It is customary to paint at Easter eggs in different colors, but among the colorful eggs, the central place belongs to bright red eggs. Why?
History has preserved this legend for us. According to one of the most popular versions, which many Christians adhere to, it is believed that it was Mary Magdalene who initiated this tradition.
After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, his disciples and followers dispersed to different countries, everywhere proclaiming the good news that there was no longer any need to be afraid of death. Christ, the Savior of the world, defeated her. He resurrected Himself and will resurrect everyone who believes Him and loves people just as He loved.
Mary Magdalene dared to come with this news to the Roman Emperor Tiberius himself.
According to the law, if a poor person had an audience with Caesar, he had to donate at least an egg. So she brought an ordinary egg and, with a story about Christ, handed the egg to the emperor, who laughed and answered her in the spirit that just as this egg cannot turn red, so a dead person cannot be resurrected. And right there, before his eyes, the egg began to fill with blood and became dark red... Since then, on the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, we give each other red-painted eggs with the words: “Christ is Risen!” and we hear in response from the recipient of the gift: “Truly He is Risen!”
The egg has always been a symbol of life: in a strong shell there is life hidden from view, which in due course will break out of its lime captivity in the form of a small yellow chicken.
Speaking about this legend, it is worth noting that there are no records in any Christian source that describe this event, so this version is not considered official, but many believers love this beautiful story. In their opinion, it is she who explains Why are eggs painted for Easter?.
According to another, less magical version, Mary Magdalene simply brought an ordinary egg as a gift to the emperor. She gave it a gift look by painting it red, and she also wrote two letters on it, which symbolized the beginning of the expression “Christ is Risen.” This is how the first Easter egg appeared.
Another legend explains the tradition egg coloring on Easter, the fact that the Virgin Mary, entertaining the infant Christ, also painted eggs. And we do this, remembering that Easter is rebirth, new life and bright, pure joy.
There is a legend that says that after the execution of Christ, the Jews gathered for a meal consisting of fried chicken and boiled eggs. The diners mentioned that in three days Jesus Christ would resurrect, to which the owner of the house objected: “This will happen only after the fried chicken comes to life and the eggs turn red.” And at that very moment the chicken came to life, and the eggs changed color.
According to this legend egg dyeing- this is a symbol of people’s faith in the miracle of Christ’s resurrection, a symbol of overcoming doubts, in memory of the Day of Resurrection. It is also believed that the red color of the egg symbolizes the color of the blood of Christ, who gave his life to save people.
Scientists also have their own version of the origin of the tradition of dyeing eggs among Christians. Why dye eggs for Easter? In their opinion, they adopted this tradition from early cults, this is not surprising, because we know many holidays that were originally pagan, and then became Christian.
And in fact, custom of dyeing eggs found in many pre-Christian beliefs, including among the Slavs. Let's try to figure out why, or rather, how they could have developed this tradition. We already know that the ancient pagans used an egg as a symbol of fertility, and in the spring, when people celebrated the awakening of nature from sleep and the beginning of a new agricultural season, they decorated the eggs in every possible way in order to get a good harvest in the coming year.
With the advent of Christianity, these customs were mixed and, in addition to the many rituals that are performed at Easter, people also began to paint eggs.
Some scholars even believe that the legend of Magdalene appeared to justify the Christian church, which began to observe pagan rituals. And even now, some clergy with radical views have a very negative attitude towards this custom and cannot understand why eggs should be painted for Easter. Some of them are even trying to ban this tradition among their parishioners, they say: “For a Christian, observing pagan rituals is a great sin!” -, but this tradition has long become part of the Christian religion and believers rarely take such statements seriously.
Also, some scientists believe that Easter tradition of dyeing eggs has no religious basis at all, and the emergence of this tradition is explained as follows. The fact is that during Lent, people ate a lot of eggs and so that they did not spoil for a long time, they had to be boiled, and they were painted in order to somehow distinguish boiled eggs from raw ones.
Researchers of Easter eggs note that Easter eggs reflect the archaic ideas of the Slavs about the universe, and, apparently, Easter eggs existed among the Slavs before the adoption of Christianity. In early church documents, in particular the Poznań synoidal charter of Andrei Laskarge, who denounced the pagan remnants of the Slavs, it is considered a mortal sin during Easter time “...to give eggs and other gifts...”.
After all, an egg is not only a symbol of life, fertility and the spring rebirth of nature. Long before Christ, the egg was considered a prototype of the Universe itself. The very shape of the egg - an oval - symbolized a miracle among the Greeks.
