EASTER IN UKRAINE

 

Ukraine Easter- Nikolai  Pimonenko

For many in our country, the only thing we know about the Ukrainians are their beautiful Easter eggs.  We are fortunate to have about a dozen given to us years ago and when the invasion by the Russians started, Mother Dilecta put a bowl of  our eggs under the altar as an outward sign of our continuous prayers.

Unlike  Western Easter eggs, these are not dyed, but rather decorated in a traditional  method, using candles, colored dye and beeswax. It takes hours to make one egg.

These eggs are called  "pysanky" a term meaning to write or to inscribe. This method originated in eastern Europe and predates Christianity. Pagan peoples believed that their magic would assure the coming of Spring. In Christian times, the pagan decorated egg became an Easter egg, symbolizing Christ’s Resurrection. 

 A stylus, called a kistka, “paints” the  melted beeswax “writing” the design onto the egg. (The term pysanky, plural for pysanka, comes from the verb pysaty, which means “to write.”) Families have handed down their own plant-based dye recipes. The designs  are often of nature: wheat, fire, animals, flowers. Some patterns are purely geometric, a bit Art Nouveau or Japanese inspired.

The initial wax lines resist the first dye and remain white. As more wax designs are added, the egg is dyed repeatedly with successively darker dyes. Many colors, or just a few, can be used. With the attacks in Ukraine showing no sign of stopping, our eggs have come to mean more to us, as we continue to hold the people in our hearts, praying for new life.  

Amazingly enough, hours after I wrote this Blog, Mother Therese received a package from our friend, Isabel. Inside carefully wrapped was a beautifully decorated pysanky.  Isabel, a very gifted artist, taught a class on this ancient art and like so many artists today, sent all funds to aid the Ukrainian people.