Horseshoes on Easter eggs: An old Hungarian tradition is kept alive by artisans

Throughout the Christian world, people celebrate Easter by decorating eggs. In Hungary, they decorate them with miniature horseshoes — a delicate craft called egg-shoeing. The tradition dates back to the 19th century. At the time, it was considered the ultimate test of skill for a blacksmith. It is kept alive today by a handful of artisans such as Gyula Laszlo. To decorate an egg, Laszlo drills a pattern of tiny holes into a hollowed-out hen’s egg. He inserts metal threads into the holes and then uses tweezers to mount a miniature horseshoe on the shell. “I always say that I got infected by this and not by drugs. ... I cannot be cured,” Laszlo said on March 31 in his workshop in Markaz, a village in northern Hungary. He said that anyone with time on their hands can learn the skill: “All you need is perseverance, and perhaps a little dexterity.” (Reuters) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.