Easter is a religious holiday celebrated by many individuals across the world. Some people decorate Easter eggs, which comes from the ancient symbol of new life, and has been associated with festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and his resurrection.

Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to sources. Eggs were formerly a forbidden food during Lent, the 6-week-long period leading up to Easter. People would paint and decorate eggs to mark the end of the 6-week-long period of fasting, and then eat the eggs on Easter as a celebration. 

The tradition of exchanging baskets is said to be descended from early medieval Catholics. To celebrate the end of Lent, they would bring baskets of delicious goods to church in order to be blessed by a priest. Baskets came to symbolize new life. As more people embraced Christianity, they would hold on to these old customs. This is the main reason why we still give baskets filled with goodies during this holiday.

The creativity of the Easter egg hunt, however, originates from Germany. Some suggest that its origins date back to the late 16th century, when Protestant Martin Luther organized egg hunts for his congregation. The men would hide eggs for women and children to find and collect them. The Easter egg hunt symbolizes the rebirth of nature after winter. Today, we still see Easter egg hunts prepared for children.

What comes along with these different traditions are the people who participate in them. We collected some of EPHS student opinions on what they think the age limit is to participate in the different Easter festivities. Here is what EPHS had to say:

Receiving Easter egg baskets:

With 73 responses total, EPHS voted that there is no age to stop receiving Easter egg baskets. However, as you can see, there are still some students who think otherwise, that there should be an age limit.

Participating in Easter egg hunts:

For the age to stop participating in Easter egg hunts, most of the students voted that there is no age limit to participating. There are some students that think there is an age to stop, believing that 10-12 years old is the limit.

Decorating Easter eggs:

For the age to stop participating in decorating eggs, most students at EPHS believe that there is no age to stop participating. There are very students that believe there is an age to stop.

Looking at all the data from EPHS’ survey, it seems to us that there is no age to stop participating in Easter festivities. We conclude that it is for all ages to have fun and enjoy time with their family and friends.

Happy Easter, EPHS!

Work Cited

(How old is too old to participate in Easter festivities survey, March, 03, 2024)

Hillerbrand, H. (October 27th, 2009). Easter | Origin, History, Name, Facts, & Dates, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday