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

Take advantage of the portal's advice , so that you can enjoy Easter eggs and not get yourself into trouble.

By the way!

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

Among the symbols there are also those that relate only to women (apparently because it was women who painted Easter eggs). The berries in the picture symbolized the mother and the woman, her ability to reproduce and care for offspring, and the flowers on the egg, on the contrary, testified to the girl’s purity.

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

Painted eggs are an indispensable attribute of Easter. This is a main holiday dish and a good Easter gift for a friend or relative. Every year, believers paint eggs before the holiday so that there is prosperity and joy in the house. But the great holiday falls at different times every year and have you wondered when it is allowed to paint eggs before Easter? Do this in the week that precedes Easter, and on what day - we’ll try to figure it out.

We paint eggs for Easter on Maundy Thursday and Saturday

Our ancestors began to prepare for the holiday on Monday of Holy Week, preceding the holiday. But if you paint eggs on Monday, what will happen to them until Sunday? Traditionally, two days are allocated for this festive preparation:

• Clean Thursday. Don't start painting eggshells early in the morning. First, put the house in order - do a general cleaning, wash the windows, doors and floors, wash the clothes. According to tradition, everyone bathes at home on this day. Then start baking Easter cakes and coloring eggs.
• Holy Saturday. If you spent all Thursday cleaning and didn’t get around to coloring the eggs, don’t worry. You can paint them and prepare various holiday dishes in the kitchen on Saturday morning. On Sunday no one does this anymore.

Why can’t you paint eggs for Easter on other days of Holy Week?

On the first three days of Holy Week - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - it is forbidden to do household chores. Pray at home, go to church, follow the rules of fasting. Besides, it’s too early to color boiled eggs; they will spoil before Sunday.

The most mournful day in the week before Easter is Good Friday. On this day our Lord was crucified. Give up all household chores, fast, pray, attend church. Priests recommend refraining from all housework on this day. But if you have no other time, start painting eggshells after 15-00. This is the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you probably don't want to do housework on such a sad day.

When did the tradition of dyeing eggs for Easter begin?

This tradition, according to one version, came to us from the 10th century. This is stated in writings dating back to the tenth century. A manuscript was found in the library of a Greek monastery and it says that after the Easter service, the abbot distributed colored eggs to the monks and said: “Christ is Risen!”

If you read the Bible, you know that the tradition of dyeing eggshells appeared even earlier - after the resurrection of the Lord. Mary Magdalene hurried after the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Roman Emperor Tiberius to tell the good news. She brought him an egg. But the ruler laughed and said that he would believe in the resurrection only if the eggshell changed color. And a miracle happened! The eggshells turned purple. This shade is not accidental. It is a symbol of the shed blood of Jesus Christ for all people.

Folk signs associated with colored eggs for Easter

In Rus', there are many signs associated with Easter eggs:

• The first painted egg presented at Easter has unique properties. It never deteriorated, and it was placed next to the icons and stored until the next holiday. People believe that it protects the house from evil people and all evil spirits;
• The shell of a colored egg is not thrown away. Bury it in the garden and get a good harvest;
• To preserve beauty and youth, young girls washed their faces with water into which they had previously placed the shells of colored eggs.

Create a splash of color for your Easter basket by painting your eggs in bright and festive hues. Take it to the temple along with the Easter cakes and dedicate it. Give this Easter gift to a friend or relative and share the joy of our Lord's resurrection.

Easter - the holiday of the bright Resurrection of Christ - is always a holiday of goodness and light, love and warmth. On this day, it is customary to go to visit family and friends and exchange Easter gifts and cards, “say Christ”, and throw a generous Easter feast for friends, acquaintances and even strangers who came “to the light”.

According to church tradition, eggs need to be painted on Maundy Thursday. According to tradition, on Maundy Thursday you need to take a swim in the morning, restore cleanliness and order in the house - in this case, dirt will bypass your home for a whole year. And then start preparing ritual dishes - Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese and colored eggs, which must be blessed in the church on Holy Saturday.

