Easter egg traditions & the history of Easter eggs
Decorating Easter eggs is a tradition that never gets old. Whether you grew up dipping eggs in dye tablets or using shrink-wrap sleeves with cartoon characters, the process of transforming plain white eggs into something colorful and festive has long been part of American springtime fun.
The idea of decorating eggs actually goes way back — long before the modern American Easter basket came along. Ancient cultures decorated eggs for seasonal and symbolic reasons, not necessarily tied to any religious belief. Some of the oldest decorated eggs ever discovered were found in Africa and date back tens of thousands of years. Later, red-dyed eggs became common among early Christians in Mesopotamia as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. The tradition spread from there, picking up new meanings and methods along the way.
By the time the Easter Bunny hopped into American pop culture in the 1800s, decorating Easter eggs had shifted more toward a family activity than a religious ritual. Eggs became a part of the spring celebration, often hard-boiled and dyed at home in kitchens across the country. By the 1950s and 60s, egg dye kits from companies like Paas were a staple in many homes. Kids used wax crayons, stickers and little wire egg dippers to personalize each one. Some families even added a bit of vinegar for brighter colors, or experimented with onion skins and beet juice for natural dye.
In the 1970s and 80s, plastic eggs started showing up more often — especially in Easter egg hunts — but the tradition of dyeing real eggs didn’t go anywhere. Decorating became more crafty too, with ideas like decoupage, lace appliqués, and even “marble” techniques using oil and food coloring. And let’s not forget those shrink-wrap sleeves with cartoon characters from Peanuts or Garfield that showed up in the late ’80s. They made egg decorating quick, easy, and colorful enough to get even the least crafty kid involved.
ALSO SEE: Retro Easter candy from the 70s, 80s & 90s remains some of the greatest candy of all time
Even now, with plastic eggs filled with candy and cash taking over many egg hunts, the old tradition of dyeing and decorating real eggs still has a place. It’s a fun way to mark the season, whether you’re going for a vintage look or just revisiting something you loved as a kid.
To help keep this colorful tradition alive, we’ve rounded up all the Easter egg photos, craft ideas, and vintage inspiration we could find — from classic 50s decorating kits to forgotten styles from the 90s. So if you’re feeling nostalgic (or just curious), you can see how people have been decorating Easter eggs across the decades. ]We also have some tips for making perfect hardboiled eggs — as well as some divine deviled egg recipes from the 60s and 70s.
20 elegant vintage Easter egg crafts & decorating ideas
Find some elegantly vintage Easter egg crafts and artsy inspiration right here! The ideas may be old, but they’ll probably seem new to you.
Remember these vintage Easter egg shrink-wrap decorating sleeves to decorate eggs?
How did these vintage Easter egg shrink-wrap decorating sleeves work? Find out here, and see a retro collection of Disney Easter decorations and other holiday designs!
How to make some adorable vintage Easter egg crafts
Find out how to make some sweet vintage Easter egg crafts for spring – everything from bunny-decorated eggs to lacquered lace eggshells.
Make a beautiful Easter egg tree craft with this vintage how-to
Here’s a sweet and pretty way to celebrate spring – with this mid-century era Easter egg tree craft! Here’s how you can make your own.
Paint decorated Easter cookies to look like colorful eggs - using this easy and clever technique (1989)
Make decorated Easter cookies a part of your holiday tradition with this cute Easter egg design. Why should Christmas have all the cookie fun?
How to make natural Easter egg dyes the old-fashioned way
Want to make natural Easter egg dyes the old-fashioned way? Find out how to use roots, berries, herbs and vegetables to color eggs for a vintage-style celebration that hearkens back to 1917.
Vintage Peanuts Easter Egg Decorating Kit (1988)
From 1988: This Easter, your kids can decorate and hunt Easter eggs with Snoopy.
Bring SNOOPY, WOODSTOCK, and the fun of decorating and hunting Easter eggs home to your family.
The easy-to-use PEANUTS Kit comes complete with color tablets, egg dipper, drying tray, PEANUTS stickers, award stickers, and egg display stand. You'll even find Easter Beagle paw prints to guide your children along the egg hunt trail.
The PEANUTS Easter Egg Decorating and Hunt Kit — just add eggs and kids...and spring into Easter at Hallmark!
Remember vintage L'eggs pantyhose eggs?
From 1974: We've colored our white L'Eggs blue, pink, yellow, purple and green so you can give beautiful Easter L'eggs. Empty eggs are perfect for hiding chocolates, jelly beans, or tiny Easter presents.
Here are some more fun Easter egg ideas from our sister sites!
Try some of these easy custom Easter egg dye recipes - plus colorful tips
Don't miss these Easter egg tips from our Generation X partner site, Lilyvolt!
Dye your Easter eggs with custom colors you won’t find in a kit! Below you can find some creative food color combinations for Easter egg dye recipes to bring seasonal hues to your Easter basket.
Here’s how to make hard boiled eggs fast & easy: Using the Instant Pot or stove top methods
If your eggs cooked in the shell have turned out to be less than ideal, here are some easy tips for how to make hard boiled eggs -- either in the Instant Pot or on the stove.
22 divinely delicious classic deviled egg recipes
And after all those Easter eggs are colored and recovered from your family Easter egg hunt, here are some deviled egg recipes to try!
The deviled egg is truly an American innovation, Here are 22 different old-fashioned and divinely delicious deviled egg recipes for you to try!
4 sizes of blank Easter egg shapes to print and color
If your young assistants still have some egg art ideas, let them unleash their creativity on these free printable Easter egg coloring pages from Print. Color. Fun!
These blank Easter egg shapes are all ready to print, color and cut out! Color them in just for fun, make them into Easter decorations, or use one or more of these Easter eggs to create a cute card.
