Red Eggs for Easter

In the Orthodox Christian tradition we color red eggs for Easter (or Pascha as we usually refer to Easter).  There are various legends surrounding the red eggs.  A few can be found here.  After the midnight Pasha service we each take a red egg (which was first boiled) and tap it against another person's egg while one person gives the Paschal greeting, Christ is Risen! and the other person answers, Indeed He is Risen!  The egg that doesn't crack is then tapped against another person's egg and then another and so forth until there is only one person with an unbroken egg.  That person is considered to have good luck for the rest of the year, good health or long life (it varies according to different traditions).  Of course children love this egg tapping game and look forward to it every year.  It is a fun tradition that all ages enjoy as they proclaim the Risen Christ at midnight and begin the joyous feast!

This year we will color our traditional red eggs using yellow onion skins, but we will also be trying some other natural dyes.  One year I tried blueberries which gave a deep purple color.  This year we will also experiment with turmeric (for yellow), purple cabbage (for blue) and beets (for pink).  I will report back here on our results!

Here are some pics from a previous Pascha and a link to an egg dye recipe I have used in the past.

Brown eggs dyed red with yellow onion skins, then rubbed with olive oil.

My kids tapping their eggs