Emma Ukrainian Traditional Pysanky Easter Eggs
It’s not quite time for Ukrainian Easter celebrations, as many Ukrainians follow the Eastern Orthodox Church which celebrates Easter on 24th of April. However, we in the UK and many other counties will be celebrating Easter this weekend and with myself being a mishmash of cultures, why have one Easter when you can have two!
Ukrainian Easter eggs are known as pysanky. This comes from the word pysaty, which means “to write,” as the designs are written onto the eggshells traditionally with beeswax.
Generally, pysanky are decorated with geometric motifs. Other popular motifs are flowers, crosses, animals, stars, leaves and birds. The colours of the pysanky symbolise many different things:-
Red – the sun, life, joy
Yellow – wealth and fertility
Green – spring and plant life.
Cheats way to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs
Creating proper Ukrainian Easter eggs is time consuming, requiring a lot of skill and accessories that we don’t have a home. So below is a cheats version!
What you need
Eggs
Food colouring
Glass bowls
Sticks
Pan and water for boiling
What to do
If you want to keep your eggs for a while, then you will need to blow them. Otherwise hard boiled eggs will do.
How to blow eggs
Prick your egg at the top and bottom with a needle and blow the contents out into a bowl.
Dyeing the eggs with food colouring
In a jar or bowl, mix a teaspoon of food colouring, a tablespoon of vinegar and enough warm water to cover the egg. Let the egg sit in the dye until the colour is the strength you would like.
Pattern ideas for dyed eggs
Wrap several rubber bands around the egg, and submerge in food dye. Once the egg has dyed to the colour you want remove the egg from the dye carefully and leave the egg to dry in an egg cup. Remove the bands once the egg is completely dry
Use crayons to draw designs onto eggs in wax before dyeing.
Glue on leaves and flowers and peel off to create a shape once the egg is dry.
Dab wet dyed eggs with a sponge or kitchen towel for ripple effect.
Use felt tip pens to draw directly onto the eggs.
