The Easter egg is a symbol of the spring holiday along with Easter cake and curd Easter. These bright symbols of the Bright Resurrection of Christ are known to every person since childhood, but perhaps not everyone knows why eggs are painted on Easter.

There are many versions and explanations - from a beautiful legend to everyday necessity. will tell you about the most common ones.

Legends, versions, assumptions

The egg symbolizes life, rebirth, and the tradition of painting eggs for Easter is rooted in antiquity. The first mention of painted eggs is found in a 10th-century manuscript found in the library of the Greek monastery of St. Anastasia.

According to the manuscript, after the Easter service, the abbot distributed consecrated eggs to the brethren with the words: "Christ is Risen!"

But the answer to the question of when and why they began to dye eggs is still shrouded in a veil of secrecy.

Legend has it that Mary Magdalene presented the first Easter egg to the Roman emperor Tiberius to announce the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ.

According to the ancient custom, gifts were brought to the emperor, and Mary Magdalene brought a chicken egg as a gift to Tiberius with the words: "Christ is Risen!" However, Tiberius did not believe her words, arguing that no one can be resurrected, just as a white egg cannot become red.

And as soon as the last word flew off his lips, a miracle happened - the chicken egg brought by Mary became completely red. The red color symbolizes the blood shed on the cross by Jesus.

According to another legend, the tradition of painting eggs was started by the Virgin Mary, who painted eggs to entertain Jesus Christ when he was still a baby.

It has long been believed that the consecrated Easter egg should be the first meal after a 40-day fast. Therefore, one of the simple and vital explanations also has the right to exist.

In particular, believers limit themselves to food during fasting and do not consume meat and dairy products. This fact did not affect the hens, and out of habit they continued to lay eggs. To save eggs from spoilage, they were boiled, and various dyes were added during cooking in order to subsequently distinguish a boiled egg from a raw one.

There is also an assumption that the custom of painting eggs for Easter is associated with the pre-Christian celebration of spring. For many nations, the egg was the personification of life-giving power, therefore, in the customs and beliefs of the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, the egg was a symbol of birth and rebirth.

Perhaps the tradition of painting eggs for Easter appeared and became fixed as a combination of several of the above versions. But in any case, a painted Easter egg is very beautiful, useful, and an integral part of the holiday.

Initially, the color was only red, symbolizing the blood of Christ. And the most common dyes for coloring eggs, of course, were readily available such as onion peel, cherry bark, beets, and so on.

In Georgia, eggs have been dyed with roots for a long time. medicinal plant Madder tinting (Rubia tinctorum), which is called "endro" in the common people.

Over time, eggs began to be dyed in other colors, using natural or food dyes. And chicken eggs began to be replaced with wooden, chocolate or made of precious metals and stones.

The color of the egg depends on what it is painted with, and the color itself also matters: red is a royal color, recalls God's love for the human race, and blue is the color of the Blessed Virgin, it is associated with kindness, hope, love for one's neighbor.

White is a heavenly color and symbolizes purity and spirituality, while yellow, like orange and gold, symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Green, like a fusion of blue and yellow, means prosperity and rebirth.

Multi-colored and painted eggs give a cheerful mood and are the basis of Easter games. Everyone loves to play games related to Easter eggs, especially children. The most famous of the games are egg rolling and egg smashing.

The material was prepared on the basis of open sources.

At Easter, it is important to color the eggs. No documented evidence has yet been found of where this tradition came from. In the article we will tell you how the custom of painting eggs for Easter was born, we will reveal the secrets, original ideas egg coloring.

Why eggs are dyed at Easter

Few people wonder why eggs are dyed for Easter. Where did this tradition come from? For Christians, this is a sacred sacrament that absolutely every believer must observe. In the 13th century, a set of rules was formed, where it was clearly stated that the hegumen would punish the one who did not eat the Easter egg in great holiday. It was believed that by neglecting such a custom, the monks showed disrespect for the traditions of the great ones.

There are various versions of the origin of the tradition of coloring and painting eggs for Easter. One of the main ones is a close relationship with Mary Magdalene, who took upon herself the authority to inform Bishop Tiberius that Christ had risen. It was forbidden to go to the ruler without special gifts, the woman did not have a gift for him, as a result she took a simple egg.

The fact is that the egg in its meaning can evoke in people such associations as the beginning of something new, in this case it definitely means a new era. When Maria gave the egg to Vladyka, he did not believe her, saying that it was just as impossible as if her egg suddenly turned red. It was after these words that a red-dyed egg began to be considered a symbol of the Easter holiday. There is another version of the origin of the tradition of painting eggs. When Jesus Christ was small, the Virgin Mary painted eggs to entertain her little son.

