Easter egg

The idea was invented in a northeastern Scottish takeaway as a sequel to the extremely popular deep-fried Mars Bar. For example, "football and swimming are my favourite sports" would sound natural to all English speakers, whereas "I enjoy sport" would sound less natural than "I enjoy sports" to many North Americans. Deep-fried chocolate Easter eggs are sold around Easter time in Scottish fish and chips shops. In all English dialects, "sports" is the term used for more than one specific sport. When boiling hard-cooked eggs for Easter, a nice tan colour can be achieved by boiling the eggs with onion skin. In American English, "sports" is more common for this usage. This may also be a contest to see who can collect the most eggs. In Commonwealth English, sporting activities are commonly denoted by the collective noun "sport".

An Easter egg hunt is a common festive activity, where eggs are hidden outdoors (or indoors if in bad weather) for children to run around and find. The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the Olympic Games which, as we have seen, were celebrations of both sporting and artistic achievements, poetry, sculpture and architecture. The most well-known egg roll is done at the White House. The modern term 'art' as skill, is related to this ancient Greek term 'arete'. In the U.S., such an Easter egg roll (unrelated to an eggroll) is often done on flat ground, pushed along with a spoon. Art and sport were probably more clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and 'arete' displayed by participants. A tradition exists in some parts of Britain of rolling painted eggs down steep hills on Easter Sunday. It impresses us because of the ability, skill, and style which is shown.

There are many other decoration techniques and numerous traditions of giving them as a token of friendship, love or good wishes. In the same way, a sporting performance such as jumping doesn't just impress us as being an effective way to avoid obstacles or to get across streams. A 27-foot (9 m) sculpture of a pisanka stands in Vegreville, Alberta. So an aesthetically pleasing car is one which doesn't just get from A to B, but which impresses us with its grace, poise, and charisma. The celebrated Fabergé workshops created exquisite jewelled Easter eggs for the Russian Imperial Court. This is similar to a common view of aesthetic value, which is seen as something over and above the strictly functional value coming from an object's normal use. A batik-like decorating process known as pisanka produces intricate, brilliantly-colored eggs. The definition of "sport" above put forward the idea of an activity pursued not just for the usual purposes, for example, running not simply to get places, but running for its own sake, running as well as we can.

Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Poland and other Slavic countries' folk traditions. The fact that art is so close to sport in some situations is probably related to the nature of sport. One would have been forced to hard boil the eggs that the chickens produced so as not to waste food, and for this reason the Spanish dish hornazo (traditionally eaten on and around Easter) contains hard-boiled eggs as a primary ingredient. Similarly, there are other activities that have elements of sport and art in their execution, such as performance art, artistic gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Parkour, Yoga, dressage, etc. Likewise, in Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy were prohibited during the fast, and eggs were seen as "dairy" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without shedding its blood). Ice skating and Tai chi, for example, are sports that come close to artistic spectacles in themselves: to watch these activities comes close to the experience of spectating at a ballet. In the West, eggs were seen as "meat", which would have been forbidden during Lent. Sport has many affinities with art.

Easter egg origin stories abound — one has an emperor claiming that the Resurrection was as likely as eggs turning red (see Mary Magdalene); more prosaically the Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent. See also: List of countries by national sport. The Jewish tradition may have come from earlier Roman Spring feasts. These trends are seen by some as contrary to the fundamental ethos of sport being carried on for its own sake, for the enjoyment of its participants. The Passover Seder service uses a hard-cooked egg flavored with salt water as a symbol both of new life and the Temple service in Jerusalem. Nationalism in general is often evident in the pursuit of sport, or in its reporting: people compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan view.
Decorated eggs are much older than Easter, and both eggs and rabbits are age-old fertility symbols. Until recently, under Rule 21, the GAA also banned members of the British security forces and members of the RUC, now reconstituted as the PSNI, from playing Gaelic games, but the advent of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led to the eventual removal of the ban.

These are often hidden, supposedly by the Easter Bunny, for children to find on Easter morning. Until recently the GAA continued to ban the playing of soccer and Rugby union at Gaelic venues under the controversial Rule 42, although Gaelic games are frequently played on soccer and rugby arenas, particularly outside of Ireland. The ubiquitous jelly egg or jellybean is made from sugar-coated pectin candy. Even until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the GAA if s/he played or supported Football, or other games seen to be of British origin. Some are delicately constructed of spun sugar and pastry decoration techniques. In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports were connected with cultural nationalism. Candy Easter eggs can be any form of confectionery such as hollow chocolate eggs wrapped in brightly-colored foil. The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda.

The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute eggs made from chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged and reinforced its worst effects. Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday. When apartheid was the official policy in South Africa, many sportspeople adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. There have been many dilemmas for sports where a difficult political context is in place. This has led to the control of each sport through a regulatory body to define what methods of competition are acceptable and what are considered cheating.

The successful execution of a sport requires the consensus agreement of the participants on a set of rules for fair competition. Today the consensus is that David Beckham (England and Real Madrid Footballer) is the most famous sportsman in the world, with a fanatical following particularly in Asia where statues have been erected of his likeness. The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status, or in some cases near-god-like. This has resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck can be seen as more important than recreational aspects: or where the sport is changed simply to make it more profitable and popular therefore losing some of the traditions valued by some.

The entertainment aspect of sport, together with the spread of mass media and increased leisure time, has led to professionalism in sport. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property, in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Violence in sports involves crossing the line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Compare Sportsmanship with Gamesmanship.

Reciprocally, the other team is expected to return the ball from the throw-in. For example, in football it is considered sportsmanlike to kick the ball out of play to allow treatment for an injured player on the other side. Not only is it important to have good sportsmanship if one wins, but also if one loses. Sportsmanship, within any given game, is how each competitor acts before, during, and after the competition.

Indeed, the formal regulation of sport is a relatively modern and increasing development. Some of these activities have been popular but uncodified pursuits in various forms for different lengths of time. In this way sports evolve from leisure activity to more formal sports: relatively recent newcomers are BMX cycling, snowboarding, wrestling, etc. People responsible for leisure activities often seek recognition and respectability as sports by joining sports federations such as the IOC, or by forming their own regulatory body.

But often the pressures of competition (See the related article, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." or an obsession with individual achievement - as well as the intrusion of technology - can all work against enjoyment and fair play by participants. is not winning but taking part” are typical expressions of this sentiment. The well-known sentiment by sports journalist Grantland Rice, that it's “not that you won or lost but how you played the game," and the Modern Olympic creed expressed by its founder Pierre de Coubertin: "The most important thing . Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake.

However, it often emerges that skills are honed to increase racing performance and achievements in competition, rather than the converse. For example, beginners in sailing are often told that dinghy racing is a good means to sharpen the learner's sailing skills. It is interesting that the motivation for sport is often an elusive element. Sportsmanship is defined as "conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants, including a sense of fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, a striving spirit, and grace in losing.".

The examples given are intended to be illustrative, rather than comprehensive. One system for classifying sports is as follows, based more on the sport's aim than on the actual mechanics. Main article: List of sports. Not only has professionalism helped increase the popularity of sports, but additionally the need to have fun and take a break from a hectic workday or to relieve unwanted stress, as with any profession.

Professionalism became prevalent, further adding to the increase in sport's popularity. These trends continued with the advent of mass media and global communication. The Industrial Revolution and mass production brought increased leisure which allowed increases in spectator sports, less elitism in sports, and greater accessibility. Activities necessary for food and survival became regulated activities done for pleasure or competition on an increasing scale, for example hunting, fishing, horticulture.

Sport has been increasingly organised and regulated from the time of the Ancient Olympics up to the present century. The Olympic Games were held every four years in Ancient Greece, at a small village in Pelopponisos called Olympia. This suggests that the military culture of Greece was an influence on the development of its sports and vice versa. Wrestling, running, boxing, javelin, discus throwing, and chariot racing were prevalent.

A wide range of sports were already established at the time of the Ancient Greece. Among other sports which originate in Persia are polo and jousting. Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh had a close connection to the warfare skills. Other sports included javelin throwing, high jump, and wrestling.

Monuments to the Pharaohs indicate that a range of sports were well developed and regulated several thousands of years ago, including swimming and fishing. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular sport in China's past. There are artifacts and structures which suggest that Chinese people engaged in activities which meet our definition of sport as early as 4000 BC. Although there is scant direct evidence of sport from these sources, it is reasonable to extrapolate that there was some activity at these times resembling sport.

Some of these sources date from over 30,000 years ago, as established by carbon dating. There are many modern discoveries in France, Africa, and Australia of cave art (see, for example, Lascaux) from prehistory which provide evidence of ritual ceremonial behaviour. The development of sport throughout history teaches us a great deal about social changes, and about the nature of sport itself. Main article: History of sport.

. The difference of purpose is what characterises sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess. A sport has physical activity, side by side competition, self-motivation and a scoring system. A sport consists of a physical and mentally competitive activity carried out with a recreational purpose for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of a skill, or some combination of these.

The Meaning of Sports by Michael Mandel (PublicAffairs, ISBN 1-58648-252-1). Golf. Paintball. Curling.

Biathlon. Strength (Weight-lifting, triple jump, shot put ...). Display (Gymnastics, bodybuilding, equestrianism, diving...). Target (Archery, shooting, darts ...).

Other examples include: Rugby, ice hockey, field hockey, softball, basketball, American Football...). Team (cricket, Baseball and football (soccer) are the most popular globally, with baseball being popular in the Americas and in Japan, cricket in the Commonwealth of Nations and football being popular throughout the world. Court (Tennis, shuttlecock sport, badminton, volleyball, squash, Table tennis...). Combat (Wrestling, Judo, karate, boxing, fencing, tae kwon do...).