Does the Easter egg represent the stone from Jesus' tomb?

Answer 1

A:No. The Easter egg represents fertility, as does the Easter Bunny. Easter was named after the goddess of fertility, Oestre. Christians took over the celebrations that took place in the pagan spring, in order to attract converts into the churches.

Answer 2

Actually, Easter eggs and rabbits do not and never did represent fertility nor fertility gods in Europe. It's a bit of a myth that's prevailed, with very little evidence to support it. We have no record of any fertility gods in this area that were represented by rabbits or eggs. They are definitely not symbols related to Ishtar, and the supposed god Easter or Eostre cannot even be verified as an actual god that was ever worshipped.

Easter, in English and German, is merely a word derived from the word East, being that the sun was rising in the East when Jesus rose again. In virtually all other languages, a word derived from Passover is used.

It's likely, rather, that eggs carried over from the Passover Seder meal, as Easter is a christianized Passover celebration. In Jewish tradition, eggs represented new life in the sense of Israel escaping Egyptian rule. For the Christian, they represent new life in Christ. Painting them pastel colors, is likely just giving them a spring look, which also represents new life.

Rabbits, on the other hand, can also symbolize new life. It's likely German Protestants were the first to give the hare this symbolism, as they focused on second birth theology so heavily.