Sample the egg-citement of Easters past.

These days we gorge ourselves on chocolate eggs at Easter, but there was a time in Northern Ireland when duck eggs would have been eaten in large quantities on Easter Sunday - with a competition to see who could eat the most! It was also a traditional pastime to paint hard boiled eggs with faces and roll them down a hill.

Easter was an important occasion, people liked to look their best and it was often the first outing for new clothes and a beautiful Easter bonnet. Numerous fairs were held on Easter Monday or, if you were lucky, you'd go on a day trip to somewhere like Bangor.

In 1986 Peter Logue took a look at some of the traditions associated with the celebration of Easter in Northern Ireland. This programme might have been made for a schools series called "Today and Yesterday", but I think you'll find it of interest whatever your age. Listen to "Easter Customs"

(To access audio and video you need RealPlayer .)

Is there a day trip you like to do every Easter? Dave Sloan remembers rolling eggs on Belfast's Cavehill as a small boy. Is there a place in your locality used for egg rolling at Easter? Are there other Easter traditions particular to your area (or perhaps your family) that you'd like to tell us about? Fill in the form below to share your stories.

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Zenab Bibi - Apr '07
We used to drive to newtownards from bangor and roll our painted eggs down the hill at scrabo tower.

Kelly - April '06
me like this webby i think ya need some more pics

Peter Heverin - March 05
We used to go on the bus to the floral hall beside Belfast Zoo to roll our eggs every Easter Monday

Bridget - March '05
Can anyone tell me the history behind rolling Easter eggs? We do it here in the states still and I'm curious to know of the tradition... thanks all.

G. Dirks - February ' 05
We used to drive to Newtownards from Bangor and roll our painted eggs down the hill at Scrabo Tower.