Easter Food

Easter is an essential part of the Christian tradition, and the principal celebration after Christmas. There are certain foods associated with this time of year that are common to many European countries. They have a symbolic meaning, often pagan in origin which is adapted to the most important events of Easter: the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus. Before Christianity, we celebrated spring as the time when everything came to life after the long winter months. We have eaten the same foods – eggs, cakes, lamb – at what is known as Easter for a very long time.

Easter Eggs

The first thing we associate with Easter is the egg. In ancient times they were symbols of fertility and spring, and Christians saw them as symbolizing the tomb that Christ came from during the Resurrection. In Northern Europe, people began painting eggs in bright (llamativos) colours and gave them as presents to their friends. In Germany they are painted in green and in Slavic countries they are red as a symbol of the blood (sangre) of Christ. They are often painted with elaborate and colourful patterns.(dibujos) Silver and gold are the most popular colours.

Chocolate Eggs

The most common Easter eggs in Northern Europe are made of chocolate. These eggs originated in France and Germany in the nineteenth century, and were later developed by the English chocolate maker John Cadbury. When chocolatiers perfected the difficult task of making hollow (huecos) eggs, the result were larger eggs using less chocolate. In Britain, children usually receive a chocolate egg from their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties and family friends. Small eggs with a white and yellow filling (relleno)  are also popular snacks – the famous Cadbury’s Cream Eggs. They are so popular that they usually arrive in the shops in January even though Easter is along way off.

       

Easter Buns (bollos) and Cakes

Chocolate eggs are not the only sweet food made during Easter. In Britain people eat Hot Cross Buns, another pagan tradition that still exists. Saxons ate buns marked with a cross (cruz) in honour of the goddess (diosa) Eostre (possibly the origin of the word “Easter” in English). The cross initially represented the four quarters of the moon, but now it symbolizes the cross of Christ. Many countries have Easter cakes. In Russia, for example, families bake kulich, which is made with candied fruit (fruta confitada) and taken to church to be blessed (bendecidos) by the priest.(sacerdote)