By Lubna Abdel-Aziz "Omne vivum ex ovo" -- All life comes from an egg. Spring is the symbol of new life, and the egg is the symbol of spring. How befitting that the commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated with the symbol of life and rebirth. When the church started to celebrate the resurrection in the 2nd century, they did not search far for a more easily accepted symbol. Christian lore told of the miracle of the egg merchant Simon of Cyrene, who helped Christ carry the cross to Calvary. On his return to his farm from the crucifixion, Simon discovered that all his hens' eggs had miraculously turned into a rainbow of colors. Eggs have long been symbols of immortality, hope, and a rebirth of nature since the earliest times, long predating Easter. In ancient cultures eggs had special symbolic significance. They were discovered buried in the tombs of ancient Egyptians, while Greeks placed them atop their graves. The Chinese announced the birth of a newborn by distributing eggs, while the Romans exchanged them as gifts. The rich covered the eggs with gold leaf while the rest boiled them with plants and flowers to produce the bright multi-colors. Dying eggs in bright hues or decorating them, is a tribute to the vitality, festivity and joy of the season. Springtime celebrations and the use of eggs is an observance that has endured through the ages, mingling the religious with the secular traditions. Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover is the origin of the Latin Pasque. Easter is derived from Eostre, a centuries old Anglo-Saxon spring festival honoring the goddess of fertility, of spring and offspring, whose symbols were the hare and the egg. Once a tumultuous pagan festival, it was transformed into the most important holy day in the Christian religion. Christian missionaries often transformed pagan practices into ceremonies that coincided with Christian doctrines. Among Teutonic tribes they encountered the long observed heathen festival of Eostre. Rather than forbid the converts making them easy targets for persecution, the commemoration of the Resurrection was consumed under the protective rubric. As the Christian population grew, many of the pagan traditions remained, and the spelling was changed to Easter. A date for Easter has forever remained elusive. Based on the lunar calendar, it originally could fall on any day of the week, but at the Council of Nicae in 325AD Emperor Constantine issued the Easter rule: "on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox." Astronomically therefore Easter never falls before March 22nd or later than April 25th. Moreover there are two Easter dates, the one following the Gregorian calendar, and the Eastern Orthodox Church which follows the old Julian calendar - there is a difference of about 13 days. Several attempts have been made to find a single date for all Christians. In 1963 the Roman Catholic Church recommended a fixed date, only if the world's other Christian churches would agree. They did not! Thus the possibility of setting a single date for Easter is as remote as ever. One of the oldest secular feasts in the world is celebrated in Egypt at springtime, a remnant of an ancient spring ritual. Sham El Nessim (a whiff of the fresh breeze) unites all Egyptians, Christians, Muslims and others, in a unique tradition to welcome the new season. Egyptians celebrate with green onions (to awaken the senses from the winter slumber), and pickled and preserved fish (which could awaken the dead), and of course eggs aplenty. Sham El Nessim is celebrated on the Monday following the Orthodox Easter Sunday. Easter has various symbols representing different cultures - lilies, rabbits chicks, lambs, lights, and of course an abundance of the delicious, nutritious egg. Chicken eggs do not surface once a year like many traditional festive foods. They are an important part of our diet, eaten practically every day by everyone, or should be. Fortunately the number of layer hens is estimated at 5690 million, producing 66 million metric tons, so no shortage is foreseen. China now leads in egg production, as in everything else, and Asia, with a population of 3 billion, consumes two thirds of the global egg production. Once feared for its cholesterol content science has over the last decade made a phenomenal transition regarding the perception of the egg in the human diet. Scientists have now proven that eggs will effectively lower the incidence of heart disease, breast and colon cancer, age related eye disease and muscle loss, as well as obesity and low birth rate. "Eggs for breakfast could be the vitamin pill of the future," says Dr. Don McNamara from the Egg Nutrition Center (ENC) US Research has shown that egg consumption carries benefits for all age groups, reducing the risk of diseases and nutritional deficiencies. Pregnant women benefit by including 2 eggs a day in their diet. It can have a significant effect in reducing the incidence of low irth weight. Apart from vitamin A, D, amino acids, proteins, they are excellent sources of choline, an essential nutrient especially in pregnant and lactating women. Although the body makes some choline, two eggs a day provide 50% of the recommended intake. Choline is needed for the development of the fetal brain, cholesterol transport, energy metabolism, nerve signaling and maintenance of cell membrane. Lutein, a major xanthophyll in eggs is a powerful anti-oxidant that protects the eyes from ultra-violet light, reduces the risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, breast cancer, colon cancer, and helps lower the risk of heart disease. "You cannot make a muscle tissue unless you have twelve essential amino acids." Eggs provide all of them and in the right proportions. "Eggs have the highest efficacy ratio of any protein." Studies have shown that five eggs a week for eight weeks instead of toast or a roll, for breakfast reduces Body Mass Index and body fat. Science backs up these claims. Have you not heard the latest truism: "an egg a day is more than OK?" While we should ignore the big egg laid by the world economy, if we can, we should by no means ignore the consumption of nature's masterpiece and man's centerpiece, at Easter, Sham el Nessim, or any day, all day, and everyday. An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome -- Jane Austen (1775 -1817)
