BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The annual community Easter egg hunt in Battle Mountain took place on Saturday, April 7, at Lions Park.
The event was scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. Earlier in the morning Alicia Price and volunteers began sectioning the park off into four sections for the four different age groups of children that participate. This event is totally free to everyone and it packs in crowds of families and friends celebrating the holiday weekend.
The four different sections are bordered off with ribbon that is torn down when the signal is given that the hunt is on. Under the awning volunteers are awaiting the big crowd of kids that have prize tickets to turn in for exchange for toys and candy. If the kids aren't busy gathering eggs and prizes, they are in line to visit the Easter bunny, who always makes an appearance in Battle Mountain.
Easter is celebrated to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter derives its name from "Eastre," an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. This earlier name of Eastre was eventually changed to its modern spelling. In medieval Europe eggs were forbidden during Lent. Eggs laid during that time were often boiled and preserved. Eggs were a must for the Easter meal and prized as gifts for children and servants during the holiday.
Eggs are viewed as symbols of new life and fertility. Traditions and practices by different cultures have been formed around Easter eggs over the years. They are colored and decorated with all the colors of spring. Over the years traditional Easter holiday games were formed by hiding the eggs and rolling the eggs. These practices of hiding and rolling eggs are now part of the traditional Easter holiday. The most famous egg roll takes place on the White House lawn every year.
The Easter bunny has been around for a long time also; that spring goddess Eastre's earthly symbol was the hare or rabbit. The hare or rabbit was considered the most fertile animal known, serving as a symbol of new life during the spring season. The Easter bunny symbol seems to have its origins from Germany as early as the 1500s.
The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the 1800s and they were not made of chocolate but of pastry and sugar. Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after the Civil War. America being a melting pot has accrued many holiday traditions because they were brought to us by immigrants from all over the world. The "Easter Hare" was introduced by German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country by the 1700s. Easter become almost as important as Christmas to children back then. The children believed if they were good, the "Easter hare" would deliver beautifully colored eggs. The children would put their favorite cap or bonnet in a secluded area, building a nest in it for the eggs to be delivered to.
By the 19th century the "Easter Hare" in America became the "Easter bunny" and he not only brings colored eggs, he brings chocolate eggs, jelly beans, Peeps and other tempting gifts on Easter morning.
Battle Mountain might be a small town, but it does a great job representing America at its fullest on all the traditional holidays, including Easter. Lions Park was covered with a blanket of colorful eggs and children dressed up in bonnets with baskets to gather them. The town had all the holiday symbols, Easter lilies, crosses, rabbits, eggs, chicks, ducks and more.
Battle Mountain has had Easters with snow on the ground, rain and wind and any other kind of weather that could be not to desirable for egg hunting, but when the hunting gets tough, so do the kids in Battle Mountain. This year Mother Nature was so pleased with Battle Mountain that she brought the most beautiful weather for the kids and their families to have a fine time at the community egg hunt. The smiles on the kids' faces were proof that all the volunteers' work and the sponsor donations paid off.
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