“According to Wikipedia, the name Easter egg comes from Dan O’Bannon’s horror spoof, Return of the Living Dead. In the film, a container of zombies goes missing and is referred to–in code–as an “Easter egg.” Of course, the name is more obviously derived from “Easter egg hunt” fame, where Easter-celebrating-children are made to search through an established area (usually the yard) for dyed hard-boiled eggs or plastic eggs filled with candy. Generally (in video games at least) Easter eggs are a reward, not a punishment, although they range from hidden files to secret rooms and often break character from the game, making reference to the developer or to the notion of the Easter egg itself.”