A pysanka (Ukrainian: писанка, plural: pysanky) is a Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method. The word comes from the verb pysaty, "to write", as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax. The word pysanka refers specifically to an egg decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs, and is not a generic term for any egg decorated using wax resist.
The world's largest decorated Easter egg (Pysanka) is in Vegreville, Alberta.
Since a kid I have collected several of these each Easter. I am amazed by the amount of detail and time that goes into creating these works of art. Only six eggs fit in the holder so I have to choose which to display each year. This was the display from this past Easter. I may be a blasphemous heathen but I do love the tradition of the decorating of the eggs.
Many superstitions were attached to pysanky. Pysanky were thought to protect households from evil spirits, catastrophe, lightning and fires. Pysanky with spiral motifs were the most powerful, as the demons and other unholy creatures would be trapped within the spirals forever. A blessed pysanka could be used to find demons hidden in the dark corners of your house.
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2 comments:
My Rare One does beautiful pysanky. My fave is the one she did that looks like the Vegreville egg.
And since many pysanky designs and symbols predate the Christianization of the Ukraine, it's entirely appropriate to be a blasphemous heathen and still love them.
Then my love for them is pure. I have always loved them since I held one and it broke. Then I realized the detail and studied it and tried to put it back together. It was a weird Easter that year. But I have a number of egg cartoons full.
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