Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional virtues - Easter tradition

Easter tradition

During the festival, according to traditional customs, people cooked eggs and painted them red, representing the blood shed by Jesus after suffering and the happiness after resurrection. Adults and children get together and play games with eggs. They roll the eggs on the ground or on the slope, and the person who breaks the eggs finally wins. The winner can get all the players' eggs. This activity is very common. Even the White House organizes this game on Easter, but it just rolls eggs on the lawn. It is believed that eggs rolling back and forth on the ground can make the devil tremble and suffer. This custom has a long history.

Eggs are the symbol of Easter, which indicates the arrival of new life. Christians regard it as a symbol of Jesus and believe that a new life will be born from it. Another symbol of Easter is the rabbit. Because of its powerful reproductive ability, people regard it as the expression of new life. During the festival, adults will vividly tell children that Easter eggs are born by rabbits. Many families will also put some eggs on the garden lawn for children to play the game of finding eggs. Easter rabbits and eggs have also become popular commodities in festivals. Shopping malls also sell all kinds of rabbit and egg-shaped goods. Large and small food stores and candy stores are full of rabbits and eggs made of chocolate. These "rabbit eaters" are cute and have eggs of different shapes. They taste sweet and are good gifts for friends.

American food at Easter is very special, mainly mutton and ham. Legend has it that once, in order to test Abraham's loyalty, God ordered him to kill his only son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham was in great pain. Finally, he decided to do what God wanted. Just as he raised his knife to his son, God sent an angel to stop him. Abraham accidentally found a ram and offered it as a sacrifice to God. Since then, it has become a custom to sacrifice sheep to God. The habit of eating ham is said to have been brought by British immigrants. At first, the British used ham to show their contempt for Jewish taboo meat. Now, it has developed into a traditional food to commemorate Jesus.