Since ancient times, since ancient pre-Christian times, the egg has been a symbol of nascent and renewed 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 placed in the foundation of a house, so that the work of the builders would progress, and happiness and well-being would not leave the future owners.

For Christians, a painted egg (krashenka) is a symbol of Easter.

According to legend, Mary Magdalene, who was the first to see the resurrected Jesus Christ, hastened to convey this news 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 Mary's story, 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 immediately this happened. Since then, it has been customary to give colored eggs at 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 Lent.

But since the laying hens did not want to adapt to the church calendar, the eggs laid during Lent had to be somehow preserved so that they would not spoil.

To do this, the eggs were hard-boiled for at least 20-25 minutes (i.e., sterilized) in a decoction of onion peels. When cooked in this way, the onion broth substances fill the micropores of the shell, and such eggs do not spoil for a very long time - the result is “sterilized canned food” in a shell impenetrable to microbes. (Other vegetable dyes for eggs do not give such a “preservative” effect.)

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

After the long 7-week Lent, which ended on Easter, Christians not only consumed many of the preserved colored eggs as food, but also gave them away to their fellow believers. Already among the early Christians in Judea (Jews) and Egypt (Copts), it became a good custom to give colored eggs to fellow Christians as a symbol of the common faith.

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

The life of the first Christians, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. who heroically fought for independence against the vastly superior legions of mighty Ancient Rome, was difficult and complex. If necessary, the dried ball of preserved colored egg could be mixed 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 accepted as the state religion (Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen). And the first state in history in which Christianity was adopted as the state religion was Armenia (301).

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

PAINTED EGGS IN RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY

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

At Easter festivities, games with eggs were often held. For example, in villages they “rolled” eggs. They chose a small, flat piece of land and trampled it down to make a flat area. Shallow holes were made in the ground. Each of the participants brought their own painted eggs, which were laid out in 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.

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

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

Faberge Easter eggs:

An egg painted in broth is called krashenka, a painted egg (usually the empty shell is painted) is called pysanka, and painted wooden eggs are called yachyata.

HOW TO PAINT EGGS

1. Before painting, the eggs need to be degreased so that the paint lays evenly. To do this, soak them in lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes, then wash them with a foam sponge with warm water and soap and rinse thoroughly.

2. To prevent eggs from cracking during cooking, “warm” them after refrigeration - keep them warm for 1 hour (at room temperature) or put them in warm water for 10-20 minutes, 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 rougher and more susceptible to dyes).

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

Some families maintain 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 skins in the usual way. In the same way, before boiling, various leaves and small flowers (fresh or dried) can be pressed onto the egg, resulting in different patterns.

For a marble effect, wrap the eggs in onion skins (you can take them from onions of different colors) and tie them tightly with some white cotton cloth, gauze or nylon stocking on top.

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

Dyed eggs, colored in a decoction of onion peels with the pressure of various leaves.

A painted ostrich egg surrounded by chicken eggs.
To boil a hard-boiled ostrich egg, you need to cook for 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size.

Eggs, colored inside. In order for the eggs to be colored from the inside and not 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 teahouse tea leaves with the addition of spices - cloves, cinnamon, coriander, etc.

To serve on the Easter table, eggs can be colored WITHOUT THE 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 holding for quite a long time without heating (up to several hours), or in a hot solution, or for several minutes at boiling .
By then applying some other food coloring to the egg with a brush, you can get various patterns and inscriptions (for example, XB).

An Easter appetizer made from peeled and then dyed eggs, sprinkled with chopped herbs and garnished with deviled eggs, pickled mushrooms, black olives and green peas.

