Not long ago I came across details of a medieval practice, which perhaps explains not only why children are given Easter eggs, but why sugared almonds are distributed at christenings. Apparently, when infants were baptized at Easter, to compensate for the privations they had endured during the previous forty days of Lent, they were given eggs and almond milk as extra-special nourishment.
© 2000 Frances Bissell. All rights reserved.