Easter egg

Easter Eggs are [hen's eggs]?, dyed or otherwise decorated for the Easter holiday. Some are confectionery? "eggs", such as hollow chocolate eggs wrapped in brightly-colored foil. Some are delicately constructed of spun sugar and pastry decoration techniques. The ubiquitous jelly egg (or jelly bean) is made from sugar-coated pectin candy. These are often hidden, supposedly by the [Easter bunny]?, for children to find on Easter morning.

Decorated eggs are much older than Easter, and both eggs and rabbit?s are age-old [fertility symbol]?s. The Passover Seder? service uses a hard-cooked egg flavored with salt water as a symbol both of new life and the Temple service in Jerusalem. The Jewish tradition may have come from earlier Roman Spring? feasts.

Easter Egg origin stories abound -- one has an emperor claiming that the Resurrection? was as likely as eggs turning red; more prosaically the Easter Egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent?.

Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Poland and other Slavic countries [folk tradition]?s. A batik-like decorating process known as [Pisanki] produces intricate, brilliantly-colored eggs. The celebrated [[Faberge| Peter Carl Faberg?] workshops created exquisite jewelled Easter Eggs for the Russian Imperial Court.

There are many other decoration techniques and numerous traditions of giving them as a token of friendship, love or good wishes.

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Humorous digital Easter Eggs, so named because they contain a hidden surprise are often found in software code. Microsoft Excel has a well-known car racing game secreted inside. The Palm? operating system has elaborately hidden animations and other surprises. The DVD for The Abyss has at least nine easter eggs, including at least three different trailers for Aliens and two for True Lies, two other James Cameron films. See the [Easter Egg Archive] for up-to-date lists and discussions of digital Easter Eggs.