myths are not stories that are untrue
rather they are tales that don't fit
neatly into the historical record which
serve as a foundation to a culture
Easter is a revered and festive holiday
that's been celebrated for millennia and
while there are two very different paths
to the day itself many roads lead to one
unifying symbol the easter egg for some
it's merely a simple decorated prop used
to entertain children while for others
it's an icon of sacrifice rebirth and
fertility and we figured it was the
season to crack this tale wide open
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first we start with the man who might be
the most well known religious figure of
all time
Jesus Christ of Nazareth the Jewish
middle Easterner whose life was
sacrificed for the sins of humanity but
before that he was known for his
miraculous works walking on water
healing lepers by merely touching them
and so on now you would think someone
with this much going on would have an
easy time making friends and be invited
to all the cool parties but
unfortunately that wasn't always the
case
a final betrayal enacted by judas
iscariot led him to being crucified but
what really solidified Christ's legacy
was his resurrection as the guy known
for turning water into wine he really
did turn lemons into lemonade with that
one for in the eyes of his devout
followers his resurrection is the reason
we have the Easter holiday shortly after
his resurrection and ascension into
heaven a story surfaced regarding a
particular woman from Christ's life his
bereaved confidant Mary Magdalene as the
story goes Mary went to the Roman
Emperor and offered him an egg telling
him that Christ had risen but the
emperor mocked her ha he is no more
resurrected than the egg in your hand is
read he said but the cynical Emperor was
made a believer when it said that the
egg turned red right before his very
eyes and as early Christian churches
rose up through the region the tradition
of believers giving each other red eggs
as homage to the resurrection would
endure through the centuries but Mary
Magdalene was not the only tale that
this tradition hails from the goddess
Ostara a possible migrant from Norse
mythology's a scarred
found Germanic pagans in need of a deity
that could help affect the weather by
shortening the winter and rendering soil
fertile and once she delivered those
goods she found herself identified as
the personification of the spring
equinox and was celebrated with bonfires
and festivals and as the years went by
and her Springs really sprung those that
worshipped her we're happier than clams
in high water
at first Ostara was a solo act which
meant she had a lot of ground to cover
and that could also explain what she
wasn't always great with time management
sometimes she'd start spring too early
and I like to imagine whenever that
happened the winter goddesses were
probably pretty ticked off as their
uninvited party crasher would show up
spilling sunshine and rainbows all over
their perfect white carpet no respect
but the balance of nature would also be
thrown if she started spring too late
and during one of her late starts Ostara
happened upon a bird who had nearly
frozen to death in the extended winter
mortified by her mistake she transformed
the bird into a hare who then was
instantly warmed by the new fur and
saved from an untimely demise and
consequentially this bird turned bunny
who still managed to hold on to certain
bird-like tendencies laid a batch of
colourful eggs in gratitude - Ostara
and the two travelled together for some
time now one might think that a bond
like the one the bunny in Ostara had
would be one that would last well into
the next millennium well not so much
while some still worshipped Ostara the
world in general would come to see the
bunny as not only the provider of the
eggs but the time of year's mascot and
by borrowing mightily from the Santa
Claus business model
this bunny inadvertently tapped into a
neglected Easter Marcus children in fact
it's also said that once in Pennsylvania
when an immigrant German mother hid
painted eggs for her children to find in
their garden and Easter Bunny made an
appearance just at the right time and
when the amused children accredited the
world's first Easter egg hunt to the
rabbit instead of their mother and she
didn't correct them that set off a chain
of events that would centuries later
bring us to modern time where Easter egg
hunts provide joy and laughter to
children and will continue to do so for
years to come
and you know what to honor the variety
of stories told of the Easter egg
throughout the ages I brought some eggs
of my own first up is the Mary Magdalene
egg dyed red is blood and in blazoned
with a golden cross as per the tradition
established by the early Mesopotamians
once they heard the tale it pays homage
to the blood Christ is said to have
spilt on the cross as well as being a
sign of spiritual victory over death
it's meant to display reverence and
convey a sense of faith fellowship and
worship next is the goddess
Ostara egg as you can see this lavender
based beauty is a full embodiment of the
spring equinox itself with spring
flowers painted along the sides tulips
daffodils and orchids it's a tribute to
Ostara the bringer of dawn and the
harbinger of the bountiful harvest to
come and this baby right here is my own
personal creation in collaboration with
the Easter Bunny I call it the chocolate
extinction event roughly the size of a
professional league soccer ball
Michelle alone is probably a thousand
calories and that's long before you get
to the yolk which is all caramel nougat
and ice cream maybe I actually don't
know I've never made it to the center
but it's decadent it's delicious and
it's all mine ah you didn't think I'd
leave all of you out of the festivities
did you but in all seriousness with so
many lovely stories of how the colorful
springtime tradition of the Easter egg
came to be also comes multiple ways to
celebrate the season so whether it's
going to church planting a garden or
just painting eggs and stuffing your
face with chocolate we want to wish you
and yours all the best in this joyous
time of renewal
all right everybody again
legendary thanks to Ahmed zo Turk Casey
booster Dominic will ansiana gunner
clovis Heil Murgatroyd and Orioles what
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