Colored eggs are not only served at the festive Easter table, it was customary to give them to each other throughout the Easter week. Since ancient times, the egg has been a symbol of emerging and renewing life. This idea is the basis of many of the customs that existed among different peoples. In Russia, in some areas, an egg was laid in its foundation so that the work of the builders could be argued, and happiness and prosperity would not leave its future owners.

There are several versions of where the custom of giving and painting eggs for Easter originates. The legend says that on Easter Mary Magdalene gave the Roman Emperor Tiberius an egg dyed red - the color of the blood shed by Christ on the cross. On the egg was written “H.V.”, that is, “Christ is Risen!”

At Easter festivities, games with eggs were often arranged. For example, in the villages “rolled” eggs. They chose a small flat piece of land, trampled down to get a flat area. Shallow holes were made in the ground. Each of the participants brought their own painted eggs, which were laid out in the holes. The task of each participant was to roll out the egg he liked from the hole - then he became the winner. The eggs were rolled out using a special rag ball with flattened sides, similar to a wheel.

Since there was a custom to keep eggs for a whole year until the next Easter, eggs began to be made of wood and painted with ornaments and patterns. Later, eggs made of porcelain, silver with precious stones.

HOW TO COLOR EGGS
* For coloring eggs, it is best to use onion peel, which is harvested in advance. Depending on the color of the husk, the color of the eggs is from light red to dark brown. If you want the color to be more saturated, you need to take more husks and cook it for about half an hour before lowering the eggs into the broth. Almost purple eggs come from red onion husks. You can also dye with birch leaves or food coloring.

* So that the eggs do not burst during cooking, they should be kept warm or at room temperature for about an hour, while boiling, you can add a tablespoon of salt to the water.

* In some families, the custom of dyeing eggs “speckled” is kept. To do this, wet eggs are rolled in dry rice, wrapped in gauze (the ends of the gauze must be tied tightly with thread so that the rice sticks to the egg) and then boiled in onion peel in the usual way.

* To make the painted eggs shine, they are wiped dry and smeared with sunflower oil.

* You can boil eggs wrapped with multi-colored threads, then they get interesting stains.

* In order for the eggs to be colored from the inside, and not from the outside, you need to boil them for 3 minutes, then take them out and pierce the shell with a needle in some places, and then boil another 1-1.5 in a strong tea with the addition of cloves, cinnamon and coriander.

* To quickly color eggs, boil them for 10 minutes with some vegetable: spinach (green) or chopped beets ( bright red color). For a marble effect, wrap eggs in onion skins and tie some cotton material over the top.

Easter is a holiday of light Christ's Resurrection is always a holiday of kindness and light, love and warmth. On this day, it is customary to visit relatives and friends and exchange Easter gifts and postcards, “Christify”, roll up a generous Easter feast for friends, acquaintances and even strangers who have come to the light.

According to church tradition, you need to paint eggs on Maundy Thursday. According to tradition, on Maundy Thursday in the morning you need to swim, clean and tidy your house - in this case, dirt will bypass your home for a whole year. And then proceed to the preparation of ritual dishes - Easter cakes, cottage cheese Easter and painted eggs, which must be consecrated in the church on Holy Saturday.

Since ancient times, since ancient pre-Christian times, the egg has been a symbol of emerging and renewing life. Many customs that existed among different peoples are based on this idea. For example, in pagan antiquity in some places in Rus', an egg was laid in the foundation of a house so that the work of the builders could be argued, and happiness and prosperity would not leave the future owners.

Christians have a painted egg (krashenka) - a symbol of Easter.

According to legend, Mary Magdalene, the first to see the resurrected Jesus Christ, hurried to tell this message to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Since it was not customary to go to his reception without offerings, the poor woman took an egg with her as a gift. Allegedly, after listening to the story of Mary, the emperor exclaimed that such a resurrection from the dead is impossible, just as it is impossible for an egg to change its color from white to red - and this happened immediately. Since then, it has been customary to give painted eggs for Easter.

FROM THE HISTORY OF PAINTED EGGS

There is a simple historical explanation for the widespread custom of dyeing eggs. In Christianity, which began with the preaching of Jesus Christ in ancient Judea in the 1st century AD, it was forbidden to eat eggs during the 7-week Great Lent.

But since laying hens did not want to adapt to church calendar, eggs laid during fasting had to be preserved in some way so that they would not deteriorate.

