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Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, a foundation of the Christian faith. It is that established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. We cannot say whether or not that is true, of course. But here is what we can do: provide ideas on how each and every one of us can do right by the world. By living a sustainable life, that is :) So, here are some tips on how to green your Easter this year. We will focus on the eggs as they are our favorite part of the holiday preparation. There is a completely natural way to color the eggs, instead of using those toxic chemical paints. Many, many plants can dye your Easter eggs and even do so in shades and firmer colors that will pleasantly surprise you. Here are the most traditional colors:

• Red - red onion skins, red beetroot, red pepper, almond leaves, chilly powder.

• Yellow - yellow onion skins, lemon peels, birch leaves.

• Orange - orange peels, carrot tops, carrot juice.

• Green - spinach, parsley.

• Blue - red cabbage, cranberries, red wine.

• Brown - walnut shells, black tea.

To dye the eggs, warm up a saucepan, put the ingredient you need in it together with the number of eggs you wish to boil, cover them fully with water. Don`t forget the vinegar, 1 soup spoon to 1 liter of water. Ring to boil and let simmer for about 25 minutes. The more intensive colors you like, the more leaves/skin of the ingredient you need to put in the water. Decorating can be so much more fun than usual, if you go for natural – thinking of different ways to do it tickles your creativity and the end result is somehow more satisfactory :) We have come to this:

Duct tape

Apply duct tape shapes on the egg, dye it, remove the tape and repeat. Keep the egg in the dye depending on how dark you want the color to be.

Source: http://watchoutforthewoestmans.blogspot.com/2012/04/diy-stripedplaid-easter-eggs.html

Herb leaves

Press a leaf  by your choice on the egg and wrap with a piece of stocking. Tie it in the back, boil the egg. You will be amazed how many different shapes you will make once you start with this technique, it`s quite addictive :)

Source: http://spoonful.com/crafts/how-make-leaf-print-eggs

Wax drawing

Boil the eggs, draw on them with wax (candle or stick) and after that color the eggs.

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/908197/wax-resist-egg-dyeing-techniques

Ties

This is a true sustainable idea, as it allows reusing old ties, instead of just dumping them in the trash. Only silk ties will work, so check the label carefully. Cut the selected ties in pieces big enough to cover an egg, wrap around it, cover with a cotton piece, tie. Then boil the eggs and let simmer for about 20 minutes. The ties` prints are transferred onto the eggs!

Source: http://janyclaire.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-eggs-dyed-with-silk-ties.html?showComment=1303419260993#c4931899796751576329

Washi paper

For the really creative ones, you can try something a bit more advanced, washi paper eggs. With it you will create not just an egg for this year, but decoration for the holiday that can even be passed from generation to generation. So it`s worth the effort :)

Source: http://the-cute-storm.deviantart.com/art/How-to-make-washi-eggs-102939796

Happy sustainable Easter!