The Ukrainian Easter Egg

Ukrainian Easter eggs have become famous around the world. In fact, these beautiful eggs with their intricate designs have become so popular that some people make them year-round, not just at Easter. Especially fine examples are displayed in museums and art galleries. However, the central idea of Ukrainian Easter eggs remains a family preparing for and celebrating the beginning of spring. Today, many families display images of their decorated eggs online for everyone to share.

There are many kinds of Easter eggs from the Ukraine and nearby areas. At one time, most villages had their own particular method of decorating eggs. Sometimes families had their own private symbols and methods as well. The main types made today are:

Krashanky are eggs that have been boiled and then dyed a single color. Originally, vegetable dyes made from local plants were used. These eggs are taken to church on Easter morning to be blessed, and afterwards they are eaten.

Dryapanky are eggs that have been dyed a single color, and then scratched to reveal the white eggshell beneath the dye. The patterns are often intricate.

Lystovanky are also dyed a single color. The patterns are made by fastening small leaves to the egg before it is placed in the dye bath. When the leaves are removed, a white pattern is visible.

Krapanky are eggs decorated with many colored dots. They are made using a wax-resist process, with more dots applied between each of a series of dye baths. Traditionally, the dots were made by dripping wax from a candle.

Pysanky are also made with the wax-resist method, but the wax patterns are drawn on the eggs with a special tool, called a kitska. Many people are learning to make this type of Ukrainian Easter egg.

Malyovanky are painted eggs. The designs can be painted in oils or watercolors. Today, some people decorate malyovanky with markers.

Nakleyanky are eggs decorated by gluing small objects to the surface. Today, wooden eggs are decorated this way, but originally the method used real eggs.

The only eggs intended to be eaten are the krashanky. The other eggs are purely ornamental. They are usually decorated while raw. Afterward, the egg is left undisturbed while the yolk and white slowly dry up over time. If the shell is not cracked, there is no odor. Another method of preserving the decorated egg is to drill a small hole at each end and blow the contents out.

Decorated eggs are an ancient tradition. Many of the symbols date back to the Bronze Age. Sun symbols, such as eight-sided stars, closed circles with rays inside, or the swastika, are still found on eggs. In the Carpathian Mountains, eggs often show a stylized branch of a fir tree, symbolizing youth. Dots represent stars or cuckoo eggs. The cross stands for the four sides of the earth.

The meanings of these symbols were often changed slightly and incorporated into the Christian tradition. Dots became the Virgin’s tears, the fir branch became a symbol of eternal life, the cross became a sign of the Trinity, and so on.

The purely geometric forms are endowed with meaning as well. The triangle represents the Trinity. A special design called “40 triangles,” which actually has 48 triangles, represents many things: the 40 martyrs to the faith, the number of days in Lent, and the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert.

Color choices can also be symbolic. For example, eggs with dark or black backgrounds are usually given to elderly people, because their lives are almost complete. Eggs with white backgrounds are given to the young.