Onion Skins and Butter Lambs – A Slavic Ostara

I originally wrote this in time for Ostara, but computer problems intervened. Hopefully, I can add the pics for the butter lamb and the lemon pig soon. Still, enjoy!

In Poland, where my father's family comes from, Easter is the most important holiday of the year. Christmas comes in a pale second. In this article I'll offer some of our family customs, for use in your Ostara.

Natural Dyed Eggs

Back before you could get a package of egg dye from the local grocery, folks colored their eggs with food and spices.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs – Put the egg in a saucepan with cold water (this will help keep the egg from cracking) and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Once the water simmers, shut off the heat and let the egg cook in the hot water for 10 minutes. Use any of the following ideas to color your eggs. Use only one "color" per batch, or you may end up with a muddled color.

Onion Skins – Wrap a raw egg with the brown outer skins from a yellow onion. You can use a rubber band or kitchen string to make sure the onion skin stays on. Cook the egg as above. When you remove the onion skins, the eggs will be a light golden brown, and the veins of the onion often leave a slightly darker pattern. You can also make a tea of the onion skins first for a slightly darker color.

Black Tea – Put several teabags in with your eggs, for a deeper brown.

Grass – Get a handful of fresh green grass, and wrap the egg, using rubber bands to keep the grass around the egg. This yields an egg with lovely green striations where the grass is thickest on the egg. Be certain to use grass that is not treated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and where animals don't wander.

Beets – Boil the egg with slices of red beet or beet juice for a lovely pink.

Red Cabbage – Boil the cabbage first, let the "tea" cool and then cook your eggs in it, for a blue color.

Turmeric – A tablespoon or two of this spice in your boiling water will yield a rich gold color.

Eggs as Sacrament

In my family we started the Easter meal with the head of the family peeling a hard boiled egg and sharing a piece of that egg with each person at the table. Consider blessing an egg along with your usual Cakes and Wine and sharing it around the circle for your Ostara sabbat.