Eggs are a representation of the new life that hatches every spring, but their symbolism extends far beyond the wonder of nature. For early Christians, the egg was a tangible symbol of Christ’s Resurrection. The hard shell represented the sealed tomb, and the act of cracking the egg open to reveal its center symbolized Christ rising from the dead. In the early Church, the Lenten fast included abstaining from eggs as well as meat, so the end of the penitential season meant people could once again indulge in eating them.
But where did the color come from? We have the Eastern Orthodox traditions to thank for this fun rite of childhood passage. According to a popular story, Mary Magdalene went before the Emperor Tiberius in Rome to proclaim Christ’s Resurrection, using an egg to demonstrate the concept. The emperor allegedly said that a man rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in her hand turning red, which it immediately did. Whether the story was based in truth or fabricated, it launched a tradition of dying eggs red to symbolize the blood Christ shed for us on the cross, and it explains why some icons of Mary Magdalene depict her holding a red egg.