In Kaifeng area, good news often brings red eggs. Whoever gives birth to a child will paint the boiled eggs red. The color is mostly edible.
If it is a boy, if you want six or eight, it must be an even number. After dyeing red, you should also put a black spot on one end of the egg with ink to show your joy. The reason why boys give even numbers is that when children grow up, they can find a daughter-in-law. If they are paired with a daughter-in-law, they can have a full moon.
If it is a girl, the egg is only dyed red, and there are no black spots. The number is 5 or 7, and it must be singular, indicating small Xi. Sending an odd number of eggs means that there is one more girl at home and she can get married in the future. ?
When the red eggs are sent to grandma's house, grandma knows at a glance that her daughter is born and can tell whether it is a boy or a girl.
In the past, when grandma received good news, she would bake a cake for her son-in-law or the bearer of good news. When the bearer of good news meets the dog on his way back, he throws the cake to the dog, which means that the dog bites the child and the baby will not die young.
After the baby is born, relatives and friends should send some gifts to the mother and children, usually four-color gifts such as brown sugar, millet, dried noodles and eggs, as well as clothes and toys. The baby's grandmother usually sends 100.
Even hundreds of eggs, if it's a boy, grandma will draw a black spot on one end of the egg, if it's a girl, you don't have to draw it.
After the host accepts the gift, he will return the boiled red eggs. Depending on the thickness of the gifts or the number of people, there are as few as six, as many as 12, and there are also twenty or thirty. Every time you receive a gift, let the guests take away a red egg.
Boys take even numbers and girls take odd numbers. Because this kind of ritual egg used in the process of fertility is red, people are used to calling it red hi egg. As for the reason why eggs are painted red, on the one hand, red can increase the festive atmosphere, on the other hand, people think that red can ward off evil spirits and protect children.