There are also worldly versions that very easily explain why eggs are painted on Easter. Everyone knows that during the period of fasting people refuse a great variety of food. After fasting, it is customary to boil eggs so that they are not spoiled. In order for people to be able to distinguish between raw and cooked foods, they began to turn eggs red.

According to legend, the stone used to close the tomb of Jesus Christ had the shape of an egg. Everyone knows that a new life is hidden under the egg shell, so it is the Easter egg that reminds us of the salvation of Jesus Christ, his resurrection.

How beautiful to paint eggs

Many centuries have passed since the birth of the tradition of painting an egg for Easter. If earlier Christians dyed eggs only with onion peel, now there are many new options, colors, decorations. Let's start with the simplest.

How to dye eggs for Easter with onion skins

This method is the most ancient, it is used from generation to generation, giving due to the simplicity, convenience and naturalness of the variety of staining.

All you need is onion peel, which you need to fill with water in a saucepan and cook for about 43 minutes over very low heat. Then turn off the stove, cover the husk with a lid and let it brew. We take out the eggs from the refrigerator 2 hours before the start of staining. The broth must be filtered to get rid of the husk and leave only water. Then put eggs in it and cook until tender.

marble eggs

Marble Easter eggs will be a real decoration for the coming Easter in 2019. First you need to prepare the onion peel. It will be much better if it is multi-colored.

Important: there should be enough husks, take care of this in advance.

Eggs should lie down at room temperature, then you need to moisten them a little with water and roll in pieces of husk. Wrap tightly with nylon, gauze (optional). You tie the ends with threads, firmly. Fill the pot with water, immerse the eggs in the husk, wrapped in cheesecloth, pour a tube of greenery into the water. Cook after boiling for about 15 minutes, then remove the eggs, remove the wrapper and rinse under water.

This egg color is considered one of the more familiar, traditional for our grandmothers, great-grandmothers. Even fifty years ago, our predecessors did not have the opportunity to buy variable dyes, so everyone used improvised devices.

Zelenka, why is she? It is believed that the green color indicates calmness and peace, gives a feeling of security.

What color to dye eggs - top natural dyes

beet juice, it can give different shades. From burgundy to pale pink, you just need to grate the beets, boil for 30 minutes, add a little vinegar;
spinach will help transform eggs into an interesting green composition;
nettle gives a dark green color;
turmeric is the source of the orange color;
coffee will give brown and beige shades;
cranberries will give a bright fuchsia color;
the orange zest will help create the golden yellow color.

Why do they beat eggs on Easter

Easter speck is called not only a festive treat in the form of painted eggs. It is also an essential symbol that is used in Easter rituals, rituals. Beating eggs is ancient tradition where did she come from?

And if Mary Magdalene had not gone to the emperor with good news? What if Tiberius had not mentioned the color red? And it would become an egg easter symbol, if the myrrh-bearing woman took a bread cake 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 just symbolizes one of the miracles that happened on the day of the resurrection of Christ. Even in 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 for children it’s a rather funny process. And only believers knew the whole history of the Easter tradition, which does not disappear and is passed on to the next generations.

And Mary Magdalene came to Tiberius...

One of the main stories that explains the origin of the tradition is connected with the coming of Mary Magdalene to the Emperor Tiberius. Then there was a custom - who visits the palace of the emperor, had to bring a gift. Its value was not specified, therefore ordinary people I was 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 non-existence, but if your truth is, so be the white egg brought by you, red. At the same moment, the egg in the hands of Mary Magdalene turned red, and the emperor and everyone who watched this miracle believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In general, if you give favorable conditions to an egg, do not cook scrambled eggs from it, then you get Living being, it is considered as a symbol of life, also Jesus Christ, when he was put in a cave, Mary Magdalene came, and the body was gone. It is Christ Risen! Also with eggs for Easter, that's why. Since then, it has become traditional to paint eggs for Easter, which has acquired a completely different meaning and has become the victory of life over death.

At first, eggs were dyed only in 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 painted an eggshell with some natural dye, or someone intentionally wanted to experiment, it doesn’t matter. Now eggs are dyed with purchased dyes or in the old fashioned way - natural, from what is in the house. But not everyone knows how to paint eggs for Easter and what color.

Types of natural dyes

Onion peel - from yellow to brown, depending on the strength of the broth.
Blueberries - from blue to deep purple.
Cherry bark and twigs are red.
Turmeric is pale yellow to deep orange.
Birch leaves, strong tea or coffee are dyed brown.
Leaves of nettle, spinach, parsley - in green.
Beetroot is a permanent dye that will give all shades of beetroot - from pink to deep red.
Red cabbage, contrary to logic, will turn the shell blue.
The juice of dark grapes is lilac.

And there are many other plants that contain one or another natural dye - carrots, paprika, raspberries.

