Musings of an Egg on a Cold Rainy Day.

Eggland’s Best ” Breast Cancer Egg

Dear Reader:

I have come to recognize that my eating habits have a craving tendency to appear in intervals and then disappear quite suddenly. ( I simply then move on to another craving. )

In the past few weeks… my morning ritual has turned to consuming scrambled egg sandwiches. After going for months without any eggs in the fridge… it is now the first thing I check for each morning. So yesterday when I opened a new carton, to my delight, Eggland’s Best was paying tribute to Breast Cancer with an added pink ribbon 🎀 on each egg.

This weekend is proving to be a cold, rainy one -high’s in the mid-forties with a record broken Friday for the coldest day on record on this date. All the grandchildren’s activities were canceled for Saturday… maybe to be made up today Sunday but even that could end up being canceled.

In honor of the coldest November day in the Lowcountry-I built my first fire in the den and felt enveloped in comfort and joy!

My first fire of the fall season

While I was scrambling my egg , yesterday, and staring at the pink ribbon egg carton.. suddenly a legend resurfaced about a red egg. After breakfast I found it on-line and an interesting history of the egg pre-Christian times.

We must go to the Ukraine and it’s ancient culture to discover more egghistory pre-Christian days. Back then eggs were associated with different springtime rites. Being an agricultural society… a late or cold spring had an impact on crops, so people tried to harness the power of the sun to bring about the resurrection of spring.

And what reminds you of the sun? An egg with its bright yellow center and the life that springs from it. So they started writing on their eggs ( pysanky) and adorning them with symbols like the sun, a triangle, or a line that encircles the egg.)

After decorating , the eggs might be buried to insure spring’s return.

.. And now the Legend of the Red Egg. One version of this tale maintains that after the risen Christ had ascended to Heaven, Mary Magdalene went to Rome and had an audience with the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Caesar. It was the custom for those visiting the Emperor to take him a gift so Mary took an egg. She rebuked Caesar for the crucifixion of Jesus and then handed him the egg-a symbol of new life-saying ” Christ is risen!”

Caesar replied, ” How could anyone rise from the dead? It is as impossible as it would be for that egg to change from white to red.” According to the story, as he was saying these words, the egg turned blood red.

So until tomorrow… white, pink or red the egg, at any season of the year, represents hope to me and though amazing life will soon hibernate … nothing will die… my garden will return again next spring-refreshed and ready to bloom again !

” Today is my favorite day. ” Winnie the Pooh

Plaque: This is my Happy Place

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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3 Responses to Musings of an Egg on a Cold Rainy Day.

  1. Cynthia Ashley says:

    Recently, while visiting my brother and his wife, she had purchased Happy Eggs. They have the most yellow yolks I have ever seen! I did find them on sale at Harris when we returned and bought a carton. They made me happy every time I opened one to scramble it.

  2. Rachel Edwards says:

    My nephew and his wife raise chickens for their own enjoyment and the yolks are such a vibrant yellow…loved your story too…

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