Happy Good Friday! I’m soooo looking forward to spending time with the family this weekend for the Easter holiday. The other day the kiddos and I were coloring our eggs and I thought about when I was growing up and how we spent our Easter holiday. After church, my momma’s family always got together over at my great-aunt’s house and probably like some of you we spent the day together eating great food, snacking on bunny-shaped cakes, and of course, chasing my cousins around trying to find the most hidden eggs.
There was also one other tradition that my family always held which was the egg tapping game. I soon realized as a kid that this wasn’t a common tradition with my friends. It really puzzled me though that no one else outside of my family knew this game! But, I guess kids are funny that way...you just assume that everyone knows the same stuff, right?!?!
Anyhow, my family is Romanian and the game was passed down from my great-grandparents but I've since learned that there are many cultures today (European and other) that have their own customs to playing the game.
Essentially, one person takes a hard-boiled egg (colored and decorated, of course!) and taps the egg of another person, with the intention to crack their opponent’s egg, without breaking their own. You continue to challenge other people until your egg cracks, or better yet, you crack everyone else’s egg. The person who cracks the most eggs, or keeps theirs unbroken, is said to enjoy the longest life. Kinda cool, right?
Essentially, one person takes a hard-boiled egg (colored and decorated, of course!) and taps the egg of another person, with the intention to crack their opponent’s egg, without breaking their own. You continue to challenge other people until your egg cracks, or better yet, you crack everyone else’s egg. The person who cracks the most eggs, or keeps theirs unbroken, is said to enjoy the longest life. Kinda cool, right?
My family would get pretty competitive with it, too! Everyone had their own strategy. You want to find an egg that has a thicker and harder shell...how you can actually tell this I still don't know. Then there were the debates on how you hold the egg. You are supposed to tap the pointier end of the egg so some people say there is a science to where to position your fingers and how firm you hold the egg. I'm sure it also makes a difference if you are the tapper or the one being tapped, too. All strategies aside, it is definitely something fun to do with the family!
I admit I haven’t played this game in years. My momma’s family doesn’t get together like we did as a kid. Most of them live out of state now and all of us kids have grown and started our own families and even new traditions. But it’s time to share this old tradition with my family now and begin making new memories. For me, it’s what bonds us to the past and the fond memories we have with our family and loved ones and I hold these traditions so dear to my heart and want to see them carried on with my girls, and hopefully, someday with their own families.
Wishing you all a wonderful Easter holiday!!
I admit I haven’t played this game in years. My momma’s family doesn’t get together like we did as a kid. Most of them live out of state now and all of us kids have grown and started our own families and even new traditions. But it’s time to share this old tradition with my family now and begin making new memories. For me, it’s what bonds us to the past and the fond memories we have with our family and loved ones and I hold these traditions so dear to my heart and want to see them carried on with my girls, and hopefully, someday with their own families.
Wishing you all a wonderful Easter holiday!!