Easter egg types

Often, craftsmen do not just paint, but create real masterpieces. From this came the species Easter eggs:

krashenki - simply painted in one or two colors;
pysanky - with an applied abstract pattern or biblical scenes;
drapanki - a painted testicle on which a drawing is scratched with a needle;
specks - eggs are not stained monolithically, but with spots. This is often done with wax.

In addition to natural chicken eggs on Easter, they sometimes give a souvenir egg made of wood, birch bark, beads, bone, and fabric.

The egg has always been a symbol of life. If you think about it, the term itself everywhere and always personifies the birth of a new life. And not without reason it became a symbol of Easter as a symbol of eternal life.

What they give on the Bright Sunday of Christ, what, how and why they paint eggs for Easter - you now know. The main thing is that they be sanctified, and faith lives in the soul.

It is difficult to imagine the main Christian holiday without painted eggs. Eggs begin to be painted on Holy Week, they are carried to church, they are treated to relatives and friends, and a festive feast begins with them. From year to year, we decorate eggs for Easter, often without even thinking about the meaning of this tradition. Meanwhile, a number of questions may arise, for example, why eggs are dyed at Easter and why red eggs are still especially distinguished. The tradition of decorating eggs has long history full of legends, so all these questions cannot be answered unambiguously.

Like many traditions that have survived to this day, according to one version, decorating eggs for Easter has its roots in the pre-Christian era. As you know, the date of the celebration of Easter changes every year and depends on the lunisolar calendar, but each time this holiday falls in the spring. In pre-Christian times, there were many ceremonies and rituals associated with the arrival of spring, and with the spread of Christianity, some of them began to include the Easter holiday. Since the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, as well as the arrival of spring, symbolizes new life, then, answering the question why eggs are painted on Easter, you should turn to ancient egypt and Persia. Even the ancient Egyptians and Persians during their spring holidays painted chicken eggs. Even then, the egg was considered a symbol of fertility and new life, with the advent of Christianity, the egg became not only a symbol of new life, but also of resurrection.

There is another answer to the question why eggs are painted on Easter, it refers us to Ancient Rome. The Romans associated the ritual of dyeing eggs with the name of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, more precisely with his birth in 121 AD. On the day of this event, in a chicken coop that belonged to the family of the future emperor, a chicken laid an egg, completely covered with bright red dots. This extraordinary event was interpreted as a symbol of a happy omen and a sign of a bright future for the newborn. Since then, a tradition has appeared in Rome in honor of the holiday to give each other colored eggs. Christians, having adopted the tradition, put a different meaning into it, it is believed that the red color of the egg symbolizes the blood of Christ.

However, the church does not agree with previous theories. According to the biblical version, the first Easter egg was presented by Mary Magdalene to Emperor Tiberius. But why is it customary to paint eggs at Easter? After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, his disciples informed the believers about this joyful event, then Mary Magdalene went with this message to the Roman emperor Tiberius. However, it was not accepted to come to the emperor without gifts, and even the poor had to present at least an egg as a gift to Tiberius. Mary Magdalene did the same, but she chose the egg as a gift not by chance, it has a special meaning. Beneath the dead eggshell lies a life hidden from everyone, which will break free along with the hatched chicken. And when Mary told Tiberius that Christ had similarly escaped from the shackles of death and resurrected, the emperor did not believe it, arguing that it was as impossible as your white egg to turn red. And at that moment, a miracle happened before everyone's eyes - the egg in the emperor's hand turned red, and the amazed Tiberius exclaimed "Truly risen!" Since then, believers on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ give each other colored eggs with the words “Christ is risen!”, And the one who accepts the gift answers “Truly risen!”.

With these versions, the answer to the question of why eggs are painted on Easter is not exhausted. Another legend tells about the Jews who gathered for a meal after the execution of Jesus Christ, they were served fried chicken and boiled eggs. One of them mentioned that in 3 days Jesus would be resurrected, the other laughed, saying that this fried chicken would soon come to life and the eggs would turn red. And at that moment, that is exactly what happened. Since then, eggs have been dyed at Easter to commemorate this event. There is another legend that says that the Mother of God herself painted the eggs in order to use them as toys for the baby Christ.

There is a simpler and more logical answer to the question of why eggs are painted on Easter. As you know, during Great Lent, which ends with the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, the use of any products of animal origin, including chicken eggs, is prohibited. And everything would be much easier if the chickens could explain this, and for the duration of the fast they would stop laying eggs. However, chickens are still unaware of all sorts of restrictions and continue to rush even during Lent. In order not to throw away a valuable product, the peasants prepared eggs for future use and, in order to distinguish early batches from fresher ones, they were dyed. And with the onset of the Easter holiday, they gave painted eggs to loved ones, took them to church and ate them themselves.

As you can see from all these legends, which you can believe in or not, the tradition of dyeing eggs originated a long time ago. Until now, every year on the eve of the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, Christians around the world paint eggs, turning them into real works of art.

Alena Karamzina

“A testicle is dear to Christ's day” - this is the famous Russian proverb.

Easter eggs are an attribute of one of the main religious holidays of Christians - the day of commemoration of the "miraculous Resurrection" of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. According to ancient church tradition, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene presented the first Easter egg to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Shortly after the ascension of Christ the Savior into heaven, Mary Magdalene appeared in Rome to preach the Gospel. In those days, it was customary, when coming to the emperor, to bring him gifts. The wealthy brought jewelry, and the poor brought what they could. Therefore, Mary Magdalene, who had nothing but faith in Jesus, handed the emperor Tiberius a chicken egg with the exclamation: "Christ is Risen!"

The emperor, doubting what was said, noted that no one can rise from the dead, and this is just as hard to believe as that a white egg can turn red. Tiberius did not have time to finish these words, and the egg began to turn from white to bright red. Tradition contributed to the fact that this custom took root. Painted eggs among the bearers of faith in Christ have always served as a symbol of the Resurrection of Jesus, and with it the purification in the name of the new a better life. The red color of the eggs symbolized the blood of Christ and at the same time served as a symbol of the Resurrection. And if a person lives according to Christian commandments, he joins the redeeming merits of the Savior and a new life. It was believed that a consecrated egg could put out a fire, with its help they searched for a cow that was missing or lost in the forest, they carried the egg along the ridge of the cattle so that it would not get sick and its coat would be smooth. They washed themselves with eggs, stroked their faces to be beautiful and ruddy. The shells and crumbs from breaking the fast were mixed with grains for sowing, they were also sprinkled on the graves of deceased relatives.

The symbol of Easter (“Yellow Holiday”, as it is also called in Europe) has long been an egg. Why? Perhaps for a very prosaic reason. According to one version, since during the long fast the chickens continued to lay eggs and the diet product could deteriorate, the owners tried their best to embellish it, paint it in a more entertaining way in order to feed family members and guests as much as possible.

Giving each other Easter eggs, Christians profess faith in their Resurrection. If the Resurrection of Christ had not happened, then, as the Apostle Paul teaches, new faith would not have a reason and price, it would be in vain - "not saving and not saving us." But Christ arose, resurrected as the first of those born on earth, and by this he showed his power and divine grace. This is what the biblical story says.

But why did the egg become one of the proofs of the Resurrection of the Son of God? In ancient times, the egg was given magical meaning. In graves, mounds, ancient burials dating back to the pre-Christian era, eggs are found, both natural and made of various materials (marble, clay, etc.). During excavations in Etruscan tombs, carved and natural ostrich, chicken eggs, sometimes even painted, were found. All the mythologies of the world keep legends associated with the egg as a symbol of life, renewal, as the source of the origin of everything that exists in this world.

For example, even the ancient Egyptians every spring, along with the flood of the Nile, exchanged painted eggs, hung them in their sanctuaries and temples. IN Egyptian mythology the egg represents the potentiality of life and immortality - the seed of being and its secret. The egg - a universal symbol of the creation of the world and creation - is also mentioned in the Indian "Vedas" ( golden egg from which Brahma hatched). In India all the birds laying eggs, are called "twice-born", since hatching from an egg means a second birth.

In the East, it was believed that there was a time when chaos reigned everywhere, and this chaos was in a huge egg in which all forms of life were hidden. The fire warmed the shell, giving the egg the warmth of creation. Thanks to this divine fire, it appeared from the egg mythical creature- Pan. Everything weightless became Heaven, and everything solid became earth. Panu connected Heaven with Earth, created wind, space, clouds, thunder, lightning. To heat the earth that appeared, Panu gave her the Sun, and to remind her 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 has served as a symbol of the spring sun, bringing with it life, joy, warmth, light, the rebirth of nature, deliverance from the shackles of frost and snow - in other words, the transition from non-existence to existence. Once upon a time it was customary to offer an egg as a simple small gift to the pagan gods, to give eggs to friends and benefactors on the first day of the New Year and on birthdays. Rich, wealthy people, instead of colored chicken eggs, often offered golden or gilded eggs, symbolizing the sun. The ancient Romans had a custom at the beginning of a festive meal to eat a baked egg - this was symbolically associated with the successful start of a new business. It is interesting that the Russian landowners of the 18th century also started the day with a soft-boiled egg - it was believed that the liquid yolk for breakfast contributes to the good absorption of the rest of the food during the day, “lubricates” the stomach.

For our ancestors, the egg served as a symbol of life. It contains the embryo of a solar bird - the Rooster, which woke up the morning.

