To really enjoy my Easter, I have to crack a few eggs

IT’S the time of year where every shopping mall and supermarket is filled with hot cross buns and chocolate eggs, and everyone is buzzing about the Easter weekend. Every country has its traditions, and my home country, Lebanon, is very attached to its own.

Along with Greece, we share one of the most interesting and competitive Easter traditions from around the world: Egg cracking.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are grand affairs and the main focus of the weekend is on the church festivities, but this is tailed closely by the celebrations that follow. Lebanon is known for its hospitality and attachment to family and friends, and the upcoming Easter weekend will be no different.

Food and drink and festive chatter will engulf the house and murmurs of egg cracking can be heard throughout the lounge like an ode to “broken telephone”. It’s customary for family members to gather after Easter Sunday lunch to engage in an egg-cracking tournament.

Each person gets to choose their own egg. Not just any egg – the winning egg. These eggs have been boiled and dyed red, and will soon face-off in an egg match second to none. The rule of the game is simple. One holds a hardboiled egg and taps it against the egg of another family member, with the intention to break it without breaking one’s own.

If either egg is cracked after the first attempt, the unlucky player is eliminated. If both eggs remain intact, you swop places and keep at it until one finally gives way. The winner is the last man standing or, in our household, woman, as my godmother will forever be reigning champ.

If you’re Lebanese or Greek and have been exposed to the Easter egg-cracking tradition, you might have some idea about just how serious the whole process can be. There is a wrong way and a right way to do it, and you need to resort to extreme tactics if you ever want to win.

Some say securing a win is all about selecting the perfect egg to compete with. For a win, you will need your egg to meet the winning criteria, and this includes everything from its shape and colour to its size and assumed strength.

It’s like choosing a horse at the Durban July; never go for the pale one. Beginners will always attempt the “smash-and-bash” technique, while those in the know will opt for a more subtle, one-handed-crack-down.

Not all eggs are created equal – the sooner you realise this, the better. Before the game can be played, the eggs need to be boiled and coloured. Or do they?

Ever wonder if there are any measures you can take to give you that little edge in the game? Well, many people will tell you that it comes down to luck, but this is the year that thou shall hath no fury like a woman defeated, and I plan to ride the victory wave if it’s the last thing I do.

I have discovered three ways to guarantee I walk away a winner. If your godmother is half the egg-cracking whizz mine is, then you know you need to use every trick in the book to win.

She has always been the ultimate victor, while the rest of us are left scooping humiliating bits of eggshell off the lounge carpet.

Do these winning methods walk along the moral high ground, or are they the least bit ethical or even logical? Nope, but they are super-effective.

My first strategy to securing a win – secretly freeze your egg.

It’s going to be harder than anyone else’s, especially those exposed to Durban’s inescapable heat.

Strategy two – the old, boiled egg vs non-boiled egg trick.

Last but not least, attempt a classic cheat technique and use a little nail vanish over your egg-weapon of choice.

Yes, I am a genius. And a cheat. But a guaranteed victory awaits nonetheless. May the best egg win… Facebook/twitter/instagram: Website: