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Eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth in many cultures. The exchange of eggs is a custom that long predates Easter.

Claims are often made that Easter Eggs were originally pagan symbols though there is no definitive evidence for such a claim. It is suggested that the pagan goddess Eostre may have given her name to the festival that we now know as Easter. Back in the 18th Century a German named Jakob Grimm theorised a pagan connection to Easter Eggs, this time with a putative goddess of his own who he named Ostara, a suggested German version of Eostre.

Typically in the Western World, Easter is associated as a symbol of new life - hence the chick hatching from it’s egg imagery commonly seen at Easter time. Typically many infant and primary schools will encourage young pupils to draw or make Easter chicks or even obtain live eggs from which the chicks will hatch.

Another Orthodox tradition is the presenting of red colored eggs to friends while giving Easter greetings. The custom derives from a biblical event - after the Ascension of Christ, Mary Magdalen supposedly went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with Christ is risen, whereupon he stated, Christ has not risen no more than that egg is red (pointing to an egg on his table). After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red. The egg being symbolic of the grave and the cracking of an egg being symbolic for emergence of new life.

In todays modern, commercial times, chocolate is used to make Easter eggs and commonly the chocolate egg will contain a packet of sweets or individual chocolates inside it. Egg hunts are becoming more commonplace and ever larger. Groups of people can be seen hunting amongst the bushes and trees of gardens and local parks for mini chocolate eggs - lucky, young finders placing their new-found eggs in small buckets.