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Show i V ; ) " r - hi 1 ' ' . ." -Z Decorated Easter Eggs Egg coloring tradition traces back to Persians, Egyptians Traditions of egg decorating have enriched the myths and legends of many cultures, and have delighted people of all ages around Eastertime for centuries. Popular beliefs, imagination and craftsmanship have turned egg decorating into a highly developed and diversified folk art. The egg itself possesses the secret of life; it symbolizes sym-bolizes a "rebirth" and is often associated with Easter, spring, dawn and creation. All involve a beginning, and in one form or another, almost every living things come from or can be traced back to an egg of some sort. Many years before the birth of Christ, the Persians and Egyptians were coloring eggs. And while the Jews do not celebrate Easter, they too colored eggs at approximately the same time of the year, during their Passover season. In some parts of the world, Jews still use colored eggs for Passover and other religious celebrations. Because of the coincidental nearness of Passover and Easter, Christians may have gotten the idea for colored eggs from the Jews and incorporated it into their Easter celebration. In many European countries, it was the custom on Easter day to have a "tapping" contest where children would knock the ends of eggs together to see who could keep his egg unbroken the longest. Egg-tossine and eee-rnlling games were brought to the United States by German settlers, as was the concept of the "Easter Bunny." Because rabbits multiply quickly and are a symbol of fertility, they became associated with the celebration of Easter. According to legend, the Pagan goddess of Spring. Eostre, turned a bird into a rabbit. This may explain why, in some areas, the Easter Bunny delivers baskets full of colored eggs to children on Easter morning. Some of the early German and ' Pennsylvania Dutch traditions and customs are still in existence todsv. The most common tradition si ill I practiced is hiding eggs for children to find on Easter morning. Both parents and children color them during Easter week, leaving the eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide on Easter Eve. If an egg is particularly beautiful, it may be kept to treasure as a work of art or given as a gift to a special friend. - The various methods of decorating eggs have also become tradition. Today, a few people still color their -eggs by boiling them in natural materials such as. onion skins or ' flowers, but a more universal method of applying color is to use commercial ': dyes made especially for that purpose f With paint-on egg dyes, colors cac ' easily be applied with cotton swabs or : brushes to create virtually any original -design. Stripes, floral and geometric designs. 1 and dot patterns are most common. A c slightly more difficult method involves ' coloring the egg and scratching 0? portions of the color to expose the shel . creating a "reverse" color effect.,". Probably the most sophisticated! method is "pysanky." a "resist ! dyeing" egg craft which prod-jcf. intricate designs by using wax. For a free brochure on these r: other creative egg coloring ideas, se:: a self -addressed, stamped envelope "Easy Egg Designs." Hinkle Paint-0: Egg Color Company. 350 Richards! . Drive, Lancaster. PA 17603. |