In Russia, Easter is known as "Pascha" and is considered the most holy and most celebrated day ... even more than Christmas! It stands for the death and resurrection of Jesus, so it is the most special day in the Orthodox calendar.

There are two types of Russian Easter eggs: krashenki, dyed red by boiling eggs with onion skins, and pysanky, the famous Faberge style enamel eggs. The bejeweled and bedazzling enameled eggs created by court jeweler and artist Karl Faberge were first commissioned in 1884 by Tzar Alexander III as a special Easter present for his wife.

The Easter eggs in Russia are all red. Red is the colour of blood on the cross that Christ shed for the atonement of the sins of the world. In Russian, "Krasniya" is Red and also means beautiful. "Red Square" is more correctly translated "Beautiful Square".

The choice of this colour for Easter eggs is very old. Legend has it that when Mary Magdalene came to the emperor, Tiberius, she brought him as a gift a red egg with the salutation "Christ has arisen!" To dye eggs red, it is possible to use fuchsine (a special chemical with magenta dye), onion peels, and bright scraps of silk. In different regions, Paskha eggs have their own distinct decorations.

EGG DECORATING TECHNIQUES

For colouring eggs, it is best to use onion peels, which are gathered in advance. Depending on the colour of the peels, the colour of the eggs can vary from bright red to dark brown. To make the colour more saturated, more peels are used and the eggs are boiled for about 30 minutes. To protect the eggs from cracking during boiling, salt is added to the water. Cold eggs (from a refrigerator) must be allowed to warm at room temperature for half an hour before being placed into the boiling water.

In the Russian Orthodox faith, the red eggs are taken to church on Pascha ... an old-fashioned way to dye the eggs is by soaking red and green crepe paper in water.)

After the service, eggs are exchanged with people, followed by saying, "Christ is Risen" in Russian and the other person responds, "Indeed He is Risen" in Russian. Then a kiss is exchanged on one cheek and then the other cheek.

(Christ is risen indeed!
Christ is truly risen!)

                             

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