To color eggs, it is best to use onion peels, which are collected in advance. Depending on the color of the husk, the color of the eggs ranges from light red to dark brown. If you want the color to be more saturated, you need to take more husks and cook them for about half an hour before adding the eggs to the broth.
Almost purple eggs are obtained from the skins of red onions.
You can also paint with birch leaves or other vegetable food dyes - beet broth, spinach, etc. (see below).

There are two methods of coloring:

1) boil in a decoction of vegetable food coloring (onion skins or other);

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

Nowadays there are a large number of different egg dyeing kits on sale. Typically, these sets use food coloring, which produces bright and rich colors, and in combination with various Easter stickers, you can make very interesting compositions.
Still, it is better to use traditional vegetable dyes for Easter eggs.

NATURAL PLANT DYES FOR EGGS

Here are the colors you can get using various vegetable and fruit paints:

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

"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 2-3 tbsp to hot water. spoons of turmeric, boil so that the color is more intense. To obtain a yellow color, you can also use saffron infusion.

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

Orange – carrot juice

Gray-blue – mashed blueberries or blueberry juice

Violet – beet broth, beet juice

Violet
Add violet flowers to hot water and soak overnight. Adding a little lemon juice to water will give you a lavender color.

Green
Add 1 teaspoon 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 to create 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 nettle, which is sold in pharmacies. Eggs boiled with it will have a green tint.
A few bags of chamomile tea will help turn eggs yellow and mallow tea will turn them pink.

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

There are certain rules for painting eggs that cannot 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 contained in the egg, therefore the design cannot be modified arbitrarily.

Meanings of the symbols used when painting Easter eggs:
White color is 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 the black base.
The child was given pysanka on a cherry background, but not on a black one.
Pine is a symbol of health.
The dove is a symbol of the soul.
The mesh is a symbol of fate.
The yellow mesh is a symbol of the sun and destiny, which is being built here.
The oak tree 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, we have a wide variety of means of decorating eggs and making original decorations for the holiday from them.

Some “secrets” of painting eggs:
Secret 1. For painting, blown eggs (i.e., eggshells) are used. Using the tip of a darning needle or awl, carefully pierce the shell of a raw egg, making two small holes at the blunt and sharp ends. Blow the contents into a plate through the hole - the whites 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 free end of the cord, 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 securing 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 a cotton swab, and apply the pattern with a semi-dry brush.
Secret 4. Use sticker paper for appliques. Cut out figures from it with nail scissors and stick them on blown eggs. Color the eggs. When the surface is dry, peel off the paper figures and use a thin brush to apply silver to the unpainted areas.
Secret 5. Eggs can be decorated with beads and seed beads: this can be done using PVA glue and tweezers.

Painting eggshells with wax
(very labor intensive, but fun)

We take a stick as thick as a pencil, 15 cm long, and drive a nail at one end at a right angle to the stick - we get the letter G with the tip of the nail sticking out.

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 also do),

We dip our “hand” there and draw various patterns on the boiled egg with wax. This is painstaking work, because... Every time I get short strokes.

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

After the egg has colored in this solution, remove it and carefully wipe off the wax with a dry cloth. This procedure can be repeated again, then the egg will have several colors of the pattern, but you need to take into account that each layer of paint will change the previous one.

Painting scheme in three colors using wax:
- first, patterns are drawn on a white egg with wax and the egg is painted yellow,
- patterns are drawn again with wax and the egg is painted red;
- draw patterns further and paint the egg black;
- after coloring, the egg is heated a little and the softened wax is cleaned with a napkin.

Painted 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 nascent and renewed life. Many customs that existed among different peoples are based on this idea. In some places in Russia, an egg was laid in its foundation so that the work of the builders would be carried out, and happiness and prosperity would not leave its future owners.

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

At Easter festivities, games with eggs were often held. For example, in villages they “rolled” eggs. They chose a small, flat piece of land and trampled it down to make a flat area. Shallow holes were made in the ground. Each of the participants brought their own painted eggs, which were laid out in holes. The task of each participant was to roll the egg he liked out of 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 store 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 and precious stones appeared.

