Egg Stand

Egg Stand

An Egg Is For Life; Not Just For Easter

At this specific time of year everyone is most likely thinking about eggs - the chocolate, Easter egg type which are mostly bought in large cardboard boxes and plastic packaging or sometimes wrapped in brightly coloured foil. I've had eggs on my mind most of this year for a very singular reason.

My 7 year old sons' teacher (who will remain annonymous) evidently spent the whole of his Christmas vacation constructing his own chicken coop in his garden and when back to school in January he decided to share his chicken raising interest with every little boy in class 2a.  He doesn't have his own children.  

So we've had the chicken coop, a pre-built one, I might add, for 5 weeks at this point and we have a mixed-breed family unit of 5 laying hens.  A hen produces an average of 300 eggs a year, as a result we also have a great deal of eggs, which is perhaps why they are upmost in my mind.

The egg has long been a symbol of renewal, the life cycle and fruitfulness.  Curiously its' symbolic supremacy is rivaled only by that of the cock.  It is the capability of the egg to craft a new life that made it so mysterious to pagan believers. People used to think the earth was shaped like an egg and early myths thought the yellow egg yolk, symbolized the sun, which in turn was considered as a source of life. As eggs embody the very essence of life, they have throughout the ages been endowed with magical properties of being able to divine the future.

Traditionally various cultures hold their own traditions and beliefs regarding eggs. In Egypt eggs were hung in the temples to encourage fertility, in Germany farm workers used to daub their pitch forks with egg whilst digging the land, as they believed the egg would help the earth to be more fertile. Some people shunned consuming eggs or destroying them at all, for fear of harming fertility. 

As Europe became Christian, eggs became a representation of Easter and the rising again of Christ. In the past, Christians gave up eggs for Lent, the 40 days that Christ was in the wilderness. But even though people didn't eat them, the hens kept laying them! So people would hard-boil and decorate them which helped preserve them longer and serve as part of the holiday celebrations. The egg is also part of the Jewish Passover holiday that takes place in the Spring, representing sacrifice and rebirth.

It is hence in the Spring, when all is coming back into life after the winter, that the egg is most closely linked. 

In 1996 The International Egg Commission celebrated the first World Egg Day; countries participate every year on the second Friday in October in an international movement to promote the egg and its health benefits.

The entire chicken rearing experience is beneficial, in spite of my original objections to the children.  I'm a very keen cook who likes high-quality, fresh ingredients and we all love the difference in taste we are getting from our eggs.  Eggs are so versatile and should be the star of your cooking and baking all year round, adapting your culinary use of them to the seasons.

This year for Easter we're doing something special.  We've bought a selection of novelty egg cups to sit our freshly laid eggs in, once the children have decorated them.  We'll wrap them simply in brown paper and present them as gifts.  Still I won't insult your intelligence by pretending that eggs are any stand-in for chocolate!

To read further about eggs, raising chickens, buy novelty egg cups and unusual egg related gifts visit Jamie at

EggsarenotjustforEaster

Happy Easter!

 

About the Author

I'm James, (Jamie for short) I'm married with 2 children, living in the UK, Buxton in Derbyshire which is a beautiful spa town.  We live semi rural in an old converted barn with dogs, a cat and now chickens !

I have been a househusband for 2 yrs now and I really enjoy it!  I love cooking, all cuisines and eating out.  I spend my time writing, looking after the home, the children, walking/biking with the dogs and kids.  I'm interested in cars, formula 1 racing, horse racing and enjoy travel and reading.  I also hold a PPL and recently sold my little sports plane. 

 

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