The food the Christian Church traditionally banned during Lent, helping lead to its popularity at Easter, was eggs.
In medieval Western Christianity, Lent was a period of fasting and abstinence lasting about 40 days before Easter. The rules commonly prohibited not only meat but also eggs, milk, butter, and cheese. When Easter arrived, these foods could return to the table, making eggs a particularly welcome part of the feast.
Eggs also carried powerful seasonal symbolism. Because a chick emerges from an apparently lifeless shell, the egg became associated with new life, rebirth, and—within Christianity—the Resurrection. Some Christian communities colored eggs red to symbolize Christ’s blood, while others developed elaborate decorating traditions.
The connection was practical as well as symbolic. Hens continued laying eggs during Lent, so households accumulated them; Shrove Tuesday customs helped use up rich foods before the fast. Later, decorated eggs, egg hunts, and chocolate eggs extended the tradition beyond church observance into popular Easter culture.