The custom of dyeing eggs is also associated with the name of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is believed that on the day he was born, one of his mother's hens laid an egg marked with red dots. This was interpreted as a sign that a future emperor had been born. Over time, the Romans became accustomed to sending each other colored eggs as congratulations.
But why exactly did the egg become one of the proofs of the Resurrection of the Son of God?
In ancient times the egg was given magical significance. In graves, mounds, and ancient burials dating back to the pre-Christian era, eggs are found, both natural and made from various materials (marble, clay, etc.). During excavations in Etruscan tombs, carved and natural ostrich and chicken eggs, sometimes even painted ones, were discovered. All the mythologies of the world keep legends associated with the egg as a symbol of life, renewal, as the source of origin of everything that exists in this world.
For example, even the ancient Egyptians Every spring, along with the flood of the Nile, they exchanged painted eggs and hung them in their sanctuaries and temples. In Egyptian mythology, the egg represents the potential for life and immortality - the seed of existence and its secret.
The egg - a universal symbol of the creation of the world and creation - is also mentioned in Indian Vedas(the golden egg from which Brahma hatched). In India, all birds that lay eggs are called “twice-born,” since hatching from the egg means a second birth.
In the East it was believed that there was a time when chaos reigned everywhere, and this chaos was located in a huge egg in which all forms of life were hidden. The shell was warmed by the fire, giving the egg the warmth of creation. Thanks to this divine fire, the mythical creature Panu emerged from the egg. Everything weightless became Heaven, and everything dense became earth. Panu connected Heaven with Earth, created wind, space, clouds, thunder, lightning. To heat the emerging earth, Panu gave it the Sun, and to remind it of the cold - the Moon. Thanks to Pan, the Sun warmed the earth, the Moon shone, planets and stars were born.
Since ancient times the egg served as a symbol of the spring sun, bringing with it life, joy, warmth, light, the revival of nature, deliverance from the shackles of frost and snow - in other words, the transition from non-existence to existence. It was once customary to offer an egg as a simple small gift to the pagan gods, to give eggs to friends and benefactors on New Year's Day and on birthdays. Rich, wealthy people often offered gold or gilded eggs, symbolizing the sun, instead of colored chicken eggs. The ancient Romans had a custom of eating a baked egg at the beginning of a festive meal - this was symbolically associated with the successful start of a new business. It is interesting that Russian landowners of the 18th century also started the day with a soft-boiled egg - it was believed that a liquid yolk for breakfast contributed to the good absorption of the rest of the food during the day and “lubricated” the stomach.
For our ancestors the egg served as a symbol of life. It contains the embryo of the solar bird - the Rooster, who woke up the morning.
Piero della Francesca in the altarpiece of Monte Feltro(Milan, Brera, 15th century) depicted an ostrich egg above the Madonna and Child. Here it serves as an additional attribute of the legend of the miraculous birth of the God-man Jesus and points to a world that rests on the Christian faith. The Byzantine theologian and philosopher John of Damascus emphasized that heaven and earth are like an egg in everything: the shell is the sky, the chaff is the clouds, the white is water, and the yolk is the earth. From the dead matter of the egg life arises; it contains possibility, idea, movement and development. According to legend, even the dead the egg gives the power of life; with the help of the egg they feel the spirit of life and gain lost strength. There is a primordial belief that thanks to the miraculous power of the egg, you can come into contact with the dead, and they seem to come to life for a while. If you put a painted egg on the grave - the first one received on Easter - the deceased will hear everything that is said to him, that is, he will, as it were, return to life and to what makes the living person happy or sad.
Orthodox symbolism Easter eggs are rooted in the thousand-year traditions of the religions of many peoples of the world. At the same time, in Orthodoxy it receives a significant semantic addition: the egg in it, first of all, is a symbol of bodily rebirth in Christ, a symbol of the jubilant joy of the Resurrection from the dead, the victory of Life over death. Russian folk legends tell that at the moment of the Resurrection of Christ, the stones on Calvary turned into red eggs. The Orthodox symbolism of the egg also has its roots in the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs, who from ancient times were characterized by the cult of ancestors, the veneration of the immortal souls of the dead, who were considered sacred persons.
