On the first hours of Greek Easter Sunday and right after “Christ has risen” we crack red eggs, a tradition called “Tsougrisma”. This tradition while fun as a game has the symbolism of resurrection and new life. The egg is seen by followers of Christianity as a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it.
Easter eggs are dyed red on Holy Thursday to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg symbolizes the sealed Tomb of Christ—the cracking of which symbolizes his resurrection from the dead.
- A lesson on how to play Tsougrisma:
Each player selects a red egg and finds an opponent. (Usually the person sitting next to them) - One person says, “Christos Anesti” (Christ has risen)… and the other replies, “Alithos Anesti” (Indeed He has risen).
- The person who said “Christos Anesti” taps the end of his or her egg lightly against the end of the opponent’s egg. (The goal is to crack the opponent’s egg.)
- When one end is cracked, the winner uses the same end to try and crack the other end of the opponent’s egg.
- The winner with the unbroken egg then challenges another person and so on around the Easter dinner table until one person remains with an unbroken egg.
- The player who successfully cracks the eggs of the other players is declared the winner and is said, will have good luck during the year.
Select Bakery offers in-store and in our online shop non-toxic Egg dyes in red and other colours, you can also purchase Religious themed and flower decor sleeves to decorate your eggs even more. If you are short on time, we also sell pre-coloured red eggs to help you with your Greek Easter preparation. Come and visit us at 405 Donlands Ave in Toronto, ON.
Photo Source: https://www.nikkiglekas.com/post/greek-red-eggs and Shutterstock
