Today, I attended a master class on the art of pysanka, an ancient Ukrainian tradition of decorating Easter eggs. The pysanka egg is considered a protective charm. Traditionally, girls would gift pysankas to boys they fancied.
I fondly recall drawing pysankas with my family before Easter. At the time, we were unaware that a pysanka should be crafted from a raw egg and that it served as a talisman for protection.
So, how is a pysanka created? You begin by placing bee wax into a pysachok. Next, you melt the wax over a candle flame and use it to draw. Once your design is complete, you dye the egg. Finally, the wax is removed to reveal the vibrant patterns.
During Easter, we also prepare krashanky, which are simply boiled eggs tinted in various hues. There’s a charming tradition of immersing a red krashanka in water and using this water to wash your face on Easter morning. As a child, I practiced this ritual, embracing the belief that it would bestow beauty.
By the way, to minimize chemical use, my mother would color eggs with onion peels. Indeed, there are several natural substances that can impart color to eggs.
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