Easter, the largest and most joyful Christian holiday, is a moving holiday that always falls on the first Sunday after a full moon after the spring equinox, and can be moved within five weeks from 04.04. to 08.05.
Related to the calendar start of spring, Easter is part of the spring holiday cycle and the customs that accompany it commemorate the rebirth of nature. Observing nature, early on, people noticed that nature was dying and being reborn every year. This eternal cycle, the eternal shift of life and death, found its place in religious ideas as well.
Egg painting and egg beating are the most important folk customs related to Easter. Although this custom is now mostly a fun for children, its symbolism is much deeper and its origin unknown. The egg is the universal symbol of birth and life, and many mythologies in the world have myths about the origin of the world from an egg. The colors we use to paint the eggs can be varied, but red is a must and the first painted egg, the guardian, is always red. Colors also have their symbolism, and red, the color of blood, is a symbol of life in all religions of the world. Within Slavic cultures, eggs are (were) most commonly decorated with plant motifs as symbols of spring; we celebrate and commemorate spring, celebrate life and birth.
The last week of Easter fasting is called Holy Week. It was considered by the people that in that week we should not play or sing and sing, and as of Thursday, we should not do any work. Good Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion, is the saddest holiday for Christians. In our nation (in past times) people were not allowed to do anything, not even cooking, combing, washing hair. In particular, nothing that should be done with needles and nails because it was believed that the wounds of Christ were thus injured. Fasting was strict on that day, eating nothing and drinking only water. It was believed that one should not drink wine that day because it symbolizes the blood of Christ.
The only thing on Good Friday was egg painting. In some areas, eggs are painted on Good Thursday. The first painted egg, being guardian of the household, is given special importance and is kept until the next Easter. With that first egg, the children would chew on their cheeks to keep them healthy and blush all year long. The old guardian egg is not supposed to be thrown away but put into the flowing water (river) or buried in the ground (so its remains can support new life in the fields).
The custom of beating eggs is an indispensable part of the fun of both children and adults. It is believed that the one whose egg is the strongest will have best prosperity that year.
The World Egg Hatching Championships, held annually in Mokrin near Kikinda, Serbia, attended by over a hundreds of competitors, has become a major tourist attraction.
In some countries different sort of activities are more popular: egg and bunny hunt.
Hristos vaskrese!
Happy Easter! :)