Páskaegg
Páskaegg kallast sérstakt skraut, sem er annaðhvort skreytt egg, eða í laginu eins egg og notað er til að fagna páskum eða vorkomu. Í kristni tákna páskaegg tóma steindys Jesús,[1][2][3]
Uppruni
[breyta | breyta frumkóða]
Almennt hafa egg í gegnum tíðina verið tákn um frjósemi[4] og endurfæðingu og voru það löngu fyrir tilkomu kristindómsins.[5] Það að skreyta eggjaskurn er forn siður. Fundist hafa 60 þúsund ára gömul skreytt strútsegg í Afríku sem dæmi.[6] Algengt var að setja skreytt strútsegg og tákngervinga strútseggja úr gulli og silfri í grafir bæði meðal forn Súmera og Egypta fyrir meira en fimmþúsund árum síðan.[7]
Meðal kristinna eru páskaegg rakin til frumkristinna söfnuða í Mesapotamíu þar sem tíðkaðist að rjóða egg til minningar um að blóði krists var úthellt með krossfestingunni.[8][9] Hin kristna kirkja tók samt ekki formlega upp þann sið að tengja páskaeggin við upprisuna fyrr en 1610 en það gerði Páll páfi V.[8][9]
Þótt siðurinn hafi í gegnum aldirnar verið að nota máluð hænuegg, hafa þau í seinni tíð að miklu leyti verið leyst af hólmi með súkkulaðieggjum eða eggjum úr plasti eða álíka efni sem fyllt hafa verið með sælgæti. Á Íslandi eru súkkulaðiegg, fyllt með sælgæti og málsháttur settur með, nær alsráðandi.
Tilvísanir
[breyta | breyta frumkóða]- ↑ Anne Jordan (5. apríl 2000). Christianity. Nelson Thornes. Sótt 7. apríl 2012. „Easter eggs are used as a Christian symbol to represent the empty tomb. The outside of the egg looks dead but inside there is new life, which is going to break out. The Easter egg is a reminder that Jesus will rise from His tomb and bring new life. Orthodox Christians dye boiled eggs red to represent the blood of Christ shed for the sins of the world.“
- ↑ The Guardian, Volume 29. H. Harbaugh. 1878. Sótt 7. apríl 2012. „Just so, on that first Easter morning, Jesus came to life and walked out of the tomb, and left it, as it were, an empty shell. Just so, too, when the Christian dies, the body is left in the grave, an empty shell, but the soul takes wings and flies away to be with God. Thus you see that though an egg seems to be as dead as a stone, yet it really has life in it; and also it is like Christ's dead body, which was raised to life again. This is the reason we use eggs on Easter. (In olden times they used to color the eggs red, so as to show the kind of death by which Christ died,-a bloody death.)“
- ↑ Gordon Geddes, Jane Griffiths (22. janúar 2002). Christian belief and practice. Heinemann. Sótt 7. apríl 2012. „Red eggs are given to Orthodox Christians after the Easter Liturgy. They crack their eggs against each other's. The cracking of the eggs symbolizes a wish to break away from the bonds of sin and misery and enter the new life issuing from Christ's resurrection.“
- ↑ David Leeming (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. Sótt 10. mars 2013. „For many, Easter is synonymous with fertility symbols such as the Easter Rabbit, Easter Eggs, and the Easter lily.“
- ↑ Frank A. Salamone (2004). Routledge Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals and Festivals. Berkshire Publishing Group. Sótt 7. apríl 2012. „The Easter egg predates the Christian celebration of Easter. The eggs are a symbol of rebirth.“
- ↑ http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/egg-cetera-6-hunting-for-the-world%E2%80%99s-oldest-decorated-eggs
- ↑ Richard L. Zettler, Lee Horne, Donald P. Hansen, Holly Pittman, Treasures from Royal Tombs of Ur 1998, bls. 70-72
- ↑ 8,0 8,1 Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 5. T.B. Noonan. 1881. Sótt 7. apríl 2012. „The early Christians of Mesopotamia had the custom of dyeing and decorating eggs at Easter. They were stained red, in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion. The Church adopted the custom, and regarded the eggs as the emblem of the resurrection, as is evinced by the benediction of Pope Paul V., about 1610, which reads thus: "Bless, O Lord! we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to thy faithful servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee on account of the resurrection of the Lord." Thus the custom has come down from ages lost in antiquity.)“
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 Vicki K. Black (1. júlí 2004). Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church. Church Publishing, Inc. „The Christians of this region in Mesopotamia were probably the first to connect the decorating of eggs with the feast of the resurrection of Christ, and by the Middle Ages this practice was so widespread that in some places Easter Day was called Egg Sunday. In parts of Europe, the eggs were dyed red and were then cracked together when people exchanged Easter greetings. Many congregations today continue to have Easter egg hunts for the children after services on Easter Day.“
Heimildir
[breyta | breyta frumkóða]- Fyrirmynd greinarinnar var „Easter egg“ á ensku útgáfu Wikipedia. Sótt 29. mars 2013.
