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An Egg‑Cellent Global Tradition Decorating Easter eggs with paints, dyes, and stickers is a time-honored tradition spanning thousands of years. Many cultures use eggs to symbolize rebirth, renewal, and fertility, and the human need to decorate everything has ensured there are different egg-painting traditions worldwide. Iranian celebrants commemorate Nowruz (Iranian New Year) around the spring equinox by painting eggs and placing them on altars. This tradition comes from ancient Persian and Zoroastrian traditions and has since become a common practice for people regardless of faith. The Easter egg as we know it today is derived from Jewish tradition, in which a roasted white egg is placed on the seder plate during Passover. Orthodox Christians paint eggs red to symbolize Jesus’ blood. Additionally, some sects of Orthodox Christians take decorated hard-boiled eggs and smack them against another person’s egg. Whoever’s egg doesn’t break is said to have good luck for the coming year.
When it comes to financial management and estate planning, trusts offer significant tax advantages. When used with precision, these legal entities can facilitate a smoother asset transfer to beneficiaries and yield considerable tax savings. Let’s take a look at how trusts can be strategically utilized for tax-planning purposes. Minimizing Estate Taxes For estates that exceed certain thresholds, hefty taxes can diminish what’s passed on to heirs. Trusts, specifically irrevocable ones, can help reduce the size of your taxable estate and alleviate your estate tax burden. This is achieved by legally removing assets from your estate and placing them in a trust, essentially shielding them from estate taxes. Income Distribution and Tax Savings Trusts can also play a pivotal role in the strategic distribution of income, leading to potential tax savings. Through mechanisms like grantor trusts, the tax on income generated by trust assets is paid by the grantor, possibly at a more favorable tax rate. Alternatively, distributing this income to beneficiaries might result in taxation at the beneficiary’s lower tax rate, presenting a win-win for all parties involved. THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF T MAXIMIZING Y
Avoiding Probate Another advantage of employing trusts in your estate plan is the avoidance of probate. This legal process can be time-consuming and costly, not to mention
Scallops and Spring Vegetables With Olive-Caper Pan Sauce Inspired by EatingWell.com
Eastern Europeans push egg painting to the limit, featuring highly intricate and breathtaking designs. Designs are drawn with pencil on a hollowed-out egg, then using a needle-like stylus called a kistka, those lines are covered in wax. The egg is dyed multiple times in a variety of colors, and more wax is applied in between each color to create a mesmerizing display of color and detail. Some cultures even use raw eggs as part of the challenge. In Ukraine, egg painting season lasts all year, and many households keep a bowl of beautifully decorated eggs for good luck. Their egg-painting pre- dates Christianity, as seen by Ukrainians’ many egg-centered traditions. For example, some people bury eggs beneath their front door to protect their family’s health. Painting eggs is a tradition in almost every culture. From continent to continent, faith to faith, people grab a brush (or kistka) to give a little white egg some color. In almost every pocket of human civilization, someone’s probably decorating an egg.
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