It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon when the children gathered en masse, armed with baskets and boots, ready for the hunt. They waited in anticipation for their leader — a 6-foot tall human-bunny — to yell “GO!” Once the word was said, chaos broke loose. Tiny humans sprinted through the field, grabbing all of the eggs in sight, running every which way. Nothing could break their sole focus: the eggs.

Egg hunts have an interesting history. While we associate them today with the Christian holiday of Easter, some historians believe it started as a pagan tradition in medieval Europe. Anglo-Saxon festivals were held in the spring in honor of Eostre, the German goddess of the Spring Equinox. During the festivities, eggs — a symbol of fertility and rebirth — were buried and later eaten to promote fertility. It’s believed that later, Christian missionaries adopted the egg as a symbolic way to represent new life (and a metaphor for the Christian belief of resurrection) and thus, eggs and Easter were combined.

The kids doubtedly know (or care) about the history of egg hunts. What they care about is the loot inside the egg.

Before the big hunt began, high school volunteers stuffed 5,500 eggs to scatter in Mt. Lebanon Park. One of the teens dressed as a yellow duck with sunglasses, and another was an even taller white bunny with pants. They posed with the little kids before the mad dash for eggs commenced.

Ann Matthis, Birch Avenue, said her family comes to the hunt every year. “We love finding all of the eggs,” said daughter Emmaline.

Other families return to their Lebo roots just for the event. Arlene Rich grew up in Mt. Lebanon and even though she no longer lives here, she still brings her daughter to Mt. Lebanon Park to enjoy the egg hunt.

Zach Wolling, program manager for the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Department, said the department starts planning the event in January, beginning with an order for thousands of plastic eggs, half empty, half filled with toys. On the day-of, the main event lasts between 5 and 10 minutes before the kids and families head off to enjoy their loot. “Its a lot of work for such a short event but it really is a lot of fun watching the families enjoy the fun and our park.”

Wolling was correct. Within minutes of the command “GO!” the children snatched every egg in sight and went off to count their loot.