Decorate Easter Eggs

Easter egg decoration is a tradition for a very long time. The symbol of the egg is rooted in a pagan springtime fertility feast. The Christians have adopted the egg as an Easter symbol that represents new life. In many areas of the world, people color and decorate eggs as part of their Easter celebrations. It became such an important tradition in some part of the world so in the city of Kolomyia, in the Ukraine they have a museum with over ten-thousand decorated eggs. 

Many Slavic ethnic groups  decorate eggs for Easter. While decorated eggs of various Slavic nations have much in common, national traditions vary.

Many of the names derive from the Slavic root pisa which relates to painting (and cognate with Latin pictura). In Slavic tradition, the egg is written, not drawn or painted. This is a Central and Eastern European and not strictly Slavic tradition, since non-Slavic ethnic groups in the area also practice In Bulgaria, widespread tradition is to fight with eggs by pair and one's egg become last surviving is called „borak” (fighter).

In Germany, decorated eggs are hung on branches of bushes and trees to make them Easter egg trees. Eggs also used to dress wells for Easter.

In Hungary, Lithuania and parts of Romania people use another technique for Easter eggs. A pattern is applied to an egg by the process of wax-resist, similar to batik. A stylus (a writing or making shapes utensil, maybe a feather) is used to apply hