The Orthodox world today marks one of the most important days of Holy Week - Maundy Thursday.
Three important events mark this day - the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane under the Mount of Olives, and the betrayal of Judas.
According to tradition, on this day the eggs for the holiday and the Easter eggs are mixed. The first egg is necessarily red. It is set aside from the others and is replaced with last year's, to bring health, happiness and joy to the home and the whole family.
It is a symbol of the blood of Christ. With it, a sign of the cross is made on the foreheads of the children, and then on the rest of the family. The idea is to bring health, joy and happiness to the inhabitants of the home. The next egg is also red. It is left in the church on Saturday evening, after the festive service, which continues after midnight or the next day.
Legend says that when Jesus Christ was crucified, his enemies threw "zapërtsi" (unhatched rotten eggs). However, by God's will, as soon as they touched his body, they turned into healthy, beautiful, red eggs. In honor of this miracle, people began to dye Easter eggs red.
A different story about the origin of this tradition is that when Christ was crucified on the cross, a hen came and laid an egg under him. Flowing onto the egg, its blood dyed it red. That is why the first egg is dyed red. It is rubbed on the cheeks or a cross is drawn on the forehead of children for health and buried in the field for fertility, writes FOCUS.