Red eggs are one of the many festive sights during Greek Easter. Credit: Vassilis/CC-BY-SA-2.0Greeks have been cracking red eggs at Easter for many centuries. The tradition, although it is also a fun game, is of course steeped in religious symbolism as well.
Despite this deep religious meaning, egg cracking has evolved into a fun tradition for the faithful of all ages in Greece and beyond, which many look forward to each Easter.
Traced back to the early Christians of Mesopotamia, the custom of painting eggs red — in memory of the blood of Christ shed at His crucifixion — spread into Eastern Europe and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Western Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches.
However, the tradition evolved across Europe, with people from many different cultures — especially this in Eastern Europe — painting elaborate, multi-colored Easter eggs.
The Greek tradition of red Easter eggs has deep religious significance
In Greece, dying eggs red, symbolizing Christ’s blood, has held strong throughout the millennia as an Easter tradition.
Greek Easter eggs and tsoureki bread. Credit: ManosHacker/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0
Variations of egg cracking are practiced in a few countries — but the game is not always as spirited as in the Greek Easter custom.
In Italy they have the same game, called “scuccetta,” only it is done with plain eggs, not red ones.
In parts of Austria, Bavaria and German-speaking Switzerland the egg cracking of colored Easter eggs is popularly known as “Ostereiertitschen” or “Eierpecken.”
When practice has made you perfect at egg cracking, maybe you can challenge yourself at the annual Egg Cracking World Championship in Peterlee, Durham, UK — using plain eggs again though, which makes the experience quite dull in comparison to the more festive red-colored egg cracking in Greece.
A word of warning, however — beware of winning a “pocking eggs” game in southern Louisiana; the winner has to eat the eggs of the losers in each round. Sneaky!