Hello Nick Thank you for the invitation to this forum topic. I like eggs and after The Jesus is Raisen sign I eat more than 20 eggs if I am unlucky. We use to crack then front against front the loser eats his egg and loses a bet. Every family prepares 50-100 red or coloured eggs. Here are som facts on Greek Easter Eggs
Easter eggs are dyed red in memory of the blood of Jesus who sacrificed
himself to save humanity.
One tradition of Macedonia says that when Jesus was raised
from the dead and one of the villagers was told about it, she did not believe
it and replied: "Only when the eggs I have in my hands turn to red will
I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead." And the eggs turned
red.
The tradition of dying eggs is kept with respect every
Holy Thursday in every Greek household. Long ago, they used "vartzi" a
type of red wood. However, today things have become much simpler. The right
technique for the dying is as follows:
In a pot, boil 2.5 liters of water. In half a cup of vinegar
dissolve two packets of red dye. Add the dye to the boiling water and let
it boil for a few minutes. Now the water is ready for the eggs which you
have already washed before, dried and left at room temperature for 24 hours.
Put as many eggs as the bottom of the pot can hold, always taking great
care to cover them with the color. Lower the temperature so that the water
will simmer and the eggs will not crack and break. Boil for about ten minutes,
take the eggs out with a strainer and let them cool. Before you place the
new eggs into the dye add a bit of vinegar and let them boil 2-3 minutes.
When you have dyed all the eggs polish them with oil. That way the colour
becomes shiny.
Kindly Regards Georgios |