Crystal Chimes - spiritualism, inspirational poetry, healing, the aura and philosophy

Wishing You All A Very HappyEaster.

This time of the year we remember how Jesus died on the cross. I am a Christian but I have decided to give you a different look into easter. We all enjoy Easter eggs. So I do hope you enjoy reading all about the different ways of an easter egg around the world. It is a very long page but I hope it
will interest you.

The egg has symbolic associations with the four elements needed for life.
SHELL - EARTH
MEMBRANE - AIR
WHITE - WATER
YOLK - FIRE

In China eggs which are reputed to be one thousand years old are highly prized (although the age span label is questionable) are preserved for six-ten weeks with a coating of clay ashes, lime and salt. The chemicals in the clay will soak into the shell and when removed will have a smooth creamy texture and firm consistency. The 'Thousand Year Egg' is usually translucent, and coloured blue or green with a bright green yolk typically. Having a slightly fishy taste it is usually served at the beginning of a meal, and having half an egg is usually sufficient as they are extremely rich. There is a traditional practice associated with ensuring good luck will come to female offspring in Chinese traditional beliefs. It is said that to announce the forthcoming birth of a child it is customary for the family to paint eggs bright red in colour, this being the colour associated with happiness. In the Chinese culture the egg is the most important symbol of life and re-birth (See Mystical WWW Cosmic Egg Creation Myths & Beliefs)

The tradition of giving eggs in Russia was not restricted to Easter but for many occasions. Indeed it was known historically for Aristocratic ladies to keep their hands cool by holding eggs made of jade or marble. One Russian folk tale tells that a young man faithful to his fathers dieing wish distributed many eggs on his way to church on Easter Sunday to the poor. At the door of the church the young man met an old man. He gave the man his last egg and then realized that the old man was Christ himself. 'Nest eggs' are decorated wooden eggs-within-eggs, were also given to children in Russia (these are similar to the famous 'Matrioska' dolls). The term 'nest egg' is now familiar in the West too and applies to a sum of money which has been saved to be spent on something special in the future. A nest egg is typically made for a child by the parents and given on a special occasion, for example an eighteenth or twenty-first birthday, or wedding, or saved for a particular item or retirement.

Some of the most highly decorated Russian eggs were made by the European court jeweler 'Carl Faberge' during the end of the nineteenth-century and into the early 1900's. He was the son of a Swiss immigrant to Russia and his work for the Romanovs, Russia's imperial ruling family, is internationally known. At their request, he and his highly skilled craftsmen would create jeweled eggs to be given as presents amongst the family for Easter and also other celebrations. Each was made from precious materials, gold, crystals, porcelain and priceless stones with concealed springs. When the spring was released, the contents of the eggs would reveal wondrous surprises. Amongst the most well known are the eggs which concealed clocks, birds that sang, baskets of flowers, larger stones, lockets and even replicas of coaches or palaces. Faberge's ingenuity seemed to know no ends. One egg contained a beautiful globe which was also a clock covered in the most beautiful gems but the 'Orange-tree' egg presented to the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna by Tsar Nicholas II is one of the most exquisite. Trying to find the way to open the egg was intriguing. Usually the key to open the egg would be found by pressing one of the jewels which would be disguised as something else.

Did you know that the word 'cockney' is Middle English for 'cock's egg'? It is thought to stem from the fact that country folk believed at one time that townsfolk were malnourished and lived mainly on cock's eggs. Of course cockerels do not lay eggs but the townsfolk were thought to have eaten the white lump which could be found inside the cockerel which resembled a small white egg, and hence their poor reputation. Cockney is also the generic name given to people from the East-end suburb of London (UK) who are well-known for their 'cockney rhyming slang', for example 'apple and pears' meant 'stairs', 'currant bun' meant 'sun' and so on.

Even in the twentieth-century eggs have been highly prized but perhaps the reasons are slightly different. In Germany, in 1918, for example, eggs were so difficult to find after World War I that to buy one it was necessary to have a doctor's prescription.

