On Sunday morning, if you've been good, the Easter Bunny might bring you some beautifully colored Easter eggs.

During this season, Easter egg hunts are held everywhere and are egg-citing. If you find an Easter egg, it's like finding a spring treasure.Kate Koehler, a Prime Time Health and Apprise coordinator for the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging, gave an "Egg-tastic" presentation at the Chestnuthill Seniors.She talked about how egg-ceptional Easter eggs are.She explained how painted hard-boiled eggs have been in existence for thousands of years, even before Christianity. In many cultures, the egg was a symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth.The word Easter originated from the Anglo-Saxon word "Eastre," who was a pagan goddess that represented the rising of the sun, new life and a new beginning. Festivals in her honor were held in the spring.As Christianity came to northern Europe, the resurrection of Christ fit into the tradition of new life and rebirth, and it was called Easter.Koehler talked about the different ways people decorate eggs."Years ago, wealthy families decorated eggs with liquid gold and silver. They even put gems on them," she said.Perhaps the most famous decorated Easter eggs are the Fabergé eggs.Peter Carl Fabergé and his House of Fabergé made 50 eggs from 1885 to 1917 for the Russian Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers, called the "Imperial Fabergé eggs." To date, 43 have survived.The First Imperial Easter Egg was a beautiful, simple egg that opened up to reveal a yolk. Inside the yolk was a golden hen, and inside the hen was a diamond miniature of the crown and a tiny ruby egg. It was a gift to the Czarina Maria. Every year after, a new egg was commissioned by the czar and created by Fabergé for the czarina. They became more elaborate, more jeweled, conveyed a historical meaning and had a hidden surprise.Koehler also talked about other famous decorated eggs, the pysanky eggs.The Ukrainians decorated their eggs in folk designs using beeswax in a method called batik.The designs were handed down from mother to daughter. Beeswax was heated in a small bowl and styluses were dipped into it.The molten wax was applied to a white egg with a writing motion. Any bit of shell covered with wax was sealed and remained white.The egg was dyed yellow. More wax was applied: orange, waxed again; red, wax; purple, wax; black. The dye sequence was always light to dark. Bits of shell covered with wax remained that color.After the final color, usually red, brown or black, the wax was removed by heating the egg and gently wiping off the melted wax, or by briefly dipping the egg into boiling water.Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches started the tradition of dying eggs red to represent the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross.The hard shell of the egg represents the sealed Tomb of Christ, and cracking the shell represents Jesus' Resurrection from the dead.Christians at one time abstained from eating eggs and meat during Lent, and Easter was the first chance to eat eggs after a long period of abstinence. (Orthodox Christians continue to abstain from eggs during Lent.)"To get other colors of eggs, people boiled them with different vegetables. If boiled with celery, they would turn green. If boiled with red beets, they would turn a maroon color. Carrots, orange. People today still boil eggs with onion skins for its speckled golden colors," said Koehler.Besides coloring eggs, eggs are delicious to eat and are used in cooking and baking.Koehler said that some years ago, people were warned not to eat too many eggs because it wasn't good for your cholesterol."But now after more research, it has been determined they're OK again. Eggs are also high in nutrition and protein. When you cook, you should put an egg in everything. " said Koehler.She closed the program with, "Look what the Easter Bunny left here for each of you."Her assistant for the day, Ashley Dubraviak, an intern from East Stroudsburg University, gave each of the delighted guests a colored hard-boiled egg.