The first written evidence of colored eggs for Holy Easter we find it in a manuscript written on parchment and dating back to the 10th century, from the library of the monastery of St. Anastasia, near Thessaloniki in Greece. At the end of the church charter given in the manuscript, after the prayers for Easter, a prayer was also to be read for the blessing of eggs, cheese, and the abbot, kissing the brethren, was to distribute eggs to them with the words: “Christ is Risen!” According to the manuscript “Nomocanon Photius” (XIII century), the abbot can punish a monk who does not eat a red egg on Easter Day, because he is opposed to the apostolic traditions. Thus, the custom of giving eggs for Easter dates back to apostolic times, when Mary Magdalene was the first to set an example for believers of this joyful gift-giving.
As you can see, there are many scientific assumptions and fictitious legends, each of which does not have a “solid” conclusion, therefore it is impossible to say unambiguously ,
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After the festive night Easter service, believers, returning home from church for the first time after forty days of fasting, gather at the festive table and break their fast, i.e. They eat fast food, which was blessed in the church the day before. Usually this is Easter cottage cheese, Easter cakes and painted Easter eggs.
Despite the fact that the custom has existed for many years, many people today still ask the question: “Why are Easter eggs painted?” This tradition came to us from early Christian times. The Bible says that one of the disciples of Jesus Christ was Mary Magdalene, who dedicated her life to preaching the Christian faith.
On the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene went to the Roman Emperor Tiberius to notify him of the Resurrection of the Savior. In those days, it was impossible to come to the emperor without an offering or gift. Mary Magdalene was poor and did not have the opportunity to give gifts to the emperor, so she brought him a simple chicken egg. Since the true purpose of the woman’s coming was the news of the Resurrection of the Lord, then, holding out the offering to Tiberius, she said: “Christ has risen.”
Hearing this news, the emperor did not believe it and asked: “How can anyone rise from the dead? This is as hard to believe as the fact that a white egg will turn red.” Immediately before his eyes, the egg that Mary Magdalene brought changed its color and became red. The people present at that moment spread the news everywhere. As a sign of this event, in honor of Holy Easter, all over the world, true believers paint eggs both red and other colors on the eve of the holiday.
There is also a belief that the custom of painting eggs for Easter appeared after the birth of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180). According to legend, on the day the future emperor was born, a chicken laid an egg with red dots, which was considered a lucky sign. Later, the Romans developed a tradition of giving each other such a gift at Easter.
According to another version, the red color used to paint eggs for Easter symbolizes the blood and suffering of the Lord on the cross.
In the Christian faith, the Easter egg symbolizes the Holy Sepulcher and eternal life. This is due to the fact that the stone with which the entrance to the cave where the Holy Sepulchre was located was walled up was shaped like an egg. In addition, everyone knows that new life is born under the eggshell.
Today, Easter eggs are painted in a variety of colors. To do this, use both store-bought dyes and beets, onion peels or red cabbage. According to tradition, it is necessary to paint eggs and bake Easter cakes on Maundy Thursday.
Video: Why are eggs painted for Easter?
Easter is a big church holiday, which each of us has known about since childhood. For the celebration, eggs are painted and delicious Easter cakes are baked, which are usually blessed in the church. But not everyone knows what Easter cake and eggs mean for Easter. Let's try to figure everything out in order.
What does the word "Easter" mean?
In the Christian understanding, the word “Easter” means the transition from death to life, from earthly things to heaven. Forty days before the holiday, believers observe strict fasting, and then celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the victory of life over death.
Jews pronounce the word "Passover" as "Pesha" - a Hebrew word meaning "passed by, or passed by." In their understanding, Passover is the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery.
Easter: what does the holiday mean?
For every believer, Easter is the main church holiday, bringing hope and faith in the best. It appeared long before the birth of Jesus Christ. Initially, the holiday had significance only for the Jewish people, who were in Egyptian captivity for many years. Despite this, faith in liberation lived in the hearts of the captives.
The Jewish prophet Moses and his brother were sent to save the people. Moses came to Pharaoh and tried to convince him to let the people go. But no matter how hard he tried to do this, it was all in vain. The Egyptians did not believe in God and worshiped their own deities. To prove the existence of the Lord and his power, nine terrible plagues fell on the people of Egypt.
During the last execution, at night, all first-born males among animals and people were to be killed. To prevent this terrible punishment from affecting the Jews, they had to slaughter a one-year-old male lamb. Draw a mark on the door with his blood, and bake the meat and eat it with the family. After this, Passover in the Jewish understanding means a past or past misfortune.
