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The Custom of Giving Russian Easter Eggs and It's Origins

© Elizabeth Nordhausen

No other gift-giving custom in the world depicts the political, religious, and artistic history of a country than does the Russian custom of giving decorated eggs at Easter. An in-depth study of the history of Easter egg-giving in Russia would produce nothing short of a thesis. The tradition has survived thousands of years of political and religious transformations.

In ancient, pre-Christian Rus, eggs were given as gifts dedicated to the springtime celebration called Maslentiza. According to ancient mythology, the egg contained a source of fire that created everything and therefore held a special meaning as a symbol of life. For more about Russian mythology see http://www.ibiblio.org/sergei/Dazhdbog.h... where the author, Sergei Naumov, brilliantly translates the main points of Russian mythology into English. Gifts of colored or red eggs were given by the ancient Carpatho-Rusyn people to celebrate the rebirth of the earth after a long, harsh winter. These colorful gifts were also given to make use of the large stocks of eggs that were unused during their pagan fast conducted before Maslentiza. For a more detailed description of customs of the ancient Russians, http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/ is an excellent source.

Around 998 AD, Christianity came to Kiev Rus, in what would later become Russia, when Vladimir, the prince of Kiev, converted to Christianity. The role of ancient pagan rituals in what is now Easter is a controversial subject. Some views maintain that in an effort to keep converts, the Christian Church adopted various pagan rituals such as giving eggs at Easter, which is around the same time as Maslenitza. However, according to others, priests wanted to keep Easter as holy as possible and free of pagan rituals. On this account, Easter came and went without much celebration during the Middle Ages and pagan rituals were not abandoned. Somewhere along the line, though, the egg which meant rebirth of the earth in ancient rituals was rededicated to renewal of life of believers. Eggs took on a new meaning and were given as gifts during Easter to profess the believers' faith in their religion.

The history of religion in Russia has had a great effect upon the color of Easter eggs and the way in which they are given. In early 10th century cantons (historical religious documents) in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the capital of Orthodox Christianity, Patriarchs gave out red eggs to the attendants of the service as a symbol of life. After church services, they were known to give each other three kisses, exclaim, "Christ has risen", and exchange colored or red eggs. The fact that Russians still today practice this custom is no accident. Ties with the Byzantine Empire were strengthened when Prince Vladimir married into the Byzantine Emperor's family. And although Russia maintained its ties with Rome and the Catholic Church, the Kieven State eventually pledged it's loyalty to the Orthodox Church and Constantinople. A detailed account of Russia's religious history can be found at

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