Podcast: Historical Easter Eggs on Galveston Island

Church, brunch, and Easter egg hunts!

Every spring, as Galveston bursts into bloom, the island comes alive with the vibrant colors of oleanders swaying in the coastal breeze. An unmistakable sign that Easter is near, these iconic flowers blooming in soft pinks, whites, and reds mirror the energy of the season: fresh, joyful, and full of life.

As families flock to the island and gather for Easter egg hunts under the spring sun, they worship together in sacred spaces. Galveston's springtime beauty serves as a backdrop to the island's deep-rooted Easter traditions.

Join me on my research journey throughout this episode on a hunt for historic Easter eggs.

While planning and researching this episode, I found myself spending hours looking through old Galveston newspapers on the web. I was curious as to what those early Easter festivals and church services were like on Galveston Island, and something I really love about old newspapers is that they paint a picture and provide wonderful insight into what life was like during a certain period in time. I first began searching to find out when the first Easter egg hunt happened on Galveston Island, as Easter egg hunts, or as I found out, picking eggs, have been a tradition for centuries. The exact first Easter egg hunt is hard to pinpoint, but the tradition is believed to have started in 16th-century Germany, likely tied to the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who organized egg hunts for his congregation, where men would hide eggs for women and children to find, symbolizing the joy and surprise of the resurrection. The symbolism of dyed Easter eggs goes back even further. Eggs have long been a symbol of new life and rebirth, a natural fit for spring celebrations. In Christianity, the egg came to represent the resurrection of Jesus, and as for dyeing them, early Christians in Mesopotamia were known to stain eggs, with red representing the blood of Christ. Over time, this evolved into the more festive and colorful egg-decorating traditions we know today, blending Christian symbols with early pagan spring rituals, with bright eggs scattered across lawns, parks, and even beaches. They're part of a playful but spiritual tradition tying together centuries of renewal and celebration.

So, back to my search for the first Easter egg hunt on Galveston Island. Mentions of Easter and Easter festivals really began to pick up in the 1860s and 1870s. One notable story from 1871 comes from Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday morning, March 19th, 1871, just three weeks before Easter. Reverend Benjamin Eaton, the founder of Trinity Episcopal Church and Vicar since 1842, made his rounds through the church before Sunday’s service. The news reports that he visited with the children of the church.

“He went to each separate child and teacher, spoke with him, was busy with directions for the Easter Festival, and seemed to be unnaturally solicitous that all might understand their parts in the celebrations.” Shortly after, Benjamin Eaton would start the Sunday service. No one knows exactly why, but while giving his sermon, Reverend Benjamin Eaton would die in the pulpit of Trinity Episcopal Church, with one of his last actions being to ensure the children knew their parts in the Easter festivities.

This is how I discover many stories I share about Galveston; I often stumble upon them while searching for something else. Now, back to finding the earliest documented Easter egg hunt in one of Galveston's early newspapers while searching through hundreds of early editions of the Galveston Daily News and the Galveston Tribune.

I wasn't very surprised to find announcements for Easter church services or even a few Easter festivals put on by churches. These festivals, no doubt, had some sort of Easter egg hunt, with plenty of mentions of flowers, dresses, offerings to the church, and even kids' activities. Considering the city of Galveston was established in 1839 and was undoubtedly home to many Christians who celebrated Easter, I was surprised to find my first mention of the search term "Easter egg" in the March 31st edition of the Galveston Daily News in 1877. But it wasn't an announcement for an Easter egg hunt. It was simply an ad for the T. Ratto wholesale and retail confectionery, which was located at 54 and 56 Market between Tremont and 24th Street.

The ad states: “Now open, something entirely new. Like never before in the city, come and see, no trouble to show them. Easter eggs of beautiful design.” The ad goes on to list other sweets sold in the store. There is no doubt Easter egg hunts were happening on Galveston Island prior to 1877. Considering Christians of most denominations comprised a large portion of Galveston Island's population, they were enjoying the colorful spring oleanders, eating, being merry, and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.

What else could an early Galvestonian be doing at these Easter festivals? Well, moving through 10 more years of newspapers and using search terms like Easter, Easter Eggs, "picking eggs," egg hunt, Easter hunt, and Children's Easter Festival, I finally discovered in the April 11th, 1887 edition of the Galveston Daily News an article titled "Easter Day Celebration: How It Was Observed in Galveston—Elaborate Church Services, a Profusion of Floral Offerings, Children's Festival, and Easter Eggs."

I'm going to read most of this article as the language and editorialized description are well done.

So... 1887.

"Yesterday dawned somewhat too windy for an auspicious Easter celebration, but despite the gusts of wind and disagreeable dust, those who were interested in the observances of the day were not idle. In the early morning, children were up waiting with fond impatience to catch a glimpse of many beautifully colored eggs, without which Easter would not seem like Easter at all, at least to the juvenile element. The custom usually observed in Galveston in every household on Easter consists of the older people dyeing many eggs and then secreting them in various parts of the yard in the form of nests, after which the children are given the scent, and there is much hustling, bustling, and tumbling to find the eggs. Where a nest is found, there is great hullabaloo by the finder and the other crowd. This employment is kept up until all the other nests have been unearthed, and then the more pleasant task of eating the hard-boiled eggs begins; they are very easy to handle and disappear with remarkable rapidity."

After a few more hours of searching, I wasn't able to find the first documented Easter egg hunt in the newspapers. Although I am sure there are other historical documents with much earlier dated Easter egg hunts, either way, I found my own historical Easter eggs from Reverend Benjamin Eaton at Trinity Episcopal Church to a confectioner downtown to an article in an 1887 edition of the Galveston Daily News talking about at-home Easter traditions.

I had an absolute blast researching a topic like this; these old newspapers really tell a story. Now, given that I was only looking through old published newspapers and not using other various historical documents, it's clear that Easter egg hunts were mainly an activity that took place at home or even at small Easter festivals. To wrap this up and bring it all back to today on Galveston Island, you can take your children to one of the dozens of Easter egg hunts that happen here every year or even attend Easter brunch at the Galvez, which has really become an Easter tradition for many modern-day Galvestonians. But before brunch, you can't forget to attend one of the many Easter services at one of Galveston's historic churches, some of which have been holding Easter services for nearly two centuries.

As we've both learned throughout this episode, all of these community, family, and religious traditions provide Galvestonians with the opportunity to connect with each other and celebrate the Easter season. There is something for everyone. So whether you are a local or just visiting the island, you are invited to join in on the Easter fun.