The terrible events that took place greatly frightened the pharaoh, and he released the captives. After which the Jews began to celebrate their liberation from slavery, and the holiday was called Easter.
The New Testament Christian Easter was established by the apostles, shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then the holiday was filled with a new meaning and began to signify the victory of life over death. Initially, the holiday was dedicated to the memories of the death of the Savior. In the 5th century, the church revised the timing and rules of celebration. Then Easter began to be celebrated as the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.
What do eggs and Easter cake mean for Easter?
The main attributes of pagan Easter are painted eggs and Easter cake with icing. There is an opinion that the symbols were borrowed from pagans who worshiped the god of fertility. It was for him that Easter cakes were baked, resembling a phallus in appearance. The top was painted white, symbolizing sperm, and sprinkled with grain, signifying fertility. Two chicken eggs were placed next to the Easter cake to complete the picture.
Even before the appearance of Christ, the egg was considered a prototype of the Universe. It symbolized the revival of nature after hibernation, life and fertility. Ancient Egyptians gave each other eggs to celebrate the coming of Spring.
The tradition of painting eggs red began during the lifetime of Marcus Aurelius. There is a legend that when the philosopher was born, one of his mother’s hens laid an egg, the shell of which had red spots. This was interpreted as a sign that a future emperor had been born. Later, the Romans developed the custom of sending each other colored eggs as congratulations.
It is customary to paint eggs red for Easter. There are several reasons for this tradition:
- It is believed that the red Easter egg is painted with the blood of Christ.
- According to another legend, after the death of the Savior, seven Jews gathered together to celebrate this event. On the table, in addition to various dishes, there were boiled eggs and fried chicken. One of those present said that according to rumors, Jesus should be resurrected, to which the owner of the house replied: it is possible only if the eggs turn red and the chicken comes to life. Which is exactly what happened, becoming proof of the existence and power of the Lord.
- According to the third version, after the death of Christ, his followers scattered around the world to inform people that the Savior would soon rise again and life would conquer death. Mary Magdalene came to the Roman Emperor Tiberius with the same news. As a gift, she presented him with an egg - a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. But the emperor answered her that just as an egg cannot turn from white to red, so a dead person cannot be resurrected. At the same moment, the eggshell turned red.
At Easter it is customary to paint eggs in different colors, but the traditional one is red, representing life and victory.
The blessing of Easter cake on Easter is considered a historical mistake and religious illiteracy. This dish is recognized as pagan. However, the tradition of baking Easter cakes and painting eggs has become so integral to our lives that people sometimes don’t even think about what these holiday attributes mean.
Video: Easter cake - a pagan phallic symbol
No matter which country you go to for the Easter holidays, you will find its own symbols and traditions everywhere. But in all Christian countries of the world, without exception, eggs are colored. Moreover, red color predominates among the coloring options.
What is the reason for such a persistent symbolic tradition? Why is it customary to paint eggs red at Easter? It’s interesting that there are many legends around this fact and there are even more myths, so finding out why eggs are colored and answering the question in monosyllables is quite problematic.
However, this tradition has taken root among many nations, and many housewives do not even ask this question when they begin to create their Easter masterpieces. On the Zatusim resource we have collected the most common and beautiful legends associated with coloring eggs.
It turns out that the tradition of dyeing eggs red has rather banal everyday roots.
On the eve of Easter, Christians always tried to observe fasting, which lasted a month and a half. One of the food prohibitions during fasting applies to the consumption of chicken eggs as products of animal origin.
All this time, the chickens kept on each farm continued to lay eggs. Moreover, with the arrival of spring, the number of eggs laid increased.
Simply throwing away such products or giving them to animals was considered a great waste.
Therefore, homely peasants found a way to preserve them. The method is very simple - just boil it.
But why then were these eggs red? And here everything is very simple. To distinguish already boiled eggs from raw ones.
We always had affordable food colorings on hand, such as onion skins and beets. So they were put into action. Therefore, for the holiday itself, whole mountains of dyes were put on the tables. It is this everyday necessity that explains why eggs are painted and Easter cakes are baked according to recipes that contain a lot of baked goods.
Butter, milk, sour cream, eggs - these are exactly the foods that were collected in large quantities during Lent.
Therefore, housewives could not save, but use their hearts to prepare rich pastries.
Moreover, they baked a lot of Easter cakes so that there would be enough for all 40 days, which is how long it is customary to celebrate Easter.
