His wife, Ishtar, visited the underworld and by her grief claimed to have been able to revive him. Often the fast included going without meat, poultry and dairy products, as well as eggs. The custom of giving something up for Lent remains. Sometimes it is claimed that Lent represents Christ's 40 days of fasting before His ministry began. There is no indication in Scripture of any similar fast before His death.
Eggs are a long-standing symbol of creation, fertility, renewed life and resurrection.
They have been used at spring festivals since ancient Egypt and Persia, when eating colored eggs was part of their rituals. The Syrian goddess Astarte was believed to have been hatched from a huge egg that fell into the Euphrates. The cross represents the four seasons, or the four phases of the moon, and are on the sacrificial bread of the lunar goddesses of many cultures. They are found from Egypt to the Aztecs of Mexico. It is also interesting that the biological symbol for female remains a circle with a cross beneath.