The egg at Easter is a symbol of the rebirth of the Earth in celebration of spring and it was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. All over the world, people decorate eggs with their children.
There are many good reasons for parents to avoid using food coloring or any artificial dyes for coloring Easter eggs. According to Dr. Mercola, Blue #1 (Brilliant Blue), Blue #2 (Indigo Carmine), Red #2 (Citrus Red), Red #3 (Erythrosine), Red #40 (Allura Red), Green #3 (Fast Green), Yellow #5 (Tartrazine) and Yellow #6 (Sunset Yellow) are the most commonly used and have been found to cause tumors and cancer in mice and rats. Even the small amounts that leach through an egg shell onto the hard-boiled egg may be enough to create hyperactivity in children.
Instead, there are many natural foods that can be boiled to make egg dyes. They have to soak in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight for the color to be bright, but you won’t have to worry about toxins.
Add 1/4 cup of vinegar and a 1/4 cup of salt to 2 quarts of boiled mixture. Boiling frozen blueberries or red cabbage will make bluish, purple eggs. Boiling orange peels make orange eggs. Tumeric powder will give your eggs a yellow color. Use cranberry or beet juice to make your eggs red. You can also mix colors to get other variations.
If you have time, try wetting herb leaves or flower petals to the eggs before dying. After the eggs are colored, remove the leaves or petals from each egg and the beautiful patterns will remain.
Have a Happy Easter!
Sources:
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/natural-egg-dyeing-techniques
Local Easter Services:
http://www.pensacolasaenger.com/events/calvary-chapel-gulf-breeze-easter-celebration/
