter" spring into your mind.
Easter Egg hunts from what I can gather are a strategic parental ploy to help children burn off sugar-laden treats that were left in a basket by the Easter Bunny. The fact that sugared-up children are running around the backyard in clothes they will only wear one time looking for eggs that later that evening will be turned into a salad or better yet pickled or deviled is really hard to fathom.
Easter Egg hunts at our house were never times of joy and happiness. They were times of vicious competitiveness. This was followed by hurt feelings.
Then there is the frustration, when the number of eggs that were hidden, did not match the number of eggs found, that's a big deal if you're using real eggs and you've hidden them indoors.
That is why we stopped hiding real eggs in the house. You have never experienced the joy of Easter until you've found a rotting symbol of the season while pulling out the flag for the Fourth of July.
Maybe you see this differently than I do. If you have a really good reason why we hide the darn eggs I'd like to know.
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