Pagan Easter Food Traditions

Many traditional Easter foods are pagan in origin.

Easter is an important holiday in Christian tradition, celebrating the rising of Jesus from the dead. Many of its traditions, including food, predate Christianity and are pagan in origin. Easter eggs, lamb or ham, candy, hot cross buns and Easter baskets all come from pagan traditions and have been adapted over time for the Christian holiday.

Eggs

Eggs were symbols of life, fertility, immortality and rebirth in many cultures. Pagans often colored and ate eggs during spring festivals, celebrating the return of the sun after winter and the fertility of new soil. The pagan tradition of including eggs in spring festivals carried over very naturally into Christian tradition, in which the egg symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus and his immortality.

Lamb and Ham

The tradition of eating lamb or ham at Easter finds its roots in pagan times. Pagans would preserve meat to eat throughout the winter. By the time spring arrived and livestock began to reproduce, people would eat the last of the cured or salted meat, knowing that there would soon be more. Lamb is also directly associated with Jesus, called the "lamb of God."

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns have their origin in the pagan springtime festival honoring the goddess Eostre or Ostara, from whose name "Easter" is derived. The buns, decorated with small crosses to symbolize the quarters of the moon or a bull's horns, were thought to ensure fertility and the goddess' protection in the coming year. These buns were incorporated into Christian tradition. Today the cross represents that upon which Jesus was crucified, and the buns are eaten throughout the Easter season.

Candy

The Christian tradition of eating candy eggs and rabbits, both symbols of life and fertility, comes from the pagan idea that one could assume the qualities of a given symbol by eating something that represented it. Candy rabbits and eggs are a way of celebrating the essence of spring and the qualities of fertility and life.

Easter Baskets

According to Witchvox.com, in pagan tradition, baskets full of treats were left out for fairies at different times of the year. This was said to save the basket provider from becoming the subject of fairy mischief. At Ostara, these baskets were filled with sweet things, corresponding to the nectar in new flowers. This is most likely the origin of the traditional Easter basket, filled with real or artificial grass, candy, eggs and other treats.

References

• Food Timeline: Easter Foods: History and Symbolism
• Goddess Gift: Easter: History and Traditions
• Slash Food: Eggs, Ham and Lamb: A History of Easter Food
• The Witches' Voice: You Call it Easter, We Call it Ostara
• The Worldwide Gourmet: Easter in the British Isles