Along with the traditional Orthodox dyed Easter eggs, some more skilled ‎housewives decorate the eggs with different techniques - for the festive ‎decoration of the home or as a gift to relatives and friends. This is also the case ‎with the architects Tania Simeonova and Hristo Lazarov, where egg painting is ‎considered a family tradition, but can be more properly called a craft:‎

"A long time ago, I started making bunny eggs for my children, as well as for ‎the children of relatives and friends. After that, they grew up and I continued to ‎make them for friends and people with whom we gather on Easter”, Tanya ‎Simeonova tells Radio Bulgaria. “So year after year, even if I didn't have much ‎time due to other commitments, I always managed to make at least 10-15 ‎different eggs. They are not painted, they are previously emptied of the yolks ‎and whites and are waiting for a convenient moment for me when I start ‎decorating them. I love earth colours, so I always use the darker colored eggs. I ‎always apply various red or blue elements on them, as I love these colors very ‎much."‎

For their decoration, Tanya uses ropes, beads, as well as various sticks or ‎skewers, with which she shapes them into a bouquet. ‎

In addition to the unique decoration, in the days around Easter, their home is ‎filled with a specific fragrance of sweets, which does not leave indifferent even ‎those who avoid eating sweets or pasta. Tanya got the recipe for them from her ‎mother-in-law and is adamant that one day she will pass it on to her daughter-‎in-law. Here are its secret ingredients, without which the taste would certainly ‎be different:‎

‎“The dough recipe is for five or six fairly small cake pans and includes 10 eggs, ‎‎4 tea cups of flour along with baking powder, 3 tea cups of sugar, 2 tea cups of ‎oil, and 1 cup of yogurt. 500 grams of walnuts, 250 grams of raisins, 250 ‎grams of dried fruits, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, vanilla powder and rum ‎essence are added to the dough. Mix the batter with a spoon, not your hands, ‎then divide into 5 or 6 small cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes at 220 degrees." ‎

‎Although they love to travel and keep beautiful memories from various ‎European and world destinations, the Lazarov family always welcomes Easter ‎in Bulgaria. They attend the holy service in the patriarchal cathedral of St. ‎Alexander Nevsky or in the Saint Parascheva Church in one of the villages ‎near Sofia, where they live in an old house typical of the area, restored ‎according to their architectural design. 

It is one of many created by the family ‎during their more than 40 years of professional experience. Although they ‎create different buildings, the priority for the family of architects remains the ‎design of suburban houses which could turn into a dream home of every ‎Bulgarian.‎

Photos: Private archive