Pysankas (Easter Eggs)CFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
What is an Easter egg?
An Easter egg is a raw egg that has been decorated with traditional customary symbols using wax and paints. Easter eggs are a popular kind of art in many countries throughout the world, and were originated long before Christianity.
The Ukrainian Easter egg tradition
In Ukraine Easter egg is called pysanka. Mass egg painting has existed for a long time and has had local variations, as proven by the old collection of Ukrainian pysankas in museums in Kyiv, Lubny, Lviv, Kolomyia, Krakow, Warsaw, and Brno.
Pysanky masters from the village of Kosmach – Anna Lyndiuk (right) with her daughter OlhaCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Artistic and ethnographic traditions associated with the writing of pysankas, as well as Easter rites, during which pysanky were used, have been preserved for many centuries in the Hutsul region, which covers the areas of Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi regions and Rakhiv district.
Modern Easter basket of a hostess from Kosmach villageCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Each new generation keeps pysanky as an integral symbol of Easter and an essential component of the Easter basket.
Maria Vasylyshyn, pysanky master from Chornyi Potik villageCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Who writes pysanky, and how?
Writing pysanky is mainly a woman's work. There was a time when f full eggs were used for drawing, but now hollow ones are used. Traditionally, pysanky were written during Lent. Now, however, pysanky are written all year round as souvenirs.
Pysanka and tool for pysanky writingCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
To create a pysanka, an egg is used, a “pysachok” - a special pen, beeswax, a stand for heating wax, natural dyes or aniline paints, sometimes - food dyes; candles and napkins to remove wax from the egg.
The film recreates fragments of pysanka writing, pysanka-related traditions, and moments from the Pysanka Festival.
Museum of Pysanky Writing, city of Kolomyia in the Ivano-Frankivsk regionCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Pysanka Museum
The Museum of Pysanky writing plays an important role in the transmission of knowledge about the tradition of Hutsul pysanky and its popularization. A collection of more than five thousand pysanky is stored in the museum in Kolomyia.
Tap to explore
Hutsul pysanky writing technique, particularly pysanky writing from Kosmach, has always played a vital role in preserving the tradition and has had a significant impact on the development of pysanky writing not only in Ukraine, but also globally.
O. Yasinska & I. Fediv
