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Show Easter Egg Has Strange History The egg, from remotest ages has been a symbol of resurrection and was, in fact, the first known means of exchanging Easter greetings. The ancient Persians first ex-thanged ex-thanged presents of gilded and colored eggs as a sign of affection, since it was their belief that the earth was hatched from an egg at the season of the year which corresponds cor-responds to the vernal equinox. The Phoenicians, a sea faring race, spread the worldfrom-an-egg theory throughout the then-known world. The Gauls, who traded with them, brought the theory to Britain. Brit-ain. Early Christians, who looked upon the egg as representing a prison or tomb from which future life escaped, retained the egg in the Easter observance as a svm- bol of resurrection, coloring their eggs deep red to signify the blood of Christ. The practice of exchanging Easter Eas-ter greetings has long been popular in America. The early Pennsylvania Pennsylvan-ia Dutch settlers dyed eggs in various var-ious colors, then used a pen-knife or quill to scratch names on the shell. The decorated eggs often remained on shelves or cupboards throughout the year, and some were even handed down from one generation to another as heirlooms. |