Easter

The tradition of painting eggs for Easter is very old and apart from Bulgaria you can also see painted eggs in other European countries.

According to ancient Bulgarian customs, on Easter, they paint eggs on Thursday or Saturday morning before dawn. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, you should also prepare the Kozunak or what is the same, sweet bread. It sounds bland, but it’s delicious. 

Easter painted eggs in Bulgaria

When

Bulgarians celebrate Easter according to the Orthodox calendar.

Where

This tradition is celebrated wherever a Bulgarian can be.

Additional information

Watch the video at the bottom for a typical egg-painting tradition.

The first egg must be painted in red and then, the older woman in the home paints a cross on the foreheads of the children in the house so that they are healthy throughout the year. In eastern Bulgaria, “egg painters” like to paint them in different colours and call them “perashki”. In the mountains of Rhodope, there is another custom where the eggs are painted with wax.

On Easter Sunday they all fight with the painted eggs and greet each other with the phrases “Hristos Voskrese” and “Voistina Voskrese”. According to national beliefs, if the egg is not broken by the blow of the other, the person will enjoy good health all year.

A short film of the traditional Easter family day

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