The significance of Easter Egg painting

April 13th, 2012

Easter Egg

The painted eggs represent a proof of the tradition, beliefs and Easter customs being placed among the elements of great folk spiritual cultural value, which define the ethnical peculiarities of our people.
The simplest Easter eggs are solid colors without any ornamentation. Natural dyes from berries, flowers, and other plants can be used, or commercial kits can be found for a rainbow of colors. While plain dyed eggs may appear simple at first, different colors can relay spiritual meanings to enhance the celebration. Green represents nature and the new growth of leaves and grass, renewal that occurs each spring. Yellow eggs are reminiscent of the glorious sunrise, bringing life to each new day. Purple is the traditional color of royalty and is a perfect shade to represent the divinity of Christ as King. Red eggs symbolize the blood of Christ that was spilled at His crucifixion, blood that He willingly gave to save men. Black traditionally symbolizes death, and can be used to represent all sins. White eggs, whether dyed a pure white or left uncolored, represent the light and purity of the Savior.
While simple colors can convey deep spiritual meanings, many people decorate Easter eggs with more elaborate designs. Drawings can be quite simple or painstakingly detailed, and can cover a wide range of Christian symbols.
The folklore presents several Christian legends which explain why the eggs are painted in red on Easter and why they became the symbol of the celebration of Christ’s Ressurection.The most wide-spread legend tells us about how Virgin Mary, who came to mourn her crucified son, laid the basket with eggs near the cross and they reddened because of the blood that was flowing from Jesus” wounds. The Lord, seeing that the eggs reddened, said to those who were there:”From now on, you too shall paint the eggs in red to remember my crucifixion, as I did today.”