Piero della Francesca in the altar of Monte Feltro (Milan, Brera, XV century) above the Madonna and Child depicted an ostrich egg. Here it serves as an additional attribute of the legend about miraculous birth the God-man Jesus and points to the 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 squirrel is water, and the yolk is the earth. From the dead matter of the egg, life arises; it contains the 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 make 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 for Easter - the deceased will hear everything that is said to him, that is, as if returning to life and to what pleases or saddens the living.

The Orthodox symbolism of the Easter egg is rooted in the millennial 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 re-creation in Christ, a symbol of the exultant joy of the Resurrection from the dead, the victory of Life over death. Russian folk legends tell that at the time of the Resurrection of Christ, the stones on Golgotha turned into red eggs. The Orthodox symbolism of the egg also has its roots in the pre-Christian beliefs of the Slavs, who since ancient times have been characterized by the cult of ancestors, the veneration of the immortal souls of the dead, who were considered sacred personalities.

The first written evidence of painted eggs for Holy Easter is found in a 10th-century parchment manuscript from the library of the monastery of St. Anastasia, not far from Thessalonica in Greece. At the end of the church charter given in the manuscript, after the prayers for Easter, it was also necessary to read a prayer for the blessing of eggs, cheese, and the hegumen, 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 that monk who does not eat a red egg on Easter day, because such a monk opposes the apostolic traditions. Thus, the custom of giving eggs for Easter dates back to the apostolic times, when Mary Magdalene was the first to give believers an example of this joyful gift.

The celebration of Easter in Rus' was introduced at the end of the 10th century. Orthodox Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the spring equinox and the March full moon.

Easter in Rus' was also accompanied by rituals that came from pagan times, but now sanctified by the Light of Christ. This is the consecration of Easter cakes, the manufacture of cheese mass, the dyeing of eggs ... On Easter, an egg was placed in a tub with wheat grain and these seeds were saved for sowing.

Easter coincides with the time when spring comes into its own. By the same day, as a sign of flowering, boiled eggs were painted in ancient times. different colors. It was like the flowers of Yarila-God, they were laid out on green grass. This greenery was grown as follows: they took hemp tow, fiber, wrapped grains in them, watered them on a plate every day, and by Easter they sprout grass. Eggs were laid on it, all sorts of dishes were prepared, the meaning of which is Spring, Warmth, Fire, Life, Love.

In Rus', according to the researcher and collector of Russian folk traditions Yu. P. Mirolyubov, Easter has always had a universal, all-encompassing character. On this day, they rejoiced in everything: warmth, light, heaven, earth, relatives, strangers ... The Feast of the Resurrection of Christ is also the resurrection of nature, the renewal of life. Russian spring is distinguished by extraordinary tenderness, warmth and constancy, and Easter is the Grace of life itself. Because there is no death! It was trampled by the one who rose from the tomb on the Third Day.

Each nation has its own holidays, but among them there is a holiday of holidays, the most important. Such an event in Rus' for many centuries was Holy Pascha. The church celebration has a truly grandiose character. The Church is gradually preparing for the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. The week before Easter is marked by days with the growing tension of religious life.

As soon as the spring sun has time to look out, nature will come to life, like everyone else, "both young and old", are preparing to joyfully meet "holidays, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations" - Easter, which is celebrated no earlier than March 22 and no later than April 25 (according to the old calendar ), on the first Sunday following the spring equinox and the full moon in March. In many places in Russia, the day of the Resurrection of Christ is called a great day, since there is a belief that proves the greatness and holiness of this holiday, that after the Resurrection of Christ the sun does not set during the entire holy week, and the day of the great holiday, therefore, equals seven ordinary days. The night of Great Saturday presents a wonderful, majestic spectacle, both in the capitals and everywhere in Rus', wherever there is Orthodox churches. Orthodox people hurry here through the fields, through the meadows, through the forests, along the paths, along the roads, and those who are late to get into the church, which is already crowded with people, are located around the churches in anticipation of the procession. In Little Russia, bonfires are lit around churches, everything is illuminated in the capitals, and lit torches shine on the towers of churches. But then the first call of the big bell rang out, the whole crowd stirred, candles were lit in the hands of the Orthodox, and the clergy appeared in light robes with crosses, with banners, with icons, and the voice of the church choir proclaims great joy: “Your Resurrection, Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven." In Novgorod, after entering procession through the northern doors and passing against the solar current, the bishop marked the Korsun gates with a censer and rejected them with a cross, the singers sang: "Christ is risen from the dead, step on death by death and a gift to the grave," preserved to this day in the church life of the Old Believers. In the same way, according to the old charter, according to 3 songs of the canon, the archpriest read the explanatory Gospel, the saint himself in the altar during Christening approached each priest; kissed the icons they held, kissed them and gave them two eggs each. Upon leaving the altar, he, in turn, received an egg from the boyar, the authorities and the people.