HOW TO PAINT EGGS
* To color eggs, it is best to use onion peels, which are collected in advance. Depending on the color of the husk, the color of the eggs ranges from light red to dark brown. If you want the color to be more saturated, you need to take more husks and cook them for about half an hour before adding the eggs to the broth. The almost purple eggs come from the skins of red onions. You can also paint with birch leaves or food coloring.

* To prevent eggs from bursting during cooking, they must be kept warm or at room temperature for about an hour; during cooking, you can add a tablespoon of salt to the water.

* Some families maintain the custom of coloring 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 skins in the usual way.

* To make colored eggs shine, they are wiped dry and greased with sunflower oil.

* You can boil eggs wrapped in multi-colored threads, then they will produce interesting patterns.

* In order for the eggs to be colored from the inside and not 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 for another 1-1.5 minutes in a strong tea leaves 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). For a marbled effect, wrap the eggs in onion skins and tie some cotton material over the top.

At Easter, it is customary to paint eggs with different colors, but among the colorful eggs, the central place belongs to bright red eggs. Why?

History has preserved this legend for us. 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. Since it was not customary to come to the emperor without gifts, and Maria had nothing, she came with a simple chicken egg. Of course, she chose the egg with meaning. 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.

But when Mary began to tell Tiberius that Jesus Christ had also escaped from the deadly shackles and was resurrected, the emperor just laughed: “This is as impossible as your white egg turning into red.” And before Tiberius had time to finish his sentence, the egg in the hands of Mary Magdalene turned completely red.

Since then, in memory of this event, symbolizing our faith in the Risen Lord, we paint eggs.

Painted 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 nascent and renewed life. Many customs that existed among different peoples are based on this idea. For example, in some places in Russia, an egg was placed in its foundation so that the work of the builders would be carried out, and happiness and prosperity would not leave its future owners.

At Easter in Rus', it was customary to place colored eggs on freshly sprouted oats, wheat, and sometimes on soft green tiny leaves of watercress, which were specially sprouted in advance for the holiday.

At Easter festivities, games with eggs were often held. For example, in villages they “rolled” eggs. They chose a small, flat piece of land and trampled it down to make a flat area. Shallow holes were made in the ground. Each of the participants brought their own painted eggs, which were laid out in 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 store eggs for a whole year until the next Easter, over time, eggs began to be made of wood and painted with ornaments and patterns. Later, eggs made of porcelain, silver and precious stones appeared.

How to boil eggs?

The answer to this question is very carefully. First you need to remember a few rules.

Never boil eggs straight from the refrigerator, because very cold eggs that are placed in hot water are likely to burst. Use a timer—trying to guess how long the eggs were cooked and constantly reminding yourself to look at the clock is not worth it. Never cook eggs too long (unless you have a timer) - the yolks will turn black and the whites will be rubbery. If the eggs are very fresh (less than 4 days), cook them 3 minutes longer. Always use a small saucepan - too much space can cause the eggs to smack together and crack. Never bring to a boil; you need to cook them over medium heat. Remember that eggs have a pad at the blunt end where air collects. During cooking, pressure may build up there and the shell will crack. To To avoid this, pierce the egg at the blunt end with a needle to allow steam to escape. Of course, everyone likes eggs cooked differently.

I offer the simplest method for boiling eggs that you can rely on regardless of taste.

Soft-boiled eggs, method 1

First of all, you need to pour boiling water into a small saucepan so that the water exceeds the eggs by 1 cm. Then quickly but carefully, using a tablespoon, lower the eggs into the water one at a time. Then turn on the timer and cook the eggs at a boil for exactly 1 minute. Then remove the pan from the heat and cover it with a lid, set the timer again and measure:

6 minutes to obtain a soft yolk with a set but runny white

7 minutes to get a firmer yolk with a completely set white.

