By Allaire Warner
April 13, 2022: Pictured above is Pysanka, which is any type of decorated egg in Ukraine. Pysanka refers to a dye and written-wax batik method to create the designs. The patterns are not painted, rather beeswax is used to inscribe the traditional folk motifs.
It is believed that this type of egg decoration, dating back to the pre Christian era, celebrated the rebirth of nature in the springtime. With Christianity came the egg as the symbol of rebirth of man. This folk art using the bees-wax method is shared by many Slavic cultures today, especially in Poland and Ukraine.
In modern times the art of Pysanka was banished in Ukraine as a religious practice and almost forgotten . Many museum collections were destroyed. However, since independence in 1991, there has been a renewed interest in this art as a way to preserve history and the traditional folk designs.
The Pysansky are usually made by women for family and respected others and given as a symbolic gift of life at Easter time.