In Moscow, the solemn Divine Liturgy on Easter night was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Dormition, in the presence of the Tsar, who, by his majesty, gave impressiveness and solemnity to church rites, in general similar to the present ones. Streltsy lieutenant colonels were posted at the doors of the cathedral, who were obliged to ensure that only those who were dressed in golden caftans entered the cathedral. After the laudatory stichera, the sovereign kissed the images brought to him by the clergy, and kissed the elders on the lips, and the younger ones were favored by the hand and clothed with red or gilded testicles, either chicken and goose, or wooden, chiseled, painted on gold with bright colors depicting flowers. , birds and animals. Then the boyars approached the kissing of the royal hand by rank, first the elders. After Matins, the Sovereign went to the Cathedral of the Archangel to "Christen with his parents," i. bow down to their ashes. In the court Annunciation Cathedral, he christened "on the lips" with his confessor and also favored him and others with eggs. He did the same upstairs in the same way, i.e. in the palace, christened with the boyars who remained "for protection" royal family during the sovereign's exit to the cathedrals. In the golden chamber, the spiritual authorities especially praised Christ, after which the king marched to congratulate the queen on the children. With them, he usually listened to mass in one of the palace churches, and by late mass he went out to the Assumption Cathedral in all regalia. After this mass, all the courtiers, not excluding all kinds of masters, were made happy by the king with his high attention, allowing them to take his hand.

On the very first day of St. Easter, the king went to prisons and, showing himself best example Christian humility and mercy, told the prisoners: "Christ is risen for you too" and gave each one a new fur coat or shirt, etc. and sent food for breaking the fast: “to the best in terms of roast, but to them and all who got it, in terms of boiled, in terms of lamb, in terms of ham; and porridge from sinful cereals and pies with eggs or meat, which is more decent. Yes, to buy a person for bread and for two-money kalach. More meek and less guilty criminals were given three cups, and the rest two, but two and one cup of honey. And in the golden chamber of Tsaritsyna at that time they fed the poor brethren.

From the Novgorod and Moscow antiquity, let's turn to the present time and take a quick look at the celebration of the "great day" in Mother Rus'. While singing the troparion, we will be enlightened with triumph, and we will embrace each other, a triple kiss and greeting of each other with the words “Christ is Risen” and the response “Truly Risen” begins, and they give each other eggs, called depending on the method of coloring: painted - “pysanky”, painted - "dyes". Their difference is that boiled eggs were used for krashenka, which were then eaten, and for pysanky they were raw and necessarily fertilized. Later, eggs made of wood (they were called “eggs”), porcelain, silver, with decorations made of enamel, beads, precious stones appeared. received first: it has the ability to open evil spirits, it will never deteriorate until next year. Of course we are talking about those eggs that are made of wood and stone, glass, crystal and porcelain and are intended for storage in the "red corner" - in front of icons and lamps.

The tradition of exchanging colored eggs for Easter has long roots in Russia. It is known that during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, up to 37 thousand eggs were prepared for distribution at Easter. Along with natural (chicken, swan, goose, pigeon, duck) colored eggs, there were wooden and bone, carved and painted. Naturally, the size of natural eggs was a kind of standard for the size of eggs made of wood, bone, porcelain, glass, stone.

Many superstitions are connected with the “Christ-making” itself in Little Russia, such as, for example, the fact that if the first greeting “Christ is Risen” is not answered “Truly Risen”, but conceived of any desire, then it will certainly come true. Returning home after Easter matins, people admire rising sun playing in the sky and sharing the general rejoicing of both nature and people in a reborn life. IN middle lane Russian children sing a song addressed to the sun: Sunny, bucket, look out the window! Sunshine, roll, red, dress up, etc.

And the old people comb their hair with the wish that they have as many grandchildren as there are hairs on their heads; old women wash themselves with gold, silver and a red egg in the hope of getting rich, and the young climb onto the roofs to better see how the red sun will play and have fun.

In houses and huts, by the time the family returns from church from matins, a table has already been set, laden with all kinds of dishes for breaking the fast, a special abundance of which differs in Little Russia, where a bad owner does not set the table with piglet, sausage, Easter and krashenka, but we can’t even talk about wealthy landowners nothing - there is no way to list all the dishes and drinks that adorn the Easter table. Both at Christmas and Easter week, the clergy go from house to house to praise Christ. Worldly people - guys in batches of 10-15 people with a leader or "initiator" at the head go through the villages with drag songs reminiscent of Christmas carols, and sing them under the windows, and sometimes they go into the hut in order to treat themselves. From the masters, the volocheniks usually receive both fried and boiled, or even money, and they divide everything among the members of the choir. Sometimes the part of the drawers is accompanied by a musician with a violin or a pipe.

