Why do we have Easter eggs and where did they come from?

In 2026 Easter will happen on 5 April, and on that day millions of people will be unwrapping oval chocolate treats. Some people will be scouring gardens for hidden eggs, while others will be preparing to roll eggs down hillsides. But where does the Easter egg tradition come from?

Eggs play a part in many Easter traditions, and Dr Michael Carter of English Heritage has been looking back to see how society has liked its eggs at this time of year.

Easter eggs in medieval times

In setting out what is known from medieval times about the association of eggs with the most important weekend in the Church’s calendar, Michael points to the period of fasting that traditionally preceded Easter.

‘In Lent, you could not eat any fats, and that included eggs,’ he says. ‘Eggs were one of the few sources of readily available protein for the poor – more accessible than meat – and so it must have been a great physical and emotional release to be able to eat them again when your Lenten abstinence ended and you could celebrate Easter.’

But people were doing more than simply eating eggs. Michael says that there is evidence dating back to the 13th century of the custom of giving decorated eggs at Easter.

The giving and receiving of eggs

‘King Edward I purchased 450 coloured and gilded eggs to distribute to his courtiers,’ he explains.

Not all eggs were golden, but ‘the practice of giving decorated eggs continued and was widespread by the 19th century’. These decorated gifts were known as ‘peace eggs’ or ‘pace eggs’ – both names probably coming from ‘pascha’, the Latin word for ‘Easter’.

From the Middle Ages onwards, Michael says, ‘eggs were also collected and distributed as alms to the poor at Eastertide’.

Customs grew up around such practices.

‘The giving and the collecting of eggs continued into the 17th century and beyond and were surrounded by rituals and songs, which is what you see with all begging customs,’ he says. ‘These ceremonies for collecting foodstuffs at calendar festivals are basically a form of licensed begging – it’s a way of alleviating poverty so that it isn’t considered as just routine begging. The ceremonies make it palatable and acceptable. But they also affirm the social bonds – everyone has a place either as a giver of charity or a recipient of charity.’

‘It’s a bit of fun as well. We have evidence from 18th-century Lancashire of the collecting of eggs being accompanied by dancing and verse.’

‘Groups of people known as “egg pacers” are recorded from the early modern period, and they would go door to door to collect for charity. They would be wearing costumes and they would cavort and chase people. It was a way of letting off some steam. Easter was the first big calendar festival since Christmas and Plough Monday, and – with the lighter days – it offered a chance for communal activities again.’

Easter egg rolling

The lighter days and potentially warmer weather may also have encouraged the development of Easter games such as egg rolling, in which communities gather to roll eggs down hillsides and see which travels the furthest without breaking.

The tradition seems to have spread during the 1800s – though today it is not nearly as widespread as another feature of Easter that entered the historical record during the 19th century.

The history of the modern Easter egg

‘Fry’s began selling chocolate eggs in 1873, using dark chocolate,’ says Michael. ‘Milk chocolate later became the most popular type, after it was introduced by Cadbury in 1897. But it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that chocolate eggs were being mass-produced and assumed the role of being a ubiquitous symbol of Easter consumption.’

The date for Fry’s first chocolate egg can be pinned down. Other aspects of the history of Easter are more difficult to unscramble.

The possible origins of Easter

Even the origins of the word ‘Easter’ are unclear. It is sometimes said that it derives from Ēastre, the name of a goddess associated in pre-Christian times with spring. But scholars are far from convinced by that interpretation of the evidence, which is based on the writings of one historian who lived in Anglo-Saxon times.

‘Our source for that explanation is Bede, and nobody else,’ says Michael. ‘So it’s far from certain.’

The symbolism of the Easter egg

Also less than clear is the development of the symbolism that is sometimes attached to eggs at Easter. Today people may say that eggs represent the new life promised by Jesus’ resurrection, or that their shape symbolises the stone rolled in front of his tomb.

Michael is uncertain how old such associations are.

‘Calendar festivals are constantly evolving, and new things get brought in,’ he says. ‘And one of the great things about Christian iconography and theology is that you can give a new meaning to anything.’

But he is sure about the effects on British history and culture of the almost 2,000-year-old story of the events commemorated at Easter.

‘Some people may say that Christianity at Christmas or Easter is borrowing from this or that, and they want to discount it all. Or because the stories are so familiar they can become numb to them and they don’t think about their significance. But these stories really have shaped not just our beliefs but our society as well.’