Tuesday, April 19, 2011

GETTING READY FOR EASTER IN HUNGARY or AMERICA BOILING AND DECORATING EGGS

Americans tend to color eggs with dye kits, coloring eggs with wax crayons or stickers.  Hungarians decorate eggs simply too, but there is the tradition of the flower and symbol decorated eggs.

There is also the custom of "SPRINKING."  Females decorate a couple dozen eggs (traditionally red) to gift to the males who come to visit and "sprinkle"  (in some cases douse) with water or perfumes.  Of course, both folk customs are rooted in SPRING, and notions of FERTILITY and usually this occurs after the religious observances of Easter Sunday, on Easter Monday.