To do this, eggs were boiled hard-boiled for at least 20-25 minutes (i.e., sterilized) in a decoction of onion peel. With such cooking, the substances of onion broth fill the micropores of the shell, and such eggs do not deteriorate for a very long time - “sterilized canned food” is obtained in a shell impervious to microbes. (Other vegetable dyes for eggs do not give such a "preserving" effect.)

So in those ancient times, when nothing was known about microbes and their role in food spoilage, people empirically found good way keep eggs for a long time.

After a long 7-week Great Lent, ending on Easter, Christians not only ate the preserved painted eggs, but also gave away to their co-religionists. Already among the early Christians in Judea (Jews) and Egypt (Copts) it became a good custom, as a symbol of the common faith, to present fellow Christians with painted eggs.

There was even a custom to store donated colored eggs for a whole year until the next Easter - if there is no very high humidity, eggs boiled with onion peel do not deteriorate, but the contents of the shell gradually dry out and decrease in size, turning into a small hard glassy ball after a few months.

The life of the first Christians, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. who fought heroically for independence against the many superior legions of the mighty Ancient Rome, was difficult and polysyllabic. If necessary, a dried ball of a preserved colored egg could be crushed with water and eaten.

As a result of the efforts of Christians in 313 in the pagan Roman Empire, which had previously fought against Christians, Christianity was adopted as the state religion (by Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen). And the first state in history in which Christianity was adopted as the state religion is Armenia (301).

Modern Christians not only serve colored eggs to the festive Easter table: it is customary to give them to each other throughout the entire Easter week - Bright Week (from Easter Sunday to the next Fomin Sunday).

COLORED EGGS IN RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY

Previously, in Rus' it was customary to lay painted Easter eggs on fresh sprouted greens of oats, wheat, and sometimes on delicate green tiny leaves of watercress, which were specially sprouted in advance for the holiday.

At Easter festivities, games with eggs were often arranged. For example, in the villages "rolled" eggs. They chose a small flat piece of land, trampled down to get a flat area. Shallow holes were made in the ground. Each of the participants brought their own painted eggs, which were laid out in the holes. The task of each participant was to roll out the testicle he liked from the hole - then he became the winner. The eggs were rolled out using a special rag ball with flattened sides, similar to a wheel.

Over time, eggs began to be made of wood and painted with ornaments and patterns (they were called eggs).

Later, eggs made of porcelain, silver with precious stones appeared. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the firm of the Faberge jeweler was very successful in making precious Easter eggs.

Faberge Easter eggs:

An egg dyed in broth is called krashenka, painted (usually they paint an empty shell) - pysanka, and painted wooden eggs - eggs.

HOW TO COLOR EGGS

1. Before painting, the eggs must be degreased so that the paint lays evenly. To do this, soak them in tepid water for 5-10 minutes, then wash with a foam rubber washcloth with warm water and soap and rinse well.

2. So that the eggs do not crack during cooking, “warm” them after the refrigerator - keep warm for 1 hour (at room temperature) or dip for 10-20 minutes in warm water, and when cooking, add 1 teaspoon of table salt to the water.

3. To make the color more saturated, add a little vinegar to the water with the dye (acetic acid corrodes the shell, making the surface more rough and susceptible to dyes).

4. If you wipe the finished dyed eggs after drying with a cloth soaked in sunflower oil, they will become shiny, as if varnished.

Some families keep the custom of dyeing eggs "speckled". To do this, wet eggs are rolled in dry rice, wrapped in gauze (the ends of the gauze must be tied tightly with thread so that the rice sticks to the egg) and then boiled in onion peel in the usual way. In the same way, before cooking, various leaves and small flowers (fresh or dried) can be pressed to the egg, eventually getting various patterns.

For a marble effect, wrap eggs in onion skins (you can take it from onions different colors) and tightly tie some white cotton fabric, gauze or nylon stocking.

The recommendation to boil eggs wrapped in multi-colored threads or scraps of fabric in order to get interesting color stains is absolutely unacceptable, because. To dye threads and fabrics, toxic chemical dyes are used, which are obviously not food.

Colored eggs dyed in a decoction of onion skins with pressing various leaves.

Painted ostrich egg surrounded by chicken eggs.
To boil a hard-boiled ostrich egg, it takes 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size.

Eggs dyed on the inside. In order for the eggs to be colored from the inside, and not from the outside, you need to boil them for 3-4 minutes, then take them out and in some places pierce the shell with a needle according to a certain pattern or break the shell a little by beating it on the table, and then boil for another 8-10 minutes in a strong teapot tea leaves with the addition of spices - cloves, cinnamon, coriander, etc.

For serving on the Easter table, eggs can be dyed WITHOUT SHELL. Hard-boiled eggs (7-8 minutes of boiling) are peeled and immersed in a solution of vegetable food coloring (see below), where they are colored either by a sufficiently long exposure without heating (up to several hours), or in a hot solution, or for several minutes at a boil .
Then applying some other food coloring to the egg with a brush, you can get various patterns and inscriptions (for example, XB).

Easter appetizer of peeled and then colored eggs, sprinkled with chopped herbs and garnished with stuffed eggs, pickled mushrooms, black olives and green peas.

For coloring eggs, it is best to use onion peel, which is harvested in advance. Depending on the color of the husk, the color of the eggs is from light red to dark brown. If you want the color to be more saturated, you need to take more husks and boil it for about half an hour before lowering the eggs into the broth.
Almost purple eggs are obtained from red onion husks.
You can also dye with birch leaves or other vegetable food dyes - beetroot broth, spinach, etc. (see below).

There are two staining methods:

1) boil in a decoction of vegetable food coloring (onion peel, etc.);

2) first boil the eggs, and then dip them into the dye. The coloring time is selected depending on the strength of the dye, from several minutes to hours.

Now available for sale a large number of different sets for dyeing eggs. Usually these kits use food coloring, which gives bright and rich colors, and in combination with various Easter stickers, you can make very interesting compositions.
Still, for Easter eggs, it is better to use traditional vegetable dyes.

NATURAL VEGETABLE DYES FOR EGGS

Here are the colors that can be obtained using various vegetable and fruit paints:

Traditional from beige to red-brown - "ocher"
4 cups yellow onion skins Boil 10-60 min. The amount of husk and the duration of boiling affect the saturation of the color.

"Red ocher"
4 cups red onion skins. Boil eggs for 10-60 minutes. Depending on the cooking time, the eggs will turn from bright scarlet to dark red.

"Gilding"
Add to hot water 2-3 tbsp. tablespoons of turmeric, boil to intensify the color. To obtain a yellow color, you can also use saffron infusion.

Pink
Soak boiled eggs in cranberry, strawberry or beetroot juice.

Orange - carrot juice

Grey-blue - mashed blueberries or blueberry juice

Purple - beetroot decoction, beetroot juice

Violet
Add violet flowers to hot water and soak overnight. If you add a little to the water lemon juice, you get a lavender color.

Green
Add 1 tsp of soda to the mixture to obtain a purple color with violets (see previous composition).

Green
Boil eggs with chopped spinach.

Blue
Two heads of finely chopped red cabbage, 500 ml of water and 6 tbsp. spoons of 9% table vinegar. Soak overnight for a deep blue color.

Lavender
Soak eggs in grape juice.

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

Dark brown
Boil eggs in 250 ml of coffee.
You can also use strong tea leaves.

You can also use dried nettles, which are sold in pharmacies. Eggs boiled with it will have a green tint.
A few chamomile tea bags will help turn eggs yellow and mallow tea pink.

In the old days, eggs were not just painted (krashenki), but also painted with wax (pysanky).

There are certain rules for painting eggs that must not be violated. All drawings on the egg should be arranged in a very clear pattern. It is believed that the structure of the Universe is laid in the egg, therefore the drawing cannot be modified arbitrarily.

The meanings of the symbols used when painting Easter Easter eggs:
White color- the beginning of all beginnings: destiny, which is built in the sky.
Black is the color of sorrow. A bright pattern was necessarily applied to a black base.
The child was made Easter eggs on a cherry background, but not on black.
Pine is a symbol of health.
The dove is a symbol of the soul.
The mesh is a symbol of fate.
The yellow grid is a symbol of the sun and the fate that is being built here.
Oak is a symbol of strength.
The dots are a symbol of fertility.
Plums are a symbol of love.
Hops are a symbol of fertility.
Any berry is a symbol of fertility; mother.
Flowers are a symbol of girlhood.

Today in the arsenal there are a wide variety of means of decorating eggs and making eggs from them. original jewelry for the holiday.

