When you color Easter eggs, not only are you celebrating the Easter holiday, but you are also decorating for the arrival of spring. Kids love coloring Easter eggs, and adults can help them decorate their eggs with wax and marbling. This year, tell your kids about how the Easter egg tradition got started, and then help them with fun coloring projects.

The Origins of the Colored Easter Egg
In pre-Christian cultures the egg was symbolic of the universe and the annual rebirth of the earth from the barren part of the year into the fruitful seasons. With the advent of Christianity, the egg become symbolic of man’s rebirth when the Christians likened the egg to the rebirth of Christ.

The coloring of eggs comes to us from ancient times. Colored Easter eggs were common in medieval times and are well documented in historical records. Famous examples of Easter eggs include Faberge eggs, as the first Faberge was commissioned by the Czar Alexander of Russia as an Easter gift for his wife. The decorating of eggs is now a timeless tradition for families.

Fun Ways to Color Your Easter Eggs
Batik Eggs: You will need white crayons or rubber cement in addition to your egg’s dyes. This technique will work with hardboiled or blown (punctured and contents blown out) eggs. Use the rubber cement or crayons to color patterns on the egg, and then place the eggs in the dyes. If using rubber cement, let it dry before you place the egg in the dye. After you have your eggs the color you want, remove them from the dye, and let them dry overnight. When the eggs are dry, carefully clean off the crayon wax or rubber cement, and the pattern is now white.

Marbled Eggs: To accomplish marbling, you dye the eggs in a traditional manner. When you remove the eggs from the dye, immediately pat the egg dry with a paper towel, creating a marbling effect in the color of the eggs.

Rubber Band Eggs: Before you dye a hardboiled egg, wrap rubber bands around the egg to create patterns. Dye your egg, dry it and remove the bands. You will have white lines where the bands covered the egg. You can leave the egg patterned like this or dye it again and have two-colored eggs.

Gather some supplies, bring together your children and start an egg dyeing tradition. Easter eggs can be fun for the whole family.