Southside kids enjoy dying eggs

 

Children spending their spring break at Southside Baptist Church colored Easter eggs Thursday. Easter egg hunting has been an American tradition since German immigrants brought their Osterhas tradition to Pennsylvania in the 1700s. The festivity soon spread across the nation, and baskets replaced nests.

 

Eventually, the game evolved into a treasure hunt, and the prizes expanded from just hard-boiled eggs to include chocolate, candy, toys and coins.

 

Decorating eggs for Easter began sometime in the 13th century, when eggs were forbidden during the Christian Lent season, which ends on Easter. To mark the end of the time of penance and fasting, people painted and decorated eggs before eating them. For centuries, parents emptied raw eggs and dyed the eggshells or dyed hard-boiled eggs for their children to find. Some also hand-painted the eggs with elaborate designs. Today, the colored egg has evolved into a plastic egg that you can hide a small treat inside.

 

Since ancient times, eggs have been seen as a symbol of new life for obvious reasons. They have been associated with Pagan spring festivals. Some believe that the egg might represent the stone that was rolled away from Christ’s tomb, revealing his resurrection.

 

Above: Isabella Kipp, Kaylee Murphy, Jonathan Craft, Staurt Nelson, Brenden Douglas and Bryant Harper were all smiles with their finished products.

 

Photo by Andrew Garner/Star-News, Story by Kendra Bolling/Star-News