Ode to Eggs

In former days, the austerities of Lent were observed with much vigor and devotion. 

The faithful were bound to abstain from meat but also (not just on Sunday) from eggs and from all white meats and dairy products. Holy Saturday would be a day that Irish people take a vow of silence, so I’ll have my work cut out to stay quiet soon.

What more natural than to have a last fling on the day before Ash Wednesday. May as well use up all eggs, milk and butter; as they’d surely spoil by Easter Sunday!  

Now that the Easter Sunday Dinner is almost here, marking the end of the Lenten fast; we’re almost ready to end our fasting.

The Easter Sunday Dinner, a festive meal second only to Christmas Day for Christians.

The faithful would say it should be of MORE importance than Christmas since much of the message of Christianity is built around the self-sacrifice of Easter. But these days, it is hard for most anything to compete with Christmas.

Eggs at Easter will be enjoyed once again of course. Back in the day; all who could afford it, ate meat at Easter, the favorites being a young lamb roasted whole or roast veal.  Better off farmers killed cattle and sent portions to friends and poorer neighbors.  Beef, salted down in early winter, often graced the table too.

Who’s going to bring you Easter Eggs this Easter? In the US and Canada, it shall be the Easter bunny, or rabbit.  Children in England and Germany say it is the Hare.  The hare looking like a large rabbit with huge ears and legs.  The legend began in Germany.

In Italy, Belgium and France; treats come to children via church bells.  Parents tell their children that all bells in the country are silent the week before Easter because they have left their towers to visit Rome and gather sweets.  Once they return, the bells hide goodies in the gardens of children who’ve been good.  It’s a myth as important to a French Easter as Santa Claus is to Christmas. 

Lamb is an Easter favorite to enjoy. In Greece, it is served with a jam made of rose petals.  People bake Easter cookies and cakes shaped like a lamb.  A lamb has long been a symbol of Jesus.  Hot cross buns are buns with an icing in the shape of a cross and a favorite in Europe.

Folks in Russia eat Easter bread that is full of plump white raisins. In Eastern Europe, people enjoy an Easter cake shaped like a skirt, called ‘babka’, which means “little old woman”.  Easter cakes in Italy are shaped like a rabbit, which is a symbol of birth and new life.

Festivals go back to ancient times. At first, the festivities celebrated the coming of spring. In northern Europe, the goddess of spring was Eostre.  Perhaps Easter got its name from this goddess.

Fried, shirred, coddled, country-style, poached, basted, sous-vide, raw, omelet, boiled, salted, pickled, scrambled. Is there anything an egg can't do? And isn't it inspiring that each of these preparations tastes unique, even though they are all made from the same thing?  An Egg.

China produces the most eggs, about 160 billion per year. In the US, about 280 million hens produce more than 65 billion eggs per year.  A hen can lay about 250 eggs per year.

Eggs contain protein, minerals and many vitamins, except vitamin C.  Eggs yolks are one of the few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.  The average 100g egg contain over two-thirds more vitamin D than it was suggested only 30 years ago.  Eggs provide lutein naturally and lutein is good for your eyes.  Lutein from eggs is absorbed more efficiently from eggs than from other lutein-rich foods, like spinach – warding off age-related macular degeneration (Lutein is in the yolk).

Every country has its own unique identity, with different people and places. I rejoice in traditions like spring lambs and baby chicks, children wearing an Easter Bonnet and taking part in popular Easter Bonnet Competitions in Parochial Halls across some continents with prizes galore for the lucky winners!

Easter is sure to put a spring in your little bunnies’ step as it is surely for our Pookah.  The pooka, you may remember, appeared as a 6" tall white bunny in the movie Harvey, with Jimmy Stewart.  

But to us, come evening outside a local pub, you could encounter the mythical Pookah, a six-foot-tall County Kerry monster who absconds with those who have overindulged. 

Not so far-fetched even for Woodbury...  I’ve visited that big Rabbit at Valley Creek Mall for many years for the children’s sake. I anchored myself at the Christian Book Store while the children had their photos taken with him.  

Who knows; he could be seen as a loving big fluffy giver of chocolate; or a hairy bogeyman to some.  

Except to say… Pookas roam large areas of the countryside at night knocking down fences and gates, scattering livestock, and trampling crops.  He especially likes drunkards. When it rains with sun shining, that means he will be out that night. When berries are killed by frost it is the pooka's spit which is upon them and they should not be eaten.

The mere sight of him may prevent hens laying their eggs or cows giving milk. If you are taken by a Pookah, that took its shape as a Large Rabbit, they could take you on a wild ride and shake you off in the grey of morning.  

(See National Geographic April issue 2013)

Brian Boru was the High King of Ireland. Using a special bridle containing three hairs from the pooka's tail, Brian managed to control the magic horse (The big Rabbit morphed into a Horse at that time) and stay on its back until, exhausted, it surrendered to his will. The king extracted two promises from it; firstly, that it would no longer torment Christian people and ruin their property and secondly, that it would never again attack an Irishman (all other nationalities are exempt) except those who are drunk or abroad with an evil intent. The latter it could attack with greater ferocity than before. The pooka agreed to these conditions. However, over the intervening years, it seems to have forgotten its bargain and attacks on property and sober travelers on their way home continue to this day.

Of course, the probability of encountering the Pookah is said by cynics to be directly proportional to the number of pints of Guinness Stout you had in the pub that night.  I take no chances at Valley Creek Mall all the same and never drink Guinness prior to a visit.

The Easter Eggs were always presented to children in the Old World after their traditional Easter dinner and can only be given to a child that has not broken the Lenten fast. You’d also have to finish eating a full Easter Dinner – perhaps this is the tradition of cleaning your plate prior to dessert.  There could be a game of football to follow in the afternoon after the Easter Parade.  Real Foot-Ball where you primarily use your FOOT while playing ball! But it seems that most any colony of Britain had to create their own version of football. You have your American Football and we have our Gaelic Football and neither of them habitually ends with a score of nil to nil. But at least YOUR ball looks like an egg and the NFL ‘Easter’ draft is soon upon you which gives every Viking fan a sense of rebirth! Perhaps there’s more tradition afoot within this country than I previously surmised!

A joyous time – whether you have an extra glass of wine from Elijah’s cup at Passover, or rejoice that Christ is Risen, or chase around a Bunny, or get chased by a Pookah, or await the Bells, painting your colorful Eggs… may the spirit of our festivals of freedom ring in your heart.  It’s a joyous and important remembrance of our Holy Eastertime.