By Isabelle Banin

As Easter approaches, families are gathering to transform cartons of pasty white eggs into colorful oval masterpieces. Have you ever wondered how this tradition began? The answer goes back thousands of years.

Between 65,000 and 55,000 years ago, inhabitants of South Africa began engraving geometric patterns into ostrich eggs. Historians believe these patterns were symbolic and connected to the individual owner.

Eggs have also traditionally represented new life and rebirth, a well-known example being the Easter egg. Historians believe Christians first added decorated eggs to Easter celebrations during the13th Century.

Luckily for egg lovers, eggs are a rich source of vitamins, protein and other nutrients. They also have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Try this healthy Crustless Gluten-Free Quiche recipe if you want to add eggs into your diet.

Clearly eggs are interesting, but how often do you hear people chatting about them? We have compiled our favorite egg facts, so you’ll be prepared for your next egg-centric conversation.

• Hens with white feathers generally produce eggs with white shells, while hens with red feathers generally produce brown eggs. Both egg types are equally nutritious.
• Many cultures have a creation myth of a cosmic egg from which life began. For example, in a Baltic myth, the earth came from the yolk of the cosmic egg, the oceans from its whites, and the sky from its shell.
• Researchers suggest we began raising birds and collecting their eggs 18,000 years ago, in New Guinea. These birds, cassowaries, weighed over 40 pounds and are closer in appearance to velociraptors than chickens.
• Egg tempera painting, a painting medium that included egg yolks, was first used by Greco-Romans in Egypt during the first few centuries AD and reached its peak in early Renaissance Italy.
• Egg whites were a common material used to create medical casts, from the Middle Ages up until the early 19th CE. Other materials used in combination with egg whites included clay powder, flour, animal fat, vinegar and Camphor spirit.

For more healthy recipes featuring eggs, check out Healthy You!