Easter was also accompanied by games with Easter eggs, which were one of the main holiday entertainments in Russia. The Slavs know several types of such games, but the most massive was the rolling of Easter eggs - on the ground from hillocks or from special trays. The essence of the game was to roll an egg from the tray and hit it with another - from those that were already lying below; when this succeeded, the man took an egg from the ground.

The ancient traditions of celebrating Easter have survived to this day. Countless people fill the temples again during Easter service, ancient churches dedicated to the holiday are being restored and opened. Like centuries ago, in many families on Thursday during Holy Week they paint eggs and in good friday the houses are full of the smells of baking Easter cakes.

source http://www.proshkolu.ru/user/allo4ka2010/blog/98357/&tra ...

Unusual ways to color eggs for Easter.

We are used to dyeing eggs usually with onion peel, but there are many various options how to color eggs...

Ocher paint like this:

4 cups red onion skins. Boil eggs for 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Depending on the soaking time, the eggs will turn bright scarlet to deep red.

Gilding

Add 2-3 tablespoons of turmeric to hot water, boil to intensify the color.

Pink can be obtained like this

Soak boiled eggs in cranberry or beetroot juice.

Purple

Add violet flowers to hot water and soak overnight.

If you add a little to the water lemon juice, you get a lavender color.

Blue color

Two heads of finely chopped red cabbage, 500 ml of water and 6 tbsp of white vinegar.

Soak overnight for a deep blue color.

Green color

Add 1 tsp baking soda to the mixture to get a purple color or boil eggs with spinach.

lavender color

Soak eggs in grape juice.

Pastel colors for coloring

For soft pinks and blues, rub the shells with a handful of blueberries or cranberries.

Beige color

4 cups yellow onion skins Boil 30 min - 1 hour.

The amount of husk and the duration of boiling affect the saturation of the color.

Dark brown

Boil eggs in 250 ml of coffee.

We dye eggs with natural dyes.

There are many ways to paint and decorate eggs for Easter. You can just paint, or you can do decoupage, marbling, paint with adhesive tape, fabric and lace. Many of these methods involve the use of synthetic dyes. However, if you are against everything unnatural, try using natural dyes. Often they are readily available and are at hand - in food.

The technology for dyeing eggs with natural dyes is basically the same. First you need to isolate the pigment from the product. To do this, it is boiled and allowed to brew. Then the eggs are lowered into the cool infusion and boiled for 10 minutes. In order for the shell to acquire a more saturated color, wait until the eggs cool directly in the solution.

Eggs have been dyed with onion skins for centuries. After all, onion peel is not just a cheap dye,

but also a powerful bactericidal and antimicrobial agent. The more husks in the solution, the more beautiful and brighter the color of the eggs.

Dry nettles or spinach turn eggs light green.

Packs of dry nettles from a pharmacy or a bag of frozen spinach will be enough for 3-4 liters of water.

Red cabbage when cooked gives a rich purple, and the shell of white eggs with its help becomes blue.

For 3-4 liters of water you will need 0.5 kg of cabbage.

Turmeric or saffron is useful for dyeing eggs a beautiful orange-yellow color.

The proportions are as follows: 1 sachet per 2 liters of water.

Coffee turns eggs a light brown color (almost the same as natural brown eggs).

In order not to "translate" ground coffee, instant coffee is suitable for these purposes. For 3 liters of water, 6 tablespoons of powder are enough.

Blackcurrant, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, viburnum, blueberries - each of these berries can be given an egg shell shade from pale pink to lilac. But the coloring technology is different: rub the shell of the finished boiled egg with fresh or defrosted berries. Blot excess berry juice with a tissue and leave the egg to dry.

It would seem that the beets should color the eggs in a beautiful pink color, because she always paints her fingers and leaves pink marks on the fabric. Alas! With its help, the egg will become only marble brown. The method of coloring is as follows: roll the finished boiled egg in fresh beets grated on a fine grater. After that, wipe with a tissue and let dry. If the juice of three root vegetables is pre-squeezed and 1/2 teaspoon of 9% vinegar is added to it, the shell will acquire a uniform pink-brown hue.

EASTER EGGS IN DECOUPAGE TECHNIQUE.

Materials: boiled eggs (white), starch, water, brush, napkins, food coloring (gold, silver).
Working time: from 1 hour (depends on the number of eggs)

We need napkins with a small pattern. We remove the two lower layers from the napkins and make blanks of motifs - we manually make small pieces of flowers.

We begin to distribute motifs on the surface of the egg. We do this with a brush and water. The main thing is to try to smooth out all the wrinkles.

We make a paste from starch. I used corn starch, but you can use potato starch too.
We cook the paste, as for gluing wallpaper (if anyone else remembers)). I took 2 tsp. starch, about 50 ml of water and heated in the microwave - 20 seconds - stir - 20 seconds - stir - 10 seconds - stir - 10 seconds - stir - done.))
After all the motifs are distributed, grease well with a paste and leave to dry.
Instead of starch, you can use whipped protein.