Why eggs are painted red for Easter: the legend of Mary Magdalene
Perhaps this legend is the most widespread, as it is directly related to the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ. It tells the story of a poor girl who witnessed this miracle.
And she had nothing to present to the emperor, except perhaps an ordinary chicken egg. She took it with her in order to be admitted to the ruler.
The girl enthusiastically talked about the miracle that had happened, about the incredible event. But the powerful ruler only laughed in her face, not believing a single word.
And Tiberius uttered fatal words that went down in history. “Just as a chicken egg can never turn red, a dead person can never be resurrected.”
How amazed he and everyone present were when in his hands the white egg instantly changed color and turned red.
But it is known for certain that the first Christians simply began to imitate Mary. And be sure to give each other red eggs with the words: “Christ is Risen.”
Painted eggs as a symbol of life
Subsequently, Christians' vision of the egg as a symbol changed, especially with the advent of Christianity to the Slavic peoples.
Here they believed more that the egg was a symbol of the Robe of the Lord. But about the red color you can hear several opinions.
First of all, it is a symbol of resurrection. According to another version, the eggs are painted with the blood of the Lord.
But everyone is unanimous that by breaking the shell on an egg, a person breaks the shackles of death, giving a chance to life.
After all, the egg itself is directly associated with life among many peoples.
Red stones as a prototype of colored eggs
You can also find a legend that the eggs symbolize those stones that lay at the entrance to the cave where the Savior was buried.
They turned red after the resurrection and began to symbolize innocently shed blood.
But how true this story is and whether it can be connected with the habit of dyeing eggs is difficult to judge today.
This story tells about an unprecedented incident that took place precisely during the procession to Calvary.
As you know, a lot of people gathered to watch the torture of an innocently convicted person.
Their goal was to express their dissatisfaction and indignation, which was expressed by swearing and throwing stones.
There were also quite a few simply curious people who came to gawk at such a large-scale spectacle.
And few of those present could even think about helping the martyrs, among whom was Jesus Christ.
But still there were people who were not afraid to give him water, food, or simply help him get back on his feet.
It was among such brave daredevils, whose faith was true, that the egg merchant was located.
Although the man was executed completely by accident - he was simply heading to the market with a basket of eggs.
Seeing Christ fall to his knees, the merchant hurried to his aid, forgetting about his goods.
He simply left a basket filled with chicken eggs on the side of the road.
When he returned, he was amazed at what he saw. All the eggs in the basket turned red.
He was amazed by this miracle and decided not to sell the amazing eggs, but to give them away to his family and friends.
How surprised all his friends were when they learned on the third day about an even greater miracle - the great resurrection.
More ancient traditions of dyeing eggs
However, people began to paint eggs not after accepting Christianity, but much earlier.
So it’s worth getting acquainted with those ancient customs that have survived to this day, albeit greatly modified.
Legends of pagan ancestors
The egg was given a special place in paganism, as it symbolized new life, the rebirth of the Universe.
One can come across an interpretation of the meaning of the egg as the beginning of eternal life hidden in it.
Therefore, in various rituals associated with the celebration of their celebrations, a special place was given to the chicken egg.
Legends of Ancient Rome
Another story closely related to colored eggs tells of a prophecy that was given at the birth of the future famous emperor Marcus Aurelius.
That day, a domestic chicken laid an unusual egg - it was strewn with red dots.
Since great importance was attached to various predictions in those days, they immediately turned to local broadcasters.
They predicted that a great destiny awaited the boy, but others argued that this was simply a good sign for the woman in labor.
But you must admit that for a mother, the great fate of her son is also a good prediction. So there was a grain of truth in every such explanation.
And the Romans themselves loved to eat boiled eggs, and on the eve of major holidays they tried to give them a more solemn appearance.
Eggs - a toy
In ancient times, chicken eggs were painted to make a toy for a child.
Such fun could be found in any poor family, where there was simply no opportunity to purchase toys.
The children enjoyed playing with such interesting colorful eggs.
They say that even the mother of Jesus, the Holy Virgin Mary, amused her child with such fun.
What do the other colors of dyed eggs mean?
But today eggs are not only painted red. Wouldn't such options be symbolic and not suitable for the holiday? Are they really made colorful just for the sake of a beautiful picture?
No, each color has a specific meaning, which is fully consistent with Easter symbolism:
- White is associated with heavenly, that is, meaning spirituality and purity.
- They paint yellow, orange or gold to attract prosperity and wealth.
