The history and origins of Easter feasts

Isn’t it an odd tradition that the resurrection of Christ is marked by the consumption of chocolate eggs supposedly delivered by an anthropomorphic rabbit? 

Easter is a momentous occasion in the Christian calendar and is marked by a wide variety of traditions and rituals, both religious and secular.

One of the most common traditions is the Easter meal. Whether spiritual or secular, hundreds of thousands of people gather with their families at Easter to swap Easter eggs, and dine on lamb, fresh poultry and other food.

Have you ever wondered where this tradition comes from though? Or why do we seem to have certain meals that we have during this time? Today we’re going to explore the origins and the history of the annual Easter Feast.

The first Easter feast

For a long time, the occasion we now mark as “Easter” was a pagan festival. Pagan spirituality revolves around the worship of nature and the perceived divinity inherent in nature. Therefore, the passing of the seasons and seasonal events (solstices and equinoxes) are marked as sacred. Easter was originally the spring equinox festival in many pagan traditions, a sacred time dedicated to a Goddess known as “Ostara” or “Eostre.”

We actually owe much of the modern celebration of Easter to these pagan origins. During pagan spiritual dominance, the spring equinox was marked by feasting and storytelling; one story in particular told of a hare that was able to lay eggs, which it then gifted to adherents as a reward for worshipping and celebrating.

As Christianity spread, the Easter celebration was appropriated by the church to mark the resurrection of Christ, and in 30 A.D, the Church established the celebration known as “Resurrection Day.” However, it did not become widely celebrated until 325 A.D, when Emperor Constantine declared the date of Easter in the Council of Nicaea. Although the dedication had changed, Easter was born, and many of the pagan traditions of the spring equinox remained the same.

The meals of Easter

Now that we understand where Easter comes from, as well as the origin of its seemingly strange hallmark traditions, we can get into the history of where the specific meals we share during this time come from.

Ham and Lamb

As harsh as winters can be now, it’s rare that we have a death because of it in modern society. But when civilisation was just beginning and most societies were very agriculture-based, winter was a stone-cold killer. Pun not intended.

As the frost descended on the land, the harvest would suffer, and sickness and disease would spread rapidly. Because of this, it was important to have an adequate store of dried foods to prevent starvation, take care of livestock and maintain the strength that would allow people to more easily recover from illness. However, when this period of frugality ended, families would often find themselves with some relatively high-quality stock left over. And right on the cusp of spring, too.

Because of this sudden period of abundance after a period of fasting and hardship, people would enter spring with a feast, using up the last of their winter stocks, which often included Ham that had been curing over the winter. As time went on, the inclusion of this Easter meal just became an ingrained tradition throughout the generations.

The same can be said of Lamb, however, lamb has particular spiritual implications due to Jesus’ title as the “lamb of God,” therefore lamb is eaten to commemorate his sacrifice.

Easter Bread

Many cultures have one form or another of Easter bread. Just like every culture has its cornerstone bread variety, how these cultures took the humble loaf and moulded it into a treat for the sacred season is just as varied. 

Greeks make sweet bread baked in a knot pattern and decorated with a red egg. In America, they celebrate Easter with a treat called Monkey Bread. In Croatia, they celebrate Easter with a citrusy bread called Pinca (pin-tsa), while in Czechia, they (perhaps somewhat grimly) celebrate Easter with so-called “Judas Buns". 

Named for Judas Iscariot, who, after betraying Jesus to crucifixion, hanged himself out of guilt. The buns are so named because their knot pattern supposedly resembles the rope Judas used to hang himself. The ever-popular hot-cross buns from Britain are also a form of Easter bread.

Soups

Just like bread, most Easter-celebrating cultures have one kind of soup or another that, while eaten year-round, is also a special fixture at Easter time. For Greeks, it’s Avgolemono (ah-v-go-lemon-oh), or “egg and lemon” soup. The soup is a broth that has egg mixed into it slowly so that the egg stays as a liquid and thickens the broth. Lemon is added to balance the creaminess and add depth of flavour, and the soup is often eaten with rice and pieces of meat. Italians have “minestra maritata” or “wedding soup”, cooked with sausage and greens, served with cheese. In Poland, they eat a sour soup made from Rye Flour called żurek.

Easter is a celebration that brings together families all around the world. Whether you adhere to the Christian celebration, commemorate the holiday’s pagan roots or merely use the holiday as a time of bonding and chocolate-swapping with family and friends, there are many different ways to celebrate the day.

However, food remains one of the most consistently popular ways to commemorate the occasion, and depending on your family history and lineage, it’s likely that you experience some or all of what we’ve talked about today. It’s even more likely you follow a culinary Easter tradition we haven’t named!

Whatever it is, that particular food item that seems to always be on the table at Easter time, it has made its way through the ages, through all of your ancestors and all their history, to come to you now.

Whatever Easter means or doesn’t mean for you, we think that there is something miraculous about this handing down of traditions through the ages.