Since ancient times, people have been painting eggs for Easter: this tradition has many centuries, and most people take it for granted, without even thinking about why this is done. In fact, it is even older than Easter itself, and its history goes far back centuries. Historians can only guess why they paint eggs for Easter, and there are several versions on this score.
A modern explanation of why eggs are painted for Easter these days, which many Christians adhere to, is as follows: there is one beautiful ancient legend about Mary Magdalene that brought the news of the Resurrection of Christ to the Roman emperor Tiberius. Since it was impossible to come to the court of the emperor without offerings, and Mary Magdalene was not only unable to bring luxurious gifts, but simply to make a gift, she took with her an ordinary chicken egg. When the emperor listened to her message, he mockingly said that he would believe that a dead person could be resurrected only when an ordinary egg turns red, well, at least even that. A miracle happened - the egg immediately turned red. By the way, Christian sources do not describe such a story, and this version is not considered official, but is very loved by believers. It is to this story, in their opinion, that the tradition of painting eggs for Easter dates back.
According to another, less miraculous version of the same legend, Mary Magdalene simply presented the emperor with a red painted egg with an inscription formed from the first two letters of the sentence "Christ has risen" - and this was the first Easter egg.
Unbiased scholars tend to believe that Christians adopted this tradition from earlier cults. Indeed, it is found in many pre-Christian beliefs, in particular among the Slavs. Why do they paint eggs? In pagan cults, the egg was a symbol of fertility, and in the spring the Slavs also had a great holiday dedicated to the awakening of nature and the beginning of the fertile season, and the eggs as its symbol were decorated in every possible way. Over time, these holidays merged and among the poorly educated layers of the population messed up. Perhaps the aforementioned legends appeared in justification for the fact that believing Christians began to observe pagan rites on the largest Christian holiday. By the way, some clergymen do not welcome such radical views even today, not understanding why they paint eggs for Easter. Some of them even say that it is a sin, and try to forbid the parishioners to paint eggs. But this tradition has so taken root and become part of the Christian culture, that believers meet such statements with bewilderment.
There is a more prosaic explanation for why eggs are painted for Easter. Perhaps this was due to the fact that during long fasting it was impossible to eat them, and so that they did not deteriorate, they were cooked by adding various herbs, for example, onion husks, so as not to confuse boiled eggs with dyed ones.
In fact, is it worth considering why eggs are painted for Easter - no matter where the roots of this tradition are from, the main thing is that it is very beautiful and popular. Why paint eggs for Easter? To decorate the festive table, to make it fun, to congratulate each other - this is the right answer. A lot of folk amusements are associated with colored eggs - which of us in childhood did not play with them, testing the egg for strength? And how joyful it was to win someone else's egg, and it doesn’t matter at all whether we loved to eat them or not. Also, colored eggs appear in many beliefs and rituals. In particular, sometimes for the successful construction and future well-being of residents, an Easter egg was laid in the foundation of the house under construction , and there are many such traditions, and each people has its own. In general, painting eggs is fun and beautiful, no matter what the story of this rite.