After all the eggs are dry (10-15 minutes) - cover them with a decorative layer. To do this, add food coloring to a small amount of paste.

It is better to dry decorated eggs on a wire rack.

Eggs with green cream

Ingredients:

6 eggs
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 - 2 teaspoons of regular drinking yogurt
a few sprigs of parsley
a few sprigs of dill
1/3 bunch of onions
handful of watercress
to taste - salt, ground pepper

Preparation: hard-boil eggs, cool in cold water. Peel off the shell.

Cut the eggs nicely. Carefully scoop out the yolk with a tiny spoon.

Be careful not to burst the protein.

Grind the yolks and all other ingredients in a blender.

Then squeeze the mass into the egg white in spring sauce

Eggs marinated in colorful marinades...

Everything as described in the recipe above, but instead of beets to color the marinade

add one of the natural dyes,

bring to a boil and cool under the lid:
- pink - cranberry juice, viburnum;
- red - a decoction of onion peel, filtered through gauze;
- green - stewed spinach;
- purple - red cabbage, grated,

stewed until soft with a little water, or beetroot juice;
- yellow - turmeric and saffron dissolved in hot water;
- blue - a handful of frozen blueberries (first rub the peeled eggs with mashed berries,

then put the crushed berries in the marinade and boil);
- orange - carrot juice;
- brown "chocolate" - strong brew or strong coffee.
You can prepare the marinade to your liking: add salt, sugar,

vinegar or citric acid, spices, bring to a boil and let cool.
You can add different spices and spices to different marinades of each color - coriander, basil, marjoram, etc.
Experiment, the finished marinade should be pleasant to taste.
Peel the chilled eggs, put in a chilled marinade for at least a day,

close tightly and place in the refrigerator.
Shake the bowl occasionally to evenly marinate.

Apply various patterns of electrical tape to the egg.

Alternately dip the egg into the paint and remove pieces of electrical tape - experiment!

Easter egg coloring ideas.

For coloring we need:

Pat the eggs dry with paper towels and remove the rubber bands.

2nd staining method:
Wrap the eggs on all sides with paper towels.

Put on gloves, take an egg in your hand and drip with a spoon over a napkin with different dyes from all sides.

Let it lie down for a while and remove the stained napkins

3rd staining method:
Take the tape and cut into long thin strips.

Stick the stripes on the white eggs. Then dye in dye.

Glue more stripes on top and paint in a different color of the dye.

Pat the eggs dry with paper towels and remove the tape.

4th way:
Pour different dyes into small cups at the bottom.

Put eggs in cups, let stand for about 5 minutes.

Then add a little water to the dye and let stand for another 5 minutes,

Then add some more water and let stand.

Grease eggs sunflower oil for shine.

It turns out the principle of staining in one color, but with a stretch from dark to light.

WE COLOR EGGS IN THE ORIGINAL WAY FOR EASTER... "MARBLE" DYES

EASTER IS COMING SOON, WE WILL BE COLORING EGGS, I WANT THEY TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND ORIGINAL

And, and most importantly, the method of painting has been proven for centuries, environmentally friendly and safe.

Painting with paints that are sold in the store is quite dangerous, especially for children. WE COLOR MARBLE EGGS...

WE TEAR THE HUSK VERY VERY FINE, THE SIZE OF A NAILS..

STEP #1 DIP THE EGG IN A BOWL WITH WATER..

STEP number 2 BALL IN THE EGG IN THE HUSK, IF IT STICKS BADLY, SHAP FORCED ...

STEP # 3 WE PLACE THE EGG ON GAUGE AND PIP A LITTLE MORE HUSK.

STEP No. 4 GAUSE TIGHTLY TIE, DISTRIBUTE THE HUSK CAREFULLY WHERE IT HAS BEEN DISPLACED..

STEP #5 CUT OUT EXCESS..

STEP number 6.. WE PUT EGGS TO COOK, ADDITION. A SPOON OF SALT

STEP #7 ADD GREEN.. (add 1-2 bubbles depending on how many eggs you cook,

do not be afraid, the pan is washed well, but I advise you to put your hands in rubber gloves)

STEP №8 AFTER BOILING, COOK 7 MINUTES..

STEP number 9 RINSE THE BOILED EGGS UNDER RUNING WATER..

STEP #10 REMOVE GAUGE AND SHELL...

STEP #11 RINSE AGAIN WITH WATER...

STEP №12 DRY EGGS AND GRIND VEGETABLE OIL FOR SHINE...

PAINT "MARBLE" READY

If you pass onion peel through a coffee grinder (meat grinder, blender), then the painting will be even more original.