Easter is just over a week away, and it’s time to think about decorating eggs
Eggs signify new life, and people have been using them to create art for centuries. My very earliest memory of decorating eggs was with my auntie who had come up from Vancouver to visit us in Terrace. I remember sitting at the table with her, my baby sister near by, and the delight of colouring eggs. I would have just turned three.
Silk tie dyed eggs
Last year I tried dying eggs using old silk ties. You can find tutorials on the internet, but basically you cut up a patterned silk tie and wrap it around an egg. You then wrap a piece of cotton around the silk wrapped egg, securing with string. These eggs are then boiled and cooled, and when you unwrap them, you get the most lovely designs. They are no longer safe to eat, however.
This year I’ve been researching the art of Pysanky, a Ukrainian tradition of decorating eggs, and a beautiful art form. This brought back another memory of decorating these eggs with my children, and if I recall correctly, we had a lovely Ukrainian lady help us and teach us. As I look at these eggs now (for I’ve kept them for over 30 years), I see the meaningful designs I’ve been researching.
These psanky eggs were never cooked, and you can hear the dried rattle of the insides as I carefully unwrap them every year. They are treasures to me.
30 year old pysanky eggs
It has seemed appropriate to think about these Ukrainian symbols, and although I wasn’t able to obtain the tools for making them this year, I decided to do a colouring page, to remember the symbols, many of them with spiritual significance.
The fish, the rooster, the crosses, the triangles all have significance.
If you would like a jpg. of this colouring page, just contact me at grace@gracewulff.com. I’ll also be sending it out with my weekly newsletter which I publish on Mondays.
And as I colour, and ponder, and pray, we remember the war in Ukraine. We think of those all over the world who are affected by war, by atrocities, by displacement, by grief.
The eggs are a symbol of hope, of new life, new beginnings. The promise of Easter is of resurrection and hope. We pray for hope, and peace, for all of those affected, and displaced by war. We pray for all who grieve. As we colour and create, we can pray.
Pysanka Colouring Page
