Egg decorating in Slavic culture
The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg. Over time, many new techniques were added. Some versions of these decorated eggs have retained their pagan symbolism, while others have added Christian symbols and motifs.
While decorated eggs of various nations have much in common, national traditions, color preferences, motifs used and preferred techniques vary.
This is a Central and Eastern European, and not strictly Slavic, tradition since non-Slavic ethnic groups in the area also practice it.
Etymology
The names of the various types of Slavic decorated eggs come from the method of decoration, as noted in detailed descriptions below.Many of the names of wax-resist style eggs derive from the Old Slavonic пьсати which refers to writing or painting.
By country
Croatia
The word pisanica is derived from the Croatian word that means "writing." The most common phrase put on pisanicas is "Happy Easter," or "Sretan Uskrs." Other common decorations are doves, crosses, flowers, traditional designs, and other slogans wishing health and happiness.In the Međimurje area, soot would often be mixed with oak to make a dark brown color. Green plants would be used for green dye.
Poland
The word pisanka is derived from the verb pisać which, in contemporary Polish, means exclusively 'to write' yet, in old Polish, meant also 'to paint'.Today, in Poland, eggs and pisanki are hallowed on Easter Saturday along with the traditional Easter basket and richly decorated.
On Easter Sunday, before the ceremonial breakfast, these eggs are exchanged and shared among the family at the table. This is a symbol of friendship, similar to the sharing of the Opłatek on Christmas Eve.
Ukraine
Egg decoration in Ukraine is widespread and practiced by many; in the premodern era, pysankarstvo was practiced universally outside of big cities. Several traditional forms of decoration are common while others are practiced less often. Newer forms of egg decoration, like biserky, travlenky, and rizblenky are more recent additions, but gaining in popularity, although they are generally practiced by professional artisans rather than the general public. In recent years, shrink wrap decals with traditional designs have become a favorite mode of decoration for many.The pysanka itself, a wax-resist type egg, is one of Ukraine's national symbols, and is known throughout the world. Pysanky imagery occurs often in Ukrainian literature, with Taras Shevchenko comparing a lovely Ukrainian village to a pysanka. Ukrainian Canadians in Canada erected a giant statue of one in Vegreville, Alberta, and were involved in the effort to release several Canadian commemorative pysanky coins.
History
Pagan
According to many scholars, the art of wax-resist egg decoration in Slavic cultures probably dates back to the pre-Christian era. They base this on the widespread nature of the practice, and pre-Christian nature of the symbols used. No ancient examples of intact pysanky exist, as the eggshells of domesticated fowl are fragile, but fragments of colored shells with wax-resist decoration on them were unearthed during the archaeological excavations in Ostrówek, Poland, where remnants of a Slavic settlement dating to the early Piast dynasty were found.As in many ancient cultures, many Slavs worshipped a sun god, Dazhboh. The sun was important — it warmed the earth and thus was a source of all life. Eggs decorated with nature symbols became an integral part of spring rituals, serving as benevolent talismans.
In pre-Christian times, Dazhboh was one of the major deities in the Slavic pantheon; birds were the sun god's chosen creations, for they were the only ones who could get near him. Humans could not catch the birds, but they did manage to obtain the eggs the birds laid. Thus, the eggs were magical objects, a source of life. The egg was also honored during rite-of-Spring festivals—it represented the rebirth of the earth. The long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg therefore, was believed to have special powers.
Christian
Originating as a pagan tradition, decorated eggs were absorbed by Christianity to become the traditional Easter egg. With the advent of Christianity, via a process of religious syncretism, the symbolism of the egg was changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man. Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose. With the acceptance of Christianity in Slavic lands in around 9th century, the decorated egg, in time, was adapted to play an important role in local rituals of the new religion. Many symbols of the old sun worship survived and were adapted to represent Easter and Christ's Resurrection.During Holy Week, eggs are dyed in bright colors and decorated by various techniques. On Holy Saturday Slavic Christians, Catholic and Orthodox, go to a late night service carrying a basket with traditional foods, including Easter bread, cheese, butter, meats, and eggs. During the service, priests bless the food, which will be eaten on Easter morning.
Some of the blessed eggs would be given as gifts to children, relatives, and romantic partners. Others would be set aside for ritual and protective uses. Easter eggs are now considered to both symbolize the revival of nature and the salvation that Christians obtain from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ukrainian
The Ukrainian name for a wax-resist type egg, pysanka, comes from the verb pysaty, meaning "to write", as the designs are written onto the egg with beeswax, not painted on.No actual pysanky have been found from Ukraine's prehistoric periods, as eggshells do not preserve well. Cultic ceramic eggs have been discovered in excavations near the village of Luka Vrublivets'ka, during excavations of a Trypillian site. These eggs were ornamented and in the form of торохкальці.
Similarly, no actual pysanky from the Kievan Rus' period exist, but stone, clay and bone versions exist and have been excavated in many sites throughout Ukraine. Most common are ceramic eggs decorated with a horsetail plant pattern in yellow and bright green against a dark background. More than 70 such eggs have been excavated throughout Ukraine, many of them from graves of children and adults. They are thought to be representations of real decorated eggs.
These ceramic eggs were common in Kievan Rus' and had a characteristic style. They were slightly smaller than life size and were created from reddish pink clays by the spiral method. The majolica glazed eggs had a brown, green or yellow background and showed interwoven yellow and green stripes. The eggs were made in large cities like Kyiv and Chernihiv, which had workshops that produced clay tile and bricks; these tiles were not only used locally but were exported to Poland and to several Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
The oldest "real" pysanka was excavated in Lviv in 2013 and was found in a rainwater collection system that dates to the 15th or 16th century. The pysanka was written on a goose egg, which was discovered largely intact, and the design is that of a wave pattern. The second oldest known pysanka was excavated in Baturyn in 2008 and dates to the end of the 17th century. Baturyn was Hetman Ivan Mazepa's capital, and it was razed in 1708 by the armies of Peter I. A complete pysanka was discovered, a chicken egg shell with geometric designs against a blue-gray background.
The practice of pysankarstvo was widespread throughout Ukrainian ethnographic lands. They were written in every corner of Ukraine, with traditional folk designs being documented by ethnographers well into the late 19th century in every region of Ukraine. This included those Ukrainians resettled within the Russian empire, and into nearby Slavic countries.
In the mid-19th century, as the modern era unfolded, a shift began in the function of the pysanka, from being a ritual object to that of being a decorative one. Pysankarky in the Carpathian Mountains began mass producing pysanky and taking them to nearby towns to sell at Easter. This practice proved profitable, and Ukrainian pysanky began to appear in markets throughout western Ukraine and the rest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including major cities like Vienna and Budapest.
In modern times, the art of pysankarstvo was carried abroad by Ukrainian emigrants to North and South America, western Europe, and Australia, where the custom took hold; the practice was concurrently suppressed in Ukraine by the Soviet regime, where it was considered a religious practice nearly forgotten. Museum collections were destroyed both by war and by Soviet cadres. Small areas of folk pysankarstvo survived in Ukraine, in the Cherkasy Oblast and in Northern Bukovina, Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttia, as well as among the Lemkos in neighboring Poland and Slovakia.
Since Ukrainian Independence in 1991, there has been a rebirth of this folk art in its homeland, including a renewal of interest in the preservation of traditional designs and research into its symbolism and history. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked increased interest in pysankarstvo, both in Ukraine, where patriotic motifs have become more common, and abroad, where interest in Ukrainian culture has dramatically increased.
Types
There are many types of decorated eggs produced in Slavic culture, and their names are usually based on the techniques used to prepare them.The most universal type of egg decoration in Slavic countries is the krashanka, a simple boiled egg dyed a single color. Before modern chemical dyes became common, women would use natural botanical dyestuffs to make the dyes. The most common color for krashanky was red, usually obtained from onion skins. Krashanky were made to be blessed and eaten, although they were involved in games on Easter and sometimes used for ritual purposes.
The most common form of egg decoration in Slavic culture, beyond simple single color krashanky, utilizes the process of wax-resist dyeing similar to batik. A tool similar to a canting called a "kistka" is used to apply hot wax to the shell of an egg, which is then placed in a series of dye baths. The wax prevents the dye from reaching the surface of the egg; multiple layers of wax and color may be applied to build the pattern which is then revealed when the wax is removed at the end.
Wax-resist type eggs had ritual purposes: the calling out of spring, ensuring fertility, or protection. The eggs were left intact, as there was magic within the egg itself, and allowed to dry out over time. In modern times, these eggs are usually meant to be decorative objects of art, rather than magical amulets, and the egg yolk and white are usually removed by blowing them out through a small hole in the egg.
Other techniques were more regional, and include a "scratch" technique, where dye is applied to an egg and then patterns scratched onto the shell; painted eggs, where the shells are painted using a brush; and various versions of appliqué, where items are glued to the shell of an egg.