Eggs have a number of positive and negative associations according to folklore too, particularly chicken eggs. According to an old English (UK) belief the tenth egg in a batch will always be the largest, whilst to find a small egg will bring misfortune. Collecting the eggs after nightfall is not advised but if you wish to find out whether someone thinks highly of you taking a hard-boiled egg, removing the yolk, putting salt in its place and eating only this for supper will help you dream of that special person.

Eggs that have no yolk were considered to be very unlucky as they are traditionally believed to be laid by the cockerel, whilst an egg with a double-yolk was said to indicate an imminent death in the family. Sailors were also advised not to mention the egg by name but by the term 'roundabout' to avoid misfortune at sea. Poking a hole by accident in the bottom of the shell after eating a hard-boiled egg though is considered to be very lucky, but never throw the shell on a fire or the hen will never lay again and a storm may brew at sea. The Scots (UK) believe that crushing the shell is the best way to avoid any negative events happening. The Scots also believed that witches would collect up any shells left whole and use them to sail out to sea in order to sink the ships. This belief is thought to stem back to Roman times. The Japanese traditionally thought it also unlucky for a woman to step over an eggshell as this would cause her to become confused and agitated to a state of what was called madness.

Eggs were also given to babies traditionally in the North of England (UK). Friends, relatives and parents would give the gift of an egg, matches, bread, silver coins and a pinch of salt wrapped in a small packet, to the baby pinning it to their clothing. This was believed to bring good luck, health and prosperity to the child. The egg symbolized fertility and immortality; the matches would provide light on the way to heaven/afterlife; bread symbolized the necessities of life and salt symbolized health in mind and body. Different combinations of these gifts were given, with salt and fire also believed to have a further positive influence providing protection against negative energies.

EASTER EGGS
'Traditions and Messages'

Easter is a Christian Festival which celebrates Christ's Resurrection, and today eggs are exchanged with family and friends to commemorate the unification of all God's children at this time. It was said that Roman Catholic nuns near Rome decorated hen's eggs and took them to church on Easter Sunday so that the eggs could be blessed by the priests and then distributed to the locals for food. Traditionally children were given hard-boiled eggs painted red to symbolize the blood of Christ. The Romans and Egyptians would exchange eggs to symbolize the continuance of life after death. Early Christianity is thought to have adopted the idea and incorporated it into Easter celebrations.

Yet many have forgotten where the custom of exchanging eggs to family and friends has come from. The actual origin of giving eggs is generally believed to stem from Pagan traditions, and it is also believed by some that the word 'Easter' derives from the old Saxon language word 'Oster' meaning 'to rise'.

The rising and rebirth of the sun on Easter day was a time of much celebration and dancing (See Mystical WWW Morris Dancing) in an old Aryan belief but only because the sun rose and not for any other reason. To commemorate the rising of the sun on this day, red and gold eggs were exchanged as eggs symbolized the birth of the new sun, again linking together the various Creation myths associated with the egg. The Pagan goddess 'Eastre' or 'Eostre' (Spring or Dawn) is thought by some to have been the reason why the festival received the name 'Easter'. The rebirth of spring and all things growing after winter was a reason for great celebration in the Pagan world. Eostre's favourite animal was the 'hare', and there have long been associations between the hare and Easter, although latterly most people tend to associate the rabbit with Easter (hence 'Easter Bunnies' can often be found sold commercially at this time). The hare in Pagan animal mythology represented love, growth and fertility which ties in very obviously with Easter Bunnies, the beginning of spring and new relationships. (See Mystical WWW Mystical Animals & Folklore of the Easter Hare).

