Chocolate Easter eggs are a popular part of Italian culture, but ... ...did you know that how to color eggs is also a part of Easter egg tradition?
Easter, and egg tradition in ancient Rome.
Recipe books from ancient Roman daily life use 'peafowl' eggs and ancient writings show that chickens were regularly used in sacrifices. Ever heard of the 'Leghorn' chicken? It takes its name from Livorno, the part of Italy it originated from long before Christopher Columbus took it to America. And long before Christianity adopted the egg as a part of Easter traditions, the ancient Romans believed that "omne vivum ex ovo" - all life comes from the egg - and it was commonly a symbol of new birth after the winter when everything has lain dormant. There is some evidence that, even in ancient Roman culture eggs decorated with vegetable dyes using onion skins, beets and carrots were given as gifts during the spring festivals.
Easter egg tradition in modern Italy : why color Easter eggs?
During Lent, the weeks before Easter, neither meat nor dairy produce can be eaten and the tradition of hard-boiling eggs so as not to waste food, and painting them to be given as gifts and eaten on Easter Sunday is likely to have originated there.
In an audience with a sceptical Emperor Tiberius Caesar, an egg she had taken as a gift miraculously turned red, symbolising the blood of Christ. These days eggs are hard-boiled and coloured using food dyes. You won't find the Easter bunny leaving hidden coloured eggs though - they are more likely to be decorating the table for dinner on Easter Sunday.
Easter egg tradition in Italy : chocolate Easter eggs.
Chocolate Easter eggs have now overtaken decorated eggs in Italy as the most popular gift at Easter.
Chocolate eggs have become increasingly elaborate as manufacturers tempt people to buy their eggs. In every tiny village in Italy, every supermarket, shop window and market stall will have a huge variety of chocolate eggs in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. They range from the tiny, solid milk chocolate to the massive, showy hollowed out eggs containing sometimes quite elaborate gifts. All of them will be wrapped in foil or, more commonly, cellophane; most will have at least decorative ribbon, often massive bows. And, despite Italian engagement ring tradition being to give and receive a ring on Valentine's Day, modern customs are beginning to use Easter eggs as a way of surprising a partner, the ring being hidden in the hollow egg. Easter egg tradition and Italian culture : which is the most popular of chocolate Easter eggs? Most people assume that the company making the very popular Kinder Eggs is German - in fact they are made by Ferrero, a hugely successful Italian family company based in the Piemonte region in Italy's north-west.
They range from tiny 'mini-eggs' to the giant special eggs produced as a limited edition at Easter. Each contains a 'surprise' toy, sometimes themed, sometimes not. As far as Italian children are concerned, these are the best of all chocolate eggs - not necessarily for the chocolate, but for the surprise toy each egg contains.
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in Italy.
