Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter
holiday. The custom of the Easter egg may have existed in the early Christian
community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ,
shed at his crucifixion. In later traditions the egg is also a symbol of the empty
tomb. The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to
substitute eggs made from chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as
jellybeans.