Today Easter Eggs have become a central part of Christian Easter celebrations in North America with chocolate Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and decorating Easter eggs. It is unclear as to the specific reason for decorating eggs, but painted eggs have been part of spring celebrations in many cultures for centuries, each with their own styles and color traditions. Red and version of red have been the most common color in many cultures, symbolizing the blood of Christ.

The most famous Easter egg to date is the first Faberge egg. This small gold egg encased in platinum and enamel was created by Peter Carl Faberge in 1883 as an Easter gift for the Empress Marie of Russia from her husband Tsar Alexander. The egg was gorgeous, and a tradition began with a new egg being designed each Easter. Nicholas II, Alexander’s son, continued this tradition with a total of 57 eggs designed in total.

Today, Easter eggs are generally connected with the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts. The Easter bunny came to be part of Easter tradition because rabbits and hares are known for their ability to produce multiple births and that made them a natural choice for the celebration of spring and new life. For many decades, young children have taken part in Easter egg hunts, searching for colorful eggs laid by the Easter bunny in the grass. Easter egg hunts have become a traditional part of American Easter celebrations, with the Whitehouse and many community churches hosting annual Easter egg hunts each year.

It never fails. Year after year the stores pack their shelves with various items mean to “decorate” an egg. All dressed up for Easter, the plain, white egg you normally have for breakfast or use in your baking becomes a multi-colored, glittery, or tie-dyed work of art.

If you celebrate Easter then you, too, probably purchase dozens of eggs to decorate but do you know why you do it?  Is it simply because that’s what your mother did each year because that’s what her mother did? And why does a bunny deliver them?

Though-out history, eggs have been a part of many spring celebrations. Eggs are generally thought of as a symbol of life and Easter is in Spring when new life abounds in the world. The Romans, who believe that “All life comes from an egg” used eggs in their spring festivals and feasts and salted hardboiled eggs were part of Jewish traditions as well.

Pagan beliefs viewed the egg as a sacred symbol and an old fable told of an egg that fell from heaven and hatched the goddess of Fertility, Astarte (Easter) Since then eggs have been found as symbols of new life and fertility in Rome, Northern Europe, China and Japan.

Christians later adopted the use of eggs into their Easter celebrations as the “seed of life” symbolizing Christ’s resurrection. Many different beliefs have been held about the actual use of eggs. It was once believed that eggs laid on Good Friday and cooked on Easter would promote fertility of the trees and crops will protecting against sudden deaths.

Lunch

If you are planning to have friends and family over after church or so you can sleep in a bit then a lunch between noon and 3 p.m. is the thing for you to do. A lunch can be served either buffet style or as a sit down affair but whichever you choose your lunch menu will offer a little more than a brunch menu with additional hot dishes. You can still serve finger foods but adding more meat and vegetable dishes will make your lunch-time meal a hit.

Think of items like:

• Ham
• Potato salad
• Spinach salad
• Deviled eggs
• Green beans
• Corn
• Carrots
• Macaroni and cheese
• Biscuits

Add an Easter themed punch, tea, or soft drinks and your meal will be complete.

Dinner

If you’re hosting an even anytime after 5 p.m. then a more extensive menu is in order. A larger menu can still be simple yet elegant. If you can make a dish in advance, do it. Anything you can do prior to the day of the even will help keep you sane and stress-free.

For the main course think:

• Leg of Lamb
• Rib Roast
• Ham
• Salmon

Ideas for side dishes could include:

• New potatoes
• Roasted root vegetables
• Green Beans
• Rice Pilaf
• Pasta
• Sugar Peas
• Artichokes
• Asparagus

Don’t forget to include other items such as salads, various appetizers, fruits, cakes, and breads. Complement your meal with a nice beverage and your elegant dinner is complete.

Once you’ve decided what time of day to hold your event, you’ll want to plan the decorations and come up with any games you might play. Don’t forget desserts too.

You think about doing it each year but you keep putting it off thinking it would be too much trouble. But now, you’ve made the decision to have guests over for Easter and now you need to decide whether to host a brunch, lunch or dinner? No matter which time of day you choose to host your gathering bring out your best dishes and show them off. Make sure to take it easy and have fun. The party won’t be fun for anyone if the hostess is stressed out.

Let’s take a look at some ideas for having a gathering for each time of day.

Brunch

If you’d like to have your crew over between 10 a.m. and noon then a brunch is what you should aim for. You’ll have to get up a little earlier in the day to host a brunch but you can prepare the dishes beforehand and warm them up just prior to your guests’ arrival. Think of serving the food buffet style. This works out easier for both the host and guests.

You can serve items like:

• Quiche
• Omelets
• Fruit
• Waffles or pancakes
• Ham or egg salad sandwiches
• Breakfast breads and cakes
• Assorted appetizers or finger foods

Add a beverage like juice, coffee, tea, milk, hot chocolate or soda and you have a simple, yet satisfying brunch.

Egg Salad – When the craving hits you, there is nothing better than an egg salad sandwich on lightly toasted bread. How about freshly made egg salad nestled in a bed of lettuce leaves with a bit of paprika or chives on top?   Like deviled eggs, egg salad can be made so many different ways. Grab your favorite ingredients and make a bowl with your left over boiled eggs.

Scotch Eggs – If you like eggs, sausage and deep fried food you’ll absolutely adore scotch eggs.

Although called Scotch this dish isn’t Scottish at all. Instead it was created by the London food shop Fortnum & Mason – well known for being a favorite shop of the British Royal Family.

Peel your boiled (chilled) egg and roll the egg in flour. Then,  wrap the egg in the ground sausage meat. Dip the meat/egg mixture in beaten eggs and roll in bread crumbs. Then deep fry until the sausage is golden brown. Find your favorite recipe by googling “scotch eggs”.

Pickled Eggs – These might not be a favorite item on your list but you have extra eggs so why not give them a try?  At the very least, you can gather the kids around and conduct an experiment with eggs and various pickling recipes. There are many types pickling recipes with names like sweet and sour, pineapple pickled eggs, dark and spicy eggs, cidered eggs, garlic pickled eggs, and beet juice eggs.

Now, you have a few ways to make use of your extra hard boiled eggs. Don’t forget that you can slice and add to salads or cooked dishes for extra protein, too. And, if you just plain don’t like eggs, boiled or otherwise make up one or more of these dishes and share with family or friends.

So, you have extra hard-boiled eggs from your Easter egg dyeing adventures?  Don’t blame me, you’re the one that boiled them all. But since you have a few on hand, how about a few ideas of things you can do with your extra eggs, colored or not.

Deviled Eggs – The term deviled typically means spicy or hot. Adding black or cayenne pepper or even a bit of horseradish in your yolk mixture will certainly give you that taste sensation but a deviled egg can have a hint of sweet, too, when adding sweet gherkins or relish.

Oh, deviled eggs how I love thee! Sweet, spicy, tart or just plain tasty, deviled eggs are a staple of any picnic or barbeque with your favorite aunt or grandma smiling secretly at requests for her “secret” recipe.

Plain Ole Hard Boiled Eggs – Did you know that “hard boiled” eggs should not be actually boiled?  Why not, you ask? Because boiling the eggs makes them rubbery. Instead, you should boil the water, take the pot off the heat and leave the eggs in the hot boiled water for the length of time it takes to get them to the stage you like, soft- (1-4 mins.) or hard-boiled (15-17 mins). It’s also best to use older eggs and pierce them with a needle prior to cooking to make them easier to peel. Once they’re finished cooking (or after they’ve been dyed or decorated) simply peel, sprinkle with a bit of salt & pepper and enjoy.