The holiday cannot be too much for anyone who will not agree. Feast is a special time in people's lives, for others it is associated with religion; their beliefs; being with family; rest.
What does the holiday mean to you and what is your favorite holiday? Write in the comment the answer.
In this blog post, let’s look at what Easter is; how to paint eggs and what are the Easter traditions.
What is Easter?
Easter is the spring solstice, celebrated in honor of the arrival of spring and sun, in which rituals are used to help revive the earth and ensure the fertility and blessing of the earth in good time. For Christians, this is the time of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Today, the traditions of the Christian Easter are intertwined with the Latvian ones. Christian traditions such as the quiet week before Easter, Palm Sunday, Green Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday have entered Latvian traditions.
Currently, Easter is associated with family celebrations. When eggs are painted together; bunnies have hidden gifts for children; enjoying a meal together. Adherence to some ancient traditions, such as swinging, rolling eggs, gifting, etc.
Easter in Latvia is a holiday that is marked as a holiday. This year, in 2021, Easter time runs from April 2 to April 5.
Green Thursday
For Christians, green is the color of hope. For Christians around the world, Green Thursday is Holy Communion Day. The main event on Green Thursday is the last supper of Jesus and his disciples.
Ancient traditions for Latvians. On Green Thursday, Latvians celebrated the spring solstice, associating them with the return of the sun. No green plants should be brought home from the field or forest on this day. The house must be cleaned on Green Thursday, because then it will be clean all year round and the flies will not enter the room. It would also be desirable to plant houseplants on this day, because then they will bloom well.
Big Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday or the Day of the Cross, is associated with the day of Jesus' death for Christians. It mentions the crucifixion of Jesus with fasting and prayer.
Quiet Saturday
The day Christ died in the tomb.
Palm Sunday
The day Jesus was expected as a victor, as a savior. He walked towards his victory, Palm Sunday is also called the Sunday of Suffering. On this day, the description of Christ's suffering is read in the churches, and the people are called upon to delve into the cost of the atonement for mankind.
On Palm Sunday, each other must be operated on with beetle to increase health and well-being. Perot should read the verse: "Round as a butt, round as a butt, health inside, sickness outside." There is also a less frequently heard version of the Palm Sunday verse: "Red as an apple, green as a branch, whole as a radish, safe as a lion, neat as a squirrel." In the past, not only people but also pets were beaten on Palm Sunday, even if they were healthy and durable.
Why is Easter a different date every year?
In the past, Easter was celebrated according to the solar calendar, so Latvians celebrated Easter with the onset of astronomical spring. For this reason, Easter falls on a different date each year, from March to April. The name of the holiday - Great Days - also expresses the essence and meaning of this event, namely, that the day has become bigger than the night.
The time of Christian Easter depends directly on the solar and lunar calendars. If the ancient Latvians celebrated Easter with the onset of spring, then after the consolidation of Christianity, they are celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, which came after the onset of the astronomical spring or its at a time.
Egg symbol
The egg is a symbol of the sun, which has long been considered a fortification and a magical tool for life and fertility. At the spring solstice, in particular, this power of fertility intensifies. There are many traditions and games associated with eggs at Easter. One of the most popular traditions is to paint eggs; change with others; donate them and take part in egg battles.
Natural egg dyes
- Onion peel. Boil eggs in onion skins, from 30 min. up to 1 h. The eggs will meet from bright red to dark red.
- Turmeric. Add turmeric to the hot water to make a yellowish color.
- Beet juice. To get a pink, floral effect, soak boiled eggs in beet juice, or boil it in juice.
- Violets. Add the violet to the hot water to let it simmer overnight. After that add lemon juicethen you can get lavender color.
- Red cabbage heads. Take the red cabbage heads, finely chop, pour into a pot, add the present water and table vinegar. Allow to infuse overnight to obtain a saturated blue hue.
- Spinach. Boiling eggs with spinach can give a green hue.
- Grape juice. Keep the eggs in the grape juice to get a purple shade.
- Blueberries and cranberries. To obtain soft pink and light blue tones, egg shells should be rubbed with a handful of blueberries or cranberries.
- Coffee. Boil eggs in water with added coffee to get a brownish tone.
- Rice and onion peel. Eggs should be wrapped in dry rice, wrapped in gauze and cooked onion peel.
- Raspberry branches. A dark red hue can be obtained by painting the eggs on raspberry branches.
- Chokeberry juice. A purple hue can be obtained by boiling chokeberry juice, whole chokeberry can be present in the egg.
- Chamomile decoction. The yellow hue of the eggs is obtained by boiling a strong decoction of chamomile. A similar shade will give the new celandine leaves, calendula, including caraway or celery seeds.
- Birch leaves. If the eggs are boiled in birch leaves, bath brooms or hay debris, then the eggs turn green.
- Alder. Boiled eggs in alder buds and bark turn brown.
- Frame and green tea. Red eggs can be obtained by coloring carcass in tea. If there is not much tea in the water, the eggs may turn ghostly gray. Gray result will also be if you paint eggs in green tea.
- Malt pepper. Light brown eggs.
- Curry. Yellow eggs.
- Saffron. Sunny yellow eggs.
- Persilade. Light green eggs.
- Chili powder Maroon eggs.
Recommendations for painting eggs
- To make the eggshells better keep the color, add salt, coffee grounds or vinegar to the water in which the eggs are boiled.
- If you want the eggs to shine when they are painted and ready to be placed on the table, they can grease the oil.
- Brown eggs are best for painting because their shell is stronger. However, white eggs can better absorb the color.
- Interesting patterns and drawings can be obtained by laying leaves and flowers on the egg. You can also cut out a drawing of your own from paper or cardboard. Patterns can also be obtained by simply wrapping the thread around the eggs.
- The longer the eggs boil, the better you choose, the better.
- Materials, spices, berries, teas, etc. can be safely mixed together and create a surprise for yourself. The more variegated, the better!
- Both in water and with eggs can be wrapped and put all the above materials to have more expressive color.
Easter beliefs
- Eggs should not be eaten without salt, otherwise in summer a lot of lies.
- If the egg peels well, the flax will grow well and it will be easy to cultivate them.
- You have to get up early on Easter morning, then there will be vigor all year round.
- You have to swing a lot at Easter, then mosquitoes will not bite in summer.
- At Easter you have to beat the eggs - whoever has the strongest egg will be the longest resident.
- Peas should also be placed on the table at Easter, because they bring wealth.
- You have to watch the time at Easter - after that you can judge the upcoming summer.
- You need to swing a lot at Easter, then you will not sleep all year round.
- When swinging for Easter, the cradle should be allowed to stand slowly so that it slowly and wobbles the flower flax.
- If it rains on Easter, it will rain every Sunday until Pentecost.
- To be beautiful and diligent, you have to go to the stream on Easter morning with sunrise to wash.
Easter dishes
At Easter, the dishes must be round, depicting the symbolism of the sun. For example, eggs, peas, cakes, cakes, etc. Take a look at Readyo.com Easter food recipes, which dishes must be on the holiday table.
Apple and cottage cheese casserole
Pancake cake with oranges and cream
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