Soft-boiled eggs, method 2

Another method that works just as well. This time you need to put the eggs in a saucepan, add cold water, put on high heat and as soon as they boil, reduce the heat and measure:

3 minutes if you want a semi-liquid egg

4 minutes for the white to “set” and the yolk to remain runny

5 minutes so that both the yolk and white are cooked, but a bright yellow liquid spot remains in the very middle.

Hard-boiled eggs

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, set the timer for 6 minutes if you want eggs slightly runny in the middle, 7 minutes if you want fully cooked eggs.

Then it is very important to quickly douse them with cold water. Run them under cold running water for 1 minute, then let them sit in the cold water until they are cool enough to handle—about 2 minutes.

Peeling hard-boiled eggs

Peel boiled eggs It can also be difficult, especially if the eggs are too fresh. So rule number one is to cook your eggs at least 5 days after the date they were packaged. The easiest way to peel them is to first crack the shell all over the egg, then hold it under running water, starting with the blunt end. The water will wash away all the little pieces of shell. Then the eggs need to be placed in cold water again until they are completely cool. If you don't cool the eggs quickly, they will continue to cook, overcook, and the blackened yolk problem will reappear.

The beautiful coloring of quail eggs makes them an excellent alternative to chicken eggs, and they are just as easy to prepare. Again, they should not be too fresh, and it is better to cook them using the first method, putting them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then cool them quickly and peel as described above.

HOW TO PAINT EGGS

1. To color eggs, it is best to use onion peels, which are collected in advance. Depending on the color of the husk, the color of the eggs ranges from light red to dark brown. If you want the color to be more saturated, you need to take more husks and cook them for about half an hour.
   sa before lowering the eggs into the broth. The almost purple eggs come from the skins of red onions. You can also paint with birch leaves or food coloring.

   To prevent the eggs from bursting during cooking, they must be kept warm or at room temperature for about an hour; during cooking, you can add a tablespoon of salt to the water.

   Some families maintain 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 skins in the usual way.

   To make colored eggs shine, they are wiped dry and greased with sunflower oil.

   You can boil eggs wrapped in multi-colored threads, then they will produce interesting patterns.

   In order for the eggs to be colored from the inside and not 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 for another 1-1.5 minutes in a strong brew 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). For a marbled effect, wrap the eggs in onion skins and tie some cotton material over the top.

NATURAL DYES FOR EGGS

Ocher
4 cups red onion skins. Boil eggs for 30 minutes - 1 hour. Depending on the soaking time, the eggs will turn from bright scarlet to dark red.

Gilding
Add 2-3 tablespoons of turmeric to hot water and boil to make the color more intense.

Pink
Soak boiled eggs in cranberry or beet juice.

Violet
Add violet flowers to hot water and soak overnight. Adding a little lemon juice to water will give you a lavender color.

Blue
Two heads of finely chopped red cabbage, 500 ml water and 6 tbsp white vinegar. Soak overnight to create a deep blue color.

Green
Add 1 teaspoon of soda to the mixture to obtain a purple color or boil eggs with spinach.

Lavender
Soak eggs in grape juice.

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

Beige
4 cups yellow onion skins. Boil for 30 minutes - 1 hour. The amount of husk and the duration of boiling affect the color saturation.

Dark brown
Boil eggs in 250 ml of coffee.

Reference
The meanings of the symbols used when painting Easter eggs:

Pine- a symbol of health.
Black color- the color of sorrow. A bright pattern was necessarily applied to the black base. The child had a pysanka made on a cherry background, not on a black one.
Pigeon- symbol of the soul.
Mesh- a symbol of fate.
White color- the beginning of all beginnings: destiny, which is built in the sky.
Yellow mesh- a symbol of the sun and fate that is being built here.
Oak- a symbol of strength.
Dots- a symbol of fertility.
Plums- a symbol of love.
Hop- a symbol of fertility.
Any berry- symbol of fertility; mother.
Flowers- a symbol of girlhood.