Celebrate Easter and Ostara by Giving Gifts of Eggs

image credit -photo by MnGyver, taken in
Covent Garden, London, England as part
of an Egg Hunt Celebration featuring
giant-sized Faberge-style eggs.

"Omne vivum ex ovo" - All Life Comes From an Egg. So, Let's Celebrate the Symbolism of Easter Eggs.

Easter falls on April 5th and Ostara falls on March 20th this year, and with it comes the Spring Equinox and the celebration of The Resurrection of Christ. The symbolism of the egg is ancient and has remained through the millennia. The egg is the ultimate symbol of life, as an old Latin proverb is written, "Omne vivum ex ovo," meaning "All life comes from an egg."

Today, the most common use of Easter eggs is within Christianity, where the egg symbolizes the embodiment of Christ, or the tomb of Christ. In the earliest Christian practices and still in today's Orthodox Christian religion, eggs are dyed the color red to symbolize the blood of Christ, as shed on the cross. The egg is not a symbolism of death, however, as Christ was resurrected.

Now, we paint Easter eggs all wonderful, pretty colors and decorate them beautifully. I remember as a child being very excited to start decorating the Easter eggs, and every year I would get a few in my basket from the Easter Bunny. It was great fun. Today, as an adult, I still love decorating Easter eggs. Also, as an adult, I now know just how ancient and important the meaning of the egg is. I love all symbolism, particularly pictorial ones, and the egg is a favorite!

I can't think of a nicer way to celebrate Easter than with giving the gift of eggs to your dear-ones. I've taken quite a bit of time of picking out eggs I think you'll like below. Happy Egg Giving! :)

image credit - photo by David Bone

Origin of Easter and the Easter Egg Tradition
Colored eggs were placed at the site of graves

Every year Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the Spring Equinox. The date on which Easter falls may have been adapted by Pagan religions that celebrate holidays according to the coming and going of seasons.

The Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is the first day of Spring, which correlates with the pagan holiday Ostara, also known as Eastre, Eostre, Oestre. You can see the similarity of these names with the term Easter.

Ostara, in pagan beliefs, was the Goddess of fertility and the renewal of life. She was celebrated and worshiped on the Spring Equinox. As an offering to Ostara, people would leave colored eggs at the site of their loved-ones graves, symbolizing rebirth. Today, pagans and wiccans alike continue to celebrate Ostara, and Christo-pagans celebrate both the christian Easter and Ostara.

image credit - "Faberge Tree" by Mauro Luna taken at an exhibit in the Houston Museum of Natural
Science from the "Faberge: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars,"

Objet D'Art Vintage Faberge Egg

Click image to see on Amazon

Faberge eggs are highly collectible jeweled eggs that were made at the turn at the 20th century at the House of Faberge in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia. They were made to give as Easter gifts and were worn on a chain around the neck.

Today, they continue to be highly sought after. Many are on exhibit in various museums, and patrons are delighted by their beauty.

Most Faberge eggs are replicas of the originals (like the one below), as the originals are prized collectibles and very expensive.

The Faberge egg pictured to the left is a gorgeous, available collectible that doubles as a music box, playing "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison. Find it here: Electric Green Musical Faberge Egg Box " Here Comes the Sun" Paykoc QZ40058

image credit - photo by Big
Bead Little Bead of a
cloisonne bead

The Art of Cloisonne

Cloisonne is an ancient art of decorating metal dating as far back as early Egypt. The techniques are tedious and labor-some and those who make cloisonne art are highly skilled. Today, most cloisonne comes out of the Far East.

Click image to see on Amazon

The techniques used in cloisonne are complicated, and the designs have become more detailed as different techniques have been developed. Generally, outlined metal sections (or cloisonne ) are added to the base metal, and then, enamel paste is painted on the base metal within the sections. In early days, gems or bits of glass were used to decorate each section. As you can see, from the photo I've selected, that it is an intricate detailed process.

Like the Faberge eggs, Cloisonne pieces are also sought after collectible pieces. Cloisonne pieces range from ring and other jewelry items to plates, vases, trinket boxes, and also, the egg.

.999 Silver Collectible Cloisonne Egg Coin - Intrinsic Art Value with Monetary Value as well

click image to see on Amazon

I think this is a really neat idea to give as a gift!

These are real, uncirculated coins from the Cook Islands.  Each has a face value of $5.00.

We've all heard, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." These coins are another way to collect assets.

These are getting hard to come by. Only 2,500 were minted.  There are other colors and patterns available too.  Click the egg coin image to see more. 

image credit - photo by Spiros K. showing a
glass factory on Murano Island. -pretty cool!

Murano Glass - Glass Art from the Island of Murano, Italy

Murano glass has been made by skilled glass artisans since the 9th century. While the art-form technique is done elsewhere, true Murano glass comes only from the island of Murano, an Island off of Venice, Italy.

image credit - photo by Philip showing an amazing Murano glass sculpture on display on Murano Island.

Available Museum Quality, Collectible, Murano Easter Eggs:

There's only one of each.  Be share to get them while they last.

Ivory Murano Glass Easter Egg	Emerald Murano Glass Easter Egg	Murano Glass Easter Egg