In the Christian faith, eggs symbolize the empty tomb and resurrection of Jesus—celebrating new life and new beginnings.
It was a different story for the Russian monarchy. The winds of change had swept over Imperial Russia. It was the beginning of the end.
Nicholas II and family (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. Livadiya, Crimea, 1913. Portrait by the Levitsky Studio, Livadiya.
It’s our Easter Holiday. At last, the long cold winter is over and spring is finally here.
Tomorrow is the Easter hunt in the woods by the school. It will be such fun! Last year, the sounds of excitement filled the forest. My friends and I laughed until we hurt. It was beautiful—the air was filled with a sweet scent of wild flowers and the birds were singing their hearts out. I loved the crackling sound of the twigs beneath our shoes as we frantically searched here and there.
And what treats await us! Colored eggs, Easter gifts, and chocolates lie hidden in hedgerows, in the tangled roots of the mighty beech trees, and amongst the pockets of pale yellow primroses.
An Easter Holiday, the Children of Bloomsbury Parochial School in a Wood at Watford by James Aumonier, 1874.
We were really busy today preparing for tomorrow’s Easter hunt. Grandpa helped us dye the Easter eggs.
We dyed and painted three dozen chicken eggs and put them in a basket filled with straw to look like a bird’s nest.
Grandpa showed us how to make different colors for the eggs by boiling them with leaves or onions. We got red by boiling with onion skins and beetroot, gold with marigold flower, violet with mallow flower, and green with periwinkle leaves.
Preparing for Easter by Mikhail Germashev
Then all the parents and teachers went out to hide them in the woods—for us to find tomorrow morning.
It’s so exciting! How can I possibly sleep tonight?
After we finished coloring the eggs, Mother said a prayer for them and picked some wild flowers to make our egg basket the prettiest you ever saw!
Lord, let the grace of your blessing come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for your faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.from the Roman Ritual
Easter Sunday by George Hitchcock
Before dinner, Mother wrote the Easter Greetings cards to all our family and friends.
She said it’s thanks to Sir Rowland Hill for creating the Uniform Penny Post that we can afford to send twenty cards this year! It costs a penny to send each one. All we have to do is put the cards into an envelope and fix a stamp to it.
Grandpa remembers the old days before stamps, when he used to have to pay to receive cards. How nice it is to live in the modern Victorian era! Mother always says we must count our blessings—I’m so lucky and thankful!
These are our cards that we chose together at the post office. The lady behind the counter was so nice and friendly. She even helped us choose some of the cards.
My favorite card is the last one—the little chicks are admiring a huge pink egg.
Mother told me and my little brother a bedtime story about some special eggs made for the Russian Royal family. Some day I want to see them—just like a real princess. Hope that’s my dream tonight.