More on Easter

According to tradition, in the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary young girls would decorate eggs for their sweethearts, intending to give the eggs as a token of their love and admiration rather than for religious reasons. Obviously the man who receives a number of eggs at Easter is popular but he is also considered to be a handsome catch. A girl can, if she wants, give more than one egg to raise the stakes in the love match. Why? Well her chances of gaining him as a future husband are higher as the young man having received the eggs will then store them for a length of time (which he can decide). When he feels the time is right, he must look again at the eggs and see which egg has retained the strongest colouring. Whichever girl gave him the egg that is the most colourful egg when he looks at the eggs again will become his betrothed, as it is clear that if the colour has not faded during this time then her love is true and will not fade also.

The Alsatians have a different approach to celebrating this time of year and on how to go about building relationships. The girls decorate the eggs and then wait for the men to come and collect them, but there is a catch. Not all the eggs may be collected and a girl may be left with a number of eggs having received no callers. Although the idea of someone collecting the egg from you is a very different approach to the Western custom of giving the intention behind the exchange remains the same - a love token.

Perhaps it is the combination of all these traditions through time that produce today's Easter egg exchange amongst most as an act of kindness.

Easter is a time when people around the world exchange eggs, usually to indicate a religious significance or because of friendship. Most are made from delicious chocolate or carved of wood (to make the moment of sharing last). Some eggs are prettily decorated and packaged whilst others carry inscriptions, poetry, and short messages but what is the significance of the messages written upon the egg? (See Mystical WWW Easter Egg Traditions and Messages). Some believe that the tradition of decorating eggs can be traced back to the birth of Christ when it is said that the Virgin Mary painted eggs green, yellow and red to entertain and delight the infant Jesus.

It is has been a long tradition that lovers exchange eggs at this time of year with eggs carrying personal messages, but of course not all the messages indicate that the relationship is one that is going to stand the test of time. Some believe that to exchange eggs between lovers indicates that a betrothal is imminent, but if a young man in the Tyrol receives a pair of eggs from his sweetheart at the same time he knows that she has transferred her affections elsewhere. If this is the case, it is said that he should smash the eggs on the floor, not only to symbolically signify the heartbreak which may result but also to end the emotional and spiritual ties that have bound them together so they are both free to make new associations.

There are many ways of decorating eggs with a range of natural substances and colours which can be applied to your very own design. The best egg to decorate is reputed to be a white hen's egg, and the best tool to use to inscribe a message on the egg is an old-fashioned school pen nib. Natural dyes can be obtained from a range of flowers and vegetables, with the skin of an onion being one of the best. Take the peel and leave it soaking in tepid water for several days before boiling the egg in the onion water. The same process can be applied to two other very good natural dyes, beetroot and birch leaves, which remember, can also be mixed to make your own special colour. Be sure to leave a few weeks to make your special Easter egg decoration. One particular traditional decoration symbolizes the Resurrection, and immortality, and it is to soak a reed in rainwater and then let it dry. As it dries you will see that it turns green. The general rule is that there is no rule to decorating an egg. Be creative, think about your own special message or adopt a traditional one, then get together all the bits and pieces you need. A personalized Easter egg is often so much more rewarding for all the people concerned.

Of course if you are lucky enough to own an Araucana Hen you may decide not to decorate the egg as the hen lays eggs which are either blue, pink or green. A very unique bird!

By taking an Easter egg into a church, it is said that a male can discover whether there is any negative energies present and also the identity of any witch inside the church. Should there be any witches in the congregation their true identity will be revealed to him. He will recognize the women who are witches it is said by the fact that they will have pieces of pork in their hands rather than prayer books, and instead of bonnets each witch will have a milk pail on their head!
There are many renowned traditional Western Easter dishes associated with this festival, the most popular ones being 'Pancakes' served on Shrove Tuesday and 'Scrambled Egg Bentinck' which is traditionally served on Easter Sunday.

I would appreciate if the author of this page would contact me so as I can link people to your website if you have one. Or remove this page if you wish done. I was sent this page and I put on my website for Easter. I have put this in all good faith. I feel there is a lot more that people could read if I could link them to you. God Bless Thank you.

Click on my name to write to me. Eunice E Powe

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