where did the tradition of painting Easter eggs come from?

Go to this site to read the full story:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8149/egg.html

But long story short, many cultures throughout the world traded dyed eggs, because they believed it symbolized rebirth. Then, the dyed eggs became connected with Christianity as the "rebirth of man" (as in Christians had a second chance because Jesus died for them, so it was in a sense, a rebirth) So in the middle ages, these eggs were celebrated on Easter (when Jesus was resurrected, giving man a "rebirth"). They were dyed and decorated to enhance the significance of the holiday.

When it started, it started so long ago it's lost to history. It had been going for centuries by the time of Christ, it went on before people even learned to write.

There's a lovely story about the goddess Eostre. One day she same across a bird which was dying. To save its life, she turned it into a hare.. but it retained the ability to lay eggs. So, every year on the goddess's feast day, the rabbit layed eggs, decorated them, and left them for her in gratitude for its renewed life.

So yes, it DOES have to do with the Easter bunny.

Also, the egg is a symbol of the moon, and Eostre was a moon goddess.. and many cultures see a rabbit in the moon rather than a face, so there's another connection.

*** g86 3/22 p. 7 The Truth About Easter Customs ***

Pagan Practices That Were “Christianized”

Easter Eggs: Since the eating of eggs was formerly forbidden during Lent, “decorated eggs,” claims The Encyclopedia Americana, “could symbolize the end of the penitential season and the beginning of joyful celebration.” However, reference works agree that the egg was a symbol of life and fertility among idolaters. Says the book Celebrations: “Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox.”

Easter Hares and Rabbits: In Europe, the hare has long been a traditional symbol of Easter. (In North America, the animal is a rabbit—a close relative of the hare.) Yet The New Encyclopædia Britannica explains that the hare was “the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt.” Thus when children hunt for Easter eggs, supposedly brought by the Easter rabbit, “this is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite.”—Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, volume 1, page 335.

Sunrise Services: Says The Book of Festivals and Holidays the World Over: “It was a common belief among the early Christians that on Easter morning the sun danced in honor of the Resurrection and people rose long before the sun to see the feat. Perhaps this ancient belief is the inspiration for the many sunrise services that take place on Easter morning in all parts of the United States and Europe.”

But says Walsh’s Curiosities of Popular Customs: “This idea of the sun dancing on Easter Day may easily be traced back to heathen customs, when the spectators themselves danced at a festival in honor of the sun, after the vernal equinox.”

The book Celebrations adds: “Sunrise services are not unrelated to the Easter fires held on the tops of hills in continuation of the New Year fires, a worldwide observance in antiquity. Rites were performed at the vernal equinox welcoming the sun and its great power to bring new life to all growing things.”

Water Rites: The belief that running water on Easter morning is especially blessed is common. However, Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics reminds us: “Since water is one of the essential factors in the preservation of life and the growth of the crops, it naturally plays a conspicuous part in rainmaking ceremonies and other seasonal rites among primitive people.”

The Blessing of the New Fire: A Catholic rite, in preparation for the Easter vigil, in which a fire is started from a flint rock. Says Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics: “The new fire probably took rise from a pagan custom to which, when adopted by Christians, a gospel symbolism was attached.”

Easter Oddities

Ham Dinners: Ham on Easter is a long-standing custom among many Catholics. However, the custom is a relic of English bigotry. The American Book of Days says that the English had a habit “of eating a gammon of bacon on that day to show their contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork.” William the Conqueror, according to the book Celebrations, changed the bacon to ham to suit his liking.

Easter in America: Because the religious scene in America was for a long time dominated by puritanical thinking (the Puritans disdained ritual), Easter was at first a rather small-scale event. It appears that the holiday became popular, though, during the U.S. Civil War. So many families lost loved ones during this conflict that the holiday was promoted as a means of bringing consolation to the bereaved.

Easter Bonfires: Easter bonfires were originally banned by the church as being a pagan symbolism, says Weiser. (Synod of Mainz, 742 C.E.) However, “Saint” Patrick introduced the practice in Ireland “to supplant the Druidic pagan spring fires with a Christian and religious fire symbol of Christ . . . This tolerated custom became so popular eventually that the popes incorporated it into the liturgy of the Western Church in the latter part of the ninth century.”—The Easter Book, by Francis Weiser, S.J.

Easter in Japan: A Catholic woman asked a Japanese nun why they didn’t use bunnies in their Easter celebration (called Fukkatsu-sai, or festival of resurrection). Her reply: “What are they? Do they have any special meaning on Easter?”

Says one former Catholic: ‘Easter in Japan was an occasion a bit more serious than in Western countries. After Mass, we received colored eggs, but we were not told their meaning. Also, in church the crosses and other images would be covered with purple cloth during Lent. But on the day of Easter, the coverings would be removed to symbolize the joy of the resurrection.

Pagans