Which came First, the Easter or the Egg?

By KELLY MILNER HALLS

As Christians unite to celebrate Easter, one question is sure to arise. If Easter is a religious holiday marking the resurrection of Jesus, why are eggs part of the tradition?

Some say eggs are a symbol of rebirth and call them “resurrection eggs” to answer the question. But the truth is far more ancient.

The first record of eggs being used in religious ceremonies dates back to 500 BC. To celebrate the Iranian new year— which came on the spring equinox—citizens of Iraq may have colored and eaten eggs, as is depicted in a carved stone relief from Persepolis.

The pagans also honored the egg. They believed eggs could be used to cast spells of harm or protection. And they were especially important to the festival of Eostre, the goddess of dawn. Jacob Grimm, of the Brothers Grimm described the festival this way, “Bonfires were lit and the water drawn was holy and healing.”

Eostre ushered in the spring and the close of winter. Eggs were eaten at the festival and buried in the ground to guarantee fertility. When early Christians discovered the pagan traditions, they adopted the ancient dates and practices to attract non-believers. When the new religion took root, more practical needs reinforced the connection of the egg.

As early Catholics prepared for Easter with Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting, they were denied meat or any animal products, including cheese, milk, cream and eggs. The faithful didn’t want their fresh eggs to spoil, so they hard boiled them for consumption after the fast.

In time, eggs became a symbol of riches and generosity. Royalty shared colored eggs with their entourage. The Vatican gave King Henry the VIII an eggsilver – a decorative egg encased in a silver box. And the Russian ruling class made jewel encrusted Faberge’ eggs a decadent collectable.

By the time Queen Victoria took the throne in 1837, British family-life was evolving. Victoria and her German husband Albert had nine children they adored. So they colored eggs and hid them outdoors for the princes and princesses to discover. Once the royals endorsed the Easter Egg hunt, their subjects followed suit.

European candy makers joined in the fun, creating egg-shaped chocolates in the 19th century. And U.S. President Rutherford Hayes had the first White House Easter egg roll in 1878. Some say the “roll” was in tribute to Jesus and the stone rolled away from his burial tomb when he was resurrectied.

It is clear, the magic of the egg predates the death of Jesus. But the beauty of rebirth is worthy of celebration, through all of its cultural traditions.

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

As war against Russia rages on in the Ukraine, an ancient Easter tradition endures—the pysanka egg. The name is drawn from the Ukrainian word, pysaty, which means “to write.” And the precision designs are literally drawn on each egg, one delicate line at a time.

A Ukrainian legend describes a monster, the true face of evil, wandering the Carpathian Mountains. If in its travels, the monster discovers pysanka eggs are still being created, the world will be spared a horrible fate. If the pysanka practice disappears, the world is destroyed.

Sofika Zielyk, a New York City based pysanka artist pictures Vladimir Putin as the monster when she creates her intricate works. She and other artisans hope their eggs will bring joy to the world and an end to Putin’s slaughter.

Roman Roots

The early Romans drew a direct comparison between the egg and new life. In early medical writings, the authors used the hatching of an egg as an analogy for human birth. A human child escaping the womb was described as a chick breaking out of its shell in 400 BC.

In 45 BC, Julius Caesar added the spring equinox to his calendar and Roman subjects sacrificed offerings to Mars, the god of war and fertility. They believed it protected their cattle from harm.

By the first century AD, eggs became a part of Roman burial traditions. Archaeologists have found eggs with the skeletal remains of several Roman children. It is unclear if the egg was meant to be food for the afterlife or a reference to rebirth—the afterlife promised to followers of Jesus.

By HEIDE TYVAN

In honor of Easter, we proposed a challenge for nine local artists. Create an Easter Egg. There were no limits in terms of mediums, colors, or designs. They had complete freedom over their designs, as long as, in the end, they resembled an Easter Egg. Here are the results.

Jordan Bozzi

Jordan Bozzi, the publisher of Spokane Coeur d’Alene Living has been a creative artist for most of his life. Inspired by modern masters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Salvador Dali, Takashi Murakami and OG writer SUROC, Bozzi developed his own hybrid style combining the flow of graffiti with the fine detail of traditional works.

For his set of cutting-edge Easter egg—featured on the cover--Bozzi combined the mediums of Molotow paint markers, Sharpie oil-based pens and Rust-Oleum spray paint to create high contrast works reflective of his life in Spokane and the city’s past, present and future.

“I’ve always had a fascination for dinosaurs, cryptids and urban art culture, “Bozzi says. “I also grew up train watching with my friends, and the graffiti inspired me.” All three influences make an appearance on his eggs.

Bozzi hopes to find more ways to use his artwork in the magazine and across Spokane via commissioned murals and huge scale canvas and wood endeavors.

Tom Quinn

Tom Quinn was born in in Great Falls, Montana in 1960. He was influenced by the Old West art of Charles M. Russell and Frederick Remington. After studying in Florence, he pursued a career as an illustrator in the semi-primitive, ironic style of the mid-80s. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the Pacific Northwest, and he teaches drawing and painting in Spokane. Quinn’s style features hard edges, intense colors, and detail that turns the familiar into the strange. When asked about his work he says he likes “to show what’s absurd but not impossible, to take the ordinary out of context, and to turn the familiar into the strange.”

For this Easter Egg challenge, Quinn chose to paint two portraits on opposite sides of an eight-inch wooden egg. On one side is a woman with a blazing sun behind her with a man surrounded by the stars on the other. He did not have a title in mind--just “Easter Egg.”

For more of his work, visit his website: tom@quinntheartist.com.

Ness Halls

Ness Halls is a writer/illustrator living in Spokane and working part-time at Auntie’s Bookstore to support their pursuit of artistic endeavors. Drawing, painting and sculpting have been a part of their life since an early age.

Because their eggs were made of wood, Ness decided to create a pair of whimsical Koroks from “The Legend of Zelda,” one of their favorite video games. Koroks are small, wooden creatures who wear leaf masks on their faces and watch over the Great Deku Tree in the realm of Link. Halls sculpted the masks using Sculpy clay and acrylic paint to bring them to life. They added a coat of polyurethane to bring out the wood grain and to add shine.

Halls first book will be published in 2026 and their artwork has sold across the Pacific Northwest for the past ten years. To see more of their creations, follow their Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/spilledbees/.

Selina Hudson

Selina Hudson has been a fabric and wood artisan for many years, crafting jewelry, quilting patterns, photography and many other handmade items for sale on her online shop, Etsy and at Checkers. She learned from an early age the importance of design and color choices.

Hudson considers her work romantic and magical, “from a dreamy world of carefree days.” She hopes to add magic to the worlds of those who purchase and admire her artwork, too.

To create her unique egg, Hudson called on one of the staples of the game of Dungeons and Dragons—the D20, a twenty sided dice. She made use of clay and acrylic paints to fine tune her fantasy egg creation.

To see more of Selina Hudson’s work, visit her website: https://selinahudsondesigns. indiemade.com/content/about-me.

Shirley Hudson

Shirley Hudson is a freelance craft writer whose articles have been featured in virtually every craft magazine in the country.

Her extensive online business, “Hudsons Holidays” features a cross section of more than 400 patterns she has developed during her two-decade career. “We want to welcome you to our world of embroidery, craft and quilt patterns,” she says.

Hudson decided to add a delightful spring frog to her wooden Easter egg, using vibrant paint colors any self-respecting frog would feel at home with.

Her second book from C&T Publishing, Delightful Dolls features a wide array of doll patterns including a bunny, a vampire, a kitty, a snowman and more fabric friends sure to delight the child or child-like friend in your life

To see more of Shirley Hudson’s work, visit Hudson’s Holidays here: http://www. hudsonsholidays.com/news/welcome-hudsons-holidays-designs

Emma Daniels

Emma Daniels is a young artist who specializes in stained glass. She first learned how to create stained glass pieces when she was only nine years old with her mom, Erin Bangle. Now as a senior at Lewis & Clark High School, she has a business with her mom making commissioned stained-glass windows.

Naturally, for this challenge, she created a beautiful stained glass Easter Egg. When it comes to stained glass, Daniels says “I love the process of designing and building every detailed piece.” It is clear with the precision and detail in this piece alone how much Daniels enjoys creating stained glass artwork. Find more of her and her mom’s work on Facebook and Instagram @Erin & Emma’s Side Hustle Glass Art.

Yelena Yunin

Yelena Yunin is a graphic designer and fine artist based in Deer Park, WA. She immigrated to the US from Ukraine and graduated from EWU. Yunin is committed to preserving traditional art and has worked on various public art projects in the inland northwest. Her artwork, which ranges from enormous murals to fine art pieces that are intricate and small, has been showcased in galleries such as Chase Gallery.

In this challenge, Yunin created a classic Pysanka egg. Pysanka is a Ukrainian egg decorating tradition that was almost lost during Stalin’s reign because it was banned as a symbol of faith and religion. The patterns and color combinations were closely guarded and done in secret, only to be handed down from mother to daughter.

The art of creating pysanka involves a multi-step process that requires great skill and attention to detail. Pysanka artists use only the finest eggs, carefully selecting those that are smooth and well-shaped. To achieve the clean, intricate patterns that characterize pysanka, a stylus is often employed. Pysanka are often given as gifts to represent the gift of life and are typically decorated in a way that reflects the recipient’s personality.

More of her work can be found on her Instagram @yelena.yunin.art.

Ezekiel Schmitt

Originally from Missouri, Ezekiel Schmitt now calls the Pacific Northwest his home. As an artist, his work is deeply rooted in his personal philosophy of existence, as well as his dreams and visions. Schmitt is fascinated by the ways in which humans interact with one another and with the world around them, and this fascination is a driving force behind my creative process.

“The reason I chose this specific picture to paint is because of the nature of memes in our present culture,” says Schmitt. “Memes, like art, are a form of communication that can have many different meanings to different people. The power of memes is the ability to take an image out of context and give it a new interpretation which is what I did with this one. In our world, there is so much that can bring us down, but during Easter, it is a great reminder that through Resurrection or rebirth, death does not hold us down, so the negative will not always be, and you can offer something to someone, and they’re trying time that may help them on their way.”

Visit his website ezekielschmittart.com, to see more of his work!

Many thanks to the artists who took the time to participate in our Art of the Egg challenge and for sharing their work with our readers. And happy Easter!

Robbin Miller

With over 30 years of experience as an interior designer, Robbin Miller’s passion for color has been deeply ingrained. Her fascination with the works of Henri Matisse and Joan Mitchell, as studied throughout art history, has led her to explore expressive and abstract painting styles. “Painting brings me immense joy, and my ultimate goal as an artist is to convey that joy through vivid hues, bold brushstrokes, and a unique perspective on ordinary objects.” I prioritize the medium of paint over the subject matter itself, with the hope that the vibrancy of my canvases will evoke happiness in those who view them.

Her inspiration for her Easter Egg art was influenced by the Easter meaning of rebirth and renewal. Her painting represents coming out of a colder time. She says, “the depth of the different layers of paint adds to the feeling of evolving, growing, and becoming.”

More of her work is featured on her website robbinmillerstudio.com