A Kosovo Serb peels an Easter egg during an Orthodox Easter service in a fire-gutted Serbian church, burned in 2004 by ethnic Albanians, in Mitrovica, 40 kilometres (30 miles) north of the Kosovo capital Pristina, April 5, 2010.

History of the Easter Egg:

The earliest Christian history of the Easter egg tradition is found approximately 50 years after Jesus’ resurrection. Bright red-colored eggs were simply exchanged as gifts as a symbol of continuing life and Christ’s resurrection. The red color was an intentional Christian tradition commemorating the blood of Christ. The red Easter eggs in Christian history were originally used when two friends met on Easter day. The two friends would know to tap their eggs together and one would greet the other with the words, “Christ is Risen!” and the other would respond, “Christ is Risen Indeed!” Then the eggs were eaten in fellowship.

In the Reformation years, the church instituted the custom of breaking the Lenten fast with hard-boiled eggs. The eggs were brought to the Easter morning service, and the priest blessed them saying, “Lord, bless these eggs as a wholesome substance, eaten in thankfulness on account of the resurrection of our Lord.”

History of the Easter Egg from here, image from here, and presented for this hard-boiled yet respectable version of The Overnight Open Thread.