- Blue is considered the color of the Virgin Mary - it is associated with kindness, hope, peace and love.
- Eggs are painted green in honor of rebirth and prosperity.
In many countries, there is a tradition of making not just colored eggs for Easter, but decorating them with patterns and designs.
Such eggs are called pysanka, drapanka, krashenka.
Trees and flowers, temples and symbols, geometric shapes and ornaments are painted on them.
Moreover, each such symbol has a specific meaning:
- A tree is a symbol of the development of its kind;
- The hand signifies the presence of God;
- The sun symbolizes renewal of life;
- The cross means Christianity.
The Church does not forbid and even approves of such decoration of eggs. The only thing that is not recommended to paint on eggs is the faces of saints.
This is due to the fact that the shells are then thrown into the trash along with such stickers, which is blasphemy.
What if Mary Magdalene had not gone to the emperor with good news? What if Tiberius had mentioned a color other than red? Would the egg have become an Easter symbol if the myrrh-bearer had taken a loaf of bread or a coin as a gift? Why and why are eggs painted for Easter? Is it possible to paint them in other colors and with what? Read more in the article.
Easter is a celebration of the victory of life over death, a day when extraordinary miracles happen and the egg symbolizes one of the miracles that happened on the day of the resurrection of Christ. Even during the era of communist atheism, people dyed eggs for Easter, often without the slightest idea where this tradition came from. It’s just beautiful, interesting, and quite a fun process for children. And only believers knew the whole history of the Easter tradition, which does not disappear and is passed on to subsequent generations.
And Mary Magdalene came to Tiberius...
One of the main stories explaining the origin of the tradition is associated with the coming of Mary Magdalene to Emperor Tiberius. Then there was a custom - whoever visited the emperor's palace had to bring a gift. Its value was not specified, so ordinary people were allowed to bring something inexpensive.
And Mary Magdalene came to Tiberius and brought him joyful news - Christ is Risen, to which the emperor laughed and said - the dead do not rise from oblivion, and if the truth is yours, then the white egg you brought will be red. At that same moment, the egg in the hands of Mary Magdalene turned red, and the emperor and everyone who observed this miracle believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In general, if you give an egg favorable conditions, without boiling scrambled eggs from it, you will get a living creature, it is considered a symbol of life, also Jesus Christ, when they put him in a cave, Mary Magdalene came, but the body was no longer there. This is Christ is Risen! The same with eggs for Easter, that’s why. Since then, it has become traditional to paint eggs for Easter, which took on a completely different meaning and became the victory of life over death.
At first, eggs were painted only red, symbolizing the shed blood of Christ, and much later they began to decorate the Easter table with them, painted in other colors - yellow, blue, green, purple. Whether someone once accidentally colored eggshells with some natural dye, or someone deliberately wanted to experiment, it doesn’t matter. Nowadays eggs are colored with purchased dyes or the old fashioned way – with natural dyes from what is in the house. But not everyone knows how to dye eggs for Easter and what color.
Types of natural dyes
- Onion peels - from yellow to brown, depending on the strength of the broth.
- Blueberries range from blue to deep purple.
- Cherry bark and branches are red.
- Turmeric ranges from pale yellow to deep orange.
- Birch leaves, strong tea or coffee are painted brown.
- Leaves of nettle, spinach, parsley - green.
- Beetroot is a permanent dye that will impart all shades of beetroot, from pink to deep red.
- Red cabbage, contrary to logic, will turn the shell blue.
- Dark grape juice is purple in color.
And there are many other plants that contain one or another natural dye - carrots, paprika, raspberries.
Types of Easter eggs
Often craftsmen do not just paint, but create real masterpieces. This gave rise to the following types of Easter eggs:
- dyes - simply painted in one or two colors;
- Easter eggs - with an abstract design or biblical scenes;
- drapanki - a painted testicle on which a design has been scratched with a needle;
- specks - eggs are colored not monolithically, but in spots. This is often done using wax.
In addition to natural chicken eggs, people sometimes give Easter eggs as souvenirs made from wood, birch bark, beads, bone, or fabric.
The egg has always been a symbol of life. If you think about it, the term itself everywhere and always represents the birth of a new life. And it is not for nothing that it became a symbol of Easter as a symbol of eternal life.
What they give on Easter Sunday, what, how and why they paint eggs for Easter - you now know. The main thing is that they are sanctified, and that faith lives in the soul.
