It is the Day of the Resurrection! And St. Mary Magdalene and the Red Egg.
It is the Day of Resurrection! Let us be radiant, O people! Pascha! The Lord’s Pascha! For Christ our God has brought us from death to life, and from earth unto heaven, as we sing triumphant hymns!
Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with inaccessible light of the Resurrection, and shall hear Him saying clearly, “Rejoice!” As we sing the triumphant hymns!
Let heavens rejoice in a worthy manner, the earth be glad, and the whole world, visible and the invisible, keep the Feast. For Christ our eternal joy has risen!
Saint Mary Magdalene, who had patrician rank, gained an audience in Rome with the Emperor Tiberius after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. She denounced Pilate for his handling of Christ’s trial and then began to talk with Caesar about Christ’s resurrection. She picked up a hen’s egg from the dinner table to illustrate her point about resurrection. Caesar was unmoved and replied that there was as much chance of a human being returning to life as there was for the egg to turn red. Immediately, the egg miraculously turned red in her hand! It is because of this tradition that Orthodox Christians exchange red eggs at Pascha.