Some "secrets" of painting eggs:
Secret 1. For painting, use blown eggs (i.e., egg shells). With the tip of a darning needle or awl, gently pierce the shell of a raw egg, making two small holes from the blunt and sharp ends. Blow the contents through the hole into a plate - proteins and yolks can still be useful for preparing Easter dishes.
Secret 2. Blown and painted eggs can be hung on a branch: you will need a thin strong cord and matches. Tie one end of the cord in a knot exactly in the middle of the match. Holding the cord by the free end, lower the match through one of the holes into the cavity of the blown egg. Now you can hang them from the branches: once in a horizontal position inside the egg, the match will get stuck, securely fastening the cord.
Secret 3. For painting, use the following materials: gouache, acrylic paints, multi-colored markers. Apply the tone with a piece of sponge or cotton swab, and apply the pattern with a semi-dry brush.
Secret 4. Use sticker paper for applications. Cut out figures from it with nail scissors and stick on the blown eggs. Color the eggs. When the surface is dry, peel off the paper figures and apply silver to the unpainted areas with a thin brush.
Secret 5. Eggs can be decorated with beads and beads: this can be done with PVA glue and tweezers.

painting eggshell wax
(very labor intensive but fun)

We take a stick with a thickness of a pencil 15 cm in length, at a right angle to the stick we drive in carnations from one end - we get the letter G with a protruding tip of a carnation.

We put a divider on the gas, and on it a small metal container, in which we heat the wax (a burning candle in a metal candlestick will do),

We dip our “pen” there and draw various patterns on the boiled egg with wax. This is painstaking work, because short strokes are obtained every time.

Then the wax quickly hardens, and we dip the egg into the paint diluted in water.

After the egg has been colored in this solution, remove and gently wipe the wax with a dry cloth. This procedure can be repeated again, then the egg will have several colors of the pattern, but keep in mind that each layer of paint will change the previous one.

Scheme for painting in three colors with wax:
- first, wax patterns are drawn on a white egg and the egg is painted in yellow,
- again draw patterns with wax and paint the egg red;
- draw patterns further and paint the egg black;
- after coloring, the egg is slightly heated and cleaned of softened wax with a napkin.

CHISINAU, April 5 - Sputnik. The head of the municipal public health center, Luminica Suveica, spoke in a comment about the risks posed by dyes for Easter eggs.

"Personally, I prefer natural dyes - onion peel - the eggs are very beautiful golden color. But if someone needs eggs of scarlet color, then you need to choose food coloring, ”said the interlocutor.

According to her, the packaging should indicate that it is a food coloring, as well as describe the composition and shelf life. The doctor stressed that you can not buy paint for eggs outside of specialized outlets.

“You can’t buy egg paint in the middle of the street, by the spoonful, when you don’t know what they are slipping into us. If the shell cracked during cooking and the protein turned colored, then we can already say that the paint is not of very high quality. In general, it is better to use natural dyes. Some also use parsley leaves , and decorate the eggs in some other way. I recommend natural dyes," Suweike said.

© Sputnik / Mikhail Mordasov

How long can eggs be stored?

According to her, painted eggs can be stored for a maximum of two days. As the specialist noted, it is not recommended to leave them in the refrigerator until Radunitsa (memorial days), as the eggs will already be inedible.

"It is not recommended that food stay on the table for more than two hours. This is undesirable. And in general, you need to be careful, because now merchants offer various products. There was a post, and now they need to sell goods. I recommend buying products in authorized places. Pay attention even when buying eggs appearance goods," added Suweike.

How to choose eggs?

• The shell must be whole and clean.
• Protein and yolk should be clean, without any stains.
• Pay attention to the smell of eggs, as spoiled ones may be caught.
• Eggs must be stamped with the production date.

On Easter, even atheists paint eggs - simply because the tradition is beautiful. Meanwhile, a large number of boiled eggs throughout the country these days often leads to post-holiday stomach problems for their consumers. And all because of improper cooking or storage of the Easter symbol ...

Use the advice of the portal , to enjoy Easter eggs, not to make problems for yourself.

By the way!

Did you know that our ancestors, painting eggs before Easter, put a very specific meaning into their own drawings? Hops and dots on the egg were symbols of fertility, oak - a symbol of strength, and dove - a symbol of the soul. Wishing someone close to health, they gave him an egg on which a pine tree was painted, and expressing a feeling of love to someone, they put a drawing of plums on the Easter egg.

Among the symbols there are those that are related only to women (apparently, because it was women who painted Easter eggs). The berries in the picture symbolized a mother and a woman, her ability to reproduce and take care of her offspring, and the flowers on the egg, on the contrary, testified to the virginity of the girl.

A special role in the painting of eggs was played by the mesh, which was considered a symbol of fate. If it was white or applied on a white background, then it symbolized the fate that is being built in heaven, and if it was yellow, then on earth.