A lively Easter children egg painting competition is being held at Pudong Shangri-La from March 10 to March 31.

Contestants are the children of the hotel staff under 14 years old. The painted and decorated eggs will be hung on an Easter tree in the hotel lobby to celebrate the special occasion.

A charity donation box can be found near the Easter tree and all proceeds from the collection will go to the Red Cross Society.

Of all the symbols associated with Easter, the egg, the symbol of new life, is the most identifiable. Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After the eggs were coloured and etched with various designs, they were hung on the pine tree on Easter Day.

( China Daily March 29, 2002)