It's Maundy Thursday! On this day, the priests take out the cross from the altar, which symbolizes its carrying by Christ to Calvary. According to tradition, Easter eggs are dyed early in the morning today or on Holy Saturday before the holiday. In the Veliko Tarnovo village of Draganovo, the preparations for the holiday began early in the morning, with the painting of eggs using a centuries-old technology and the kneading of kozunatsi.
The grandmothers in the village of Draganovo have been famous for years as one of the most zealous guardians of the old Bulgarian traditions. So early in the morning they rolled up their sleeves and started painting the eggs.
Margarita Papazova: "First, a red egg is painted, it is the symbol of Jesus Christ, who was crucified. A cross is placed and a cross is made on the child's forehead!"
The women in the village still paint their eggs using the old technology, with onion peels. Margarita Papazova"Collect the onion skins, put them in a container, put the eggs with them, put them on the fire to boil and they turn yellow!"
The old craftswomen started today with the kneading of kosunatsi according to traditional recipes that have been kept in the village for centuries and skillfully braided kosunaki braids and Easter baskets.
Diana Karaivanova: "For example, I use a recipe with 6 eggs, 300 grams of sugar, 250 milliliters of fresh milk, a cube of yeast, a kilogram of flour and lard for mixing. The room should be very warm above 30 degrees for the hostess to feel hot. In two pots, I make two separate kosunaks, usually in braids!”
Denka: "I learned these baskets since I was little. A dough for kozunak is made and separated from it, a stick is bent around it and then an egg is placed underneath!"
According to tradition, today the red egg that has been standing in front of an icon for a whole year is broken and it is used to guess what the year will be.
