THE EASTER EGG

Easter is the day Jesus was resurrected, two days after his crucifixion.   Otherwise, it has become a melange of historical and temporal variations.  For example, that day each year is any Sunday between March 22 and April 25 following the first full moon after the spring equinox, which occurs on March 21.  The next time Easter can occur on March 22 will be in the Year 2285.  Will be on April 25 in 2038.

The origin of the term Easter depends on who you ask.

• One is the corruption of Austre, the ancient pagan Scandinavian goddess of life and liberty.
• Derived from Eoastre or Eostae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.
• Another is the variation of the German word Ostern.
• Perhaps most popular is some composite of the Latin in albis, German eostarum and Greek pascha.
• Easter eggs are also called Paschal eggs.

The USA is somewhat unusual because Easter is not a national holiday, as celebrated in 135 countries.  While mostly Christian in nature, all major religions seem to converge some major religious holiday in April, from Judaism's Passover to Islams's Ramadan, and holy days of Buddhists, Baha'is, Siks, Jains and Hindus.  

Of course the easter egg, too, has many roots:

• 
  Some historians believe the origin was medieval Europe at Anglo-Saxon festivals to celebrate the pagan Goddess Eostre, who could well be another namesake of Easter.  Supposedly eggs were buried and eaten during this festival, for eggs were the symbol of fertility and rebirth of nature after the dead of winter.   Eggs represented new life, as in the Resurrection.

• 
  Certainly, the dyeing of eggs occurred 2500 years ago in the Trypillian culture that lived in Central Europe.
• Mesopotamians and Greeks dyed eggs red to mimic the blood that Jesus shed during his crucifixion.
• Nine centuries ago King Edward I of England ordered 450 eggs to be colored and decorated with gold leaf to give to royal relatives during spring season.  The Vatican reciprocated a few years later by sending Henry VIII an egg in a silver case to mark the Easter season.
• Easter egg hunting originated in Germany in the 1600s.

• 
  The White House made egg-rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus' tomb being rolled away in 1878 during Rutherford Haye's presidency.  President Joe Biden will be there for this roll tomorrow on his White House lawn.
• There is a whole lot of history about the Easter Rabbit, but I'll cover this creature next year.

Here are especially noteworthy Easter eggs:

• The diamond-studded Mirage costs $8.4 million.  The shell alone is worth $3.5 million, but inside is an 18 carat gold globe revealing a delicated crystal dove perched on a gold olive branch.
• There were 69 Fabergé eggs, with 57 still present somewhere. The Third Imperial Easter Egg, made in 1887, containing a 14K Vacheron Constantin lady's luxury watch, as found by a scrap dealer in 2011, and is estimated to be worth $33 million.

The most expensive edible Easter egg is made of chocolate by Martin Chiffers.  Weighs 11 pounds, has eyes of diamonds, and costs $54,000.

Chicken eggs dominate because they are easily obtainable and relatively cheap.  Even in Hawaii you can buy a dozen for $2, as I just did.  But no reason why you can't be more creative:

• There are 10,000 different kinds of eggs.
• The smallest egg is from the honey sucking humming bird.

• 
  You can't do this legally, but the California Condor egg weights 11 ounces.  A chicken egg weighs 2 ounces.
• But can find an Ostrich egg, which weighs 48 ounces, or 3 pounds.
• The now extinct Elephant Bird stood 10 feet tall and lived in Madagascar and went extinct in the 1700s.  Their eggs weighed 22 pounds.  It is not related to the Ostrich, but to a Kiwi.

Finally, so you are in room with a basket full of eggs, bring out your colored Ostrich egg and challenge anyone to an egg fight.  But having to use a hen's egg for knocking or tapping competition, which I remember doing when I was young, and is particularly important in Louisiana Cajun communities, which one do you pick?  Certainly not by color.  

• 
  A frozen egg usually wins, but let's play fair.
• Strategists say the largest egg or eggs from free range hens are thicker.
• Pick the left egg, or the pointiest one.
• Polish your egg to remove small bumps.
• Try to miss the point of your opponent.  But, hey, don't cheat.  This is Easter.

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