With the price of eggs being what it is today — at least here in the United States — I suspect that many traditional Easter activities might be curtailed a bit this year. Most likely there won’t be large-scale “Easter Egg Hunts”, and some families may forego the custom of boiling and dyeing eggs.
Of course, there are plastic eggs, wooden eggs (I have a lovely set) and papier mache eggs that can be purchased to use for decor — or for a bit of hunting. You might even want to decorate the plain wooden eggs available.
As a child, I always looked forward to coloring eggs — and the other traditions that went along with it: a big pan of “Rice Krispies Treats” which I enjoyed while watching “The Wizard of Oz”, always broadcast as part of the Easter holidays. And once Easter had passed, all those eggs went into a huge bowl of potato salad — one of my all-time favorite side dishes.
Of course, Easter eggs were yet one more source of artistic disappointment for me. I enjoyed hunting the eggs, and I found my share at the annual city-sponsored event, but when it came to decorating, the best I could do was choose “pretty colors” and maybe add a sticker to an egg. I would always look with hopeful eyes at all the “decorating suggestions” included with the little kits, and I would think about how lovely it would be to use the crayons provided and make all kinds of fancy designs. But, I couldn’t do it. As with all other “artsy” things during my childhood, I just did the best I could and came away with one more very visible reminder that I had no artistic talent.
I vaguely remember my mother and older sister doing some sort of projects that involved egg shells — where they had to make pinholes in eggs and empty out the contents, which usually resulted in broken eggs and a lot of frustration. While my mother was a very “crafty” person, this one particular technique always seemed to get the best of her. I can’t recall any completed projects using emptied-out egg shells.
Emptying eggs in this way is part of the method used for making traditional “pysanky” eggs, also known as Ukranian Easter eggs. Maybe this was what my mother and sister were trying for while I was busy putting my hard-boiled eggs ino vats of dyes with the pungent odor of smelly vinegar added.
Without a doubt, Ukranian Easter eggs are works of wondrous beauty. How anyone ever creates anything so fragile, so precious, and so breath-takingly, exquisitely beautiful is beyond belief. But, people do it… and good luck to them!
Here’s a bit of information on the actual “how-to” process, courtesy of none other than Martha Stewart: How to Make Pysanky Eggs for Easter. She outlines the step-by-step process:
- Selecting the egg
- Creating the design
- Dyeing the egg
- Removing the wax
She mentions “emptying out” the eggs, but doesn’t provide a lot of detai, so you might want to check out this article: Emptying Eggs. This is from a very informative site with a Ukranian title which translates to “Pysanky Info”. If you want to explore this art form in depth, you’ll definitely want to visit this site.
I will never attempt pysanky, but I can certainly enjoy watching others! You might want to check out this one, whether you’re interested in trying it for yourself, or are just curious about how the process works:
You’ll find many “beginner’s books”, patterns, crafts kits, and supplies at Amazon, so if you’ve got the patience — and a steady hand — go for it! I have neither, so I’ll remain content with simply watching and admiring the work of others.
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