The Easter Egg

復(fù)活蛋

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

與復(fù)活兔和復(fù)活節(jié)一樣，復(fù)活蛋預(yù)示著圣誕節(jié)的即將到來。當(dāng)基督教徒慶祝第一個復(fù)活節(jié)后，人們開始春天互相交換復(fù)活蛋，而這已成為了人們好幾百年的習(xí)俗。

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

在早期，復(fù)活蛋許多文明中象征著"再生"。人們常常用金色的葉子包裹復(fù)活蛋，或是農(nóng)民的做法：將復(fù)活蛋畫得色彩斑斕，并把它和葉子或是真花瓣一起煮沸。

Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

在今天，孩子們到處搜刮復(fù)活蛋，并將這些蛋放到復(fù)活節(jié)籃子中。為什么呢？他們只是為了復(fù)活蛋的現(xiàn)代意義：復(fù)活蛋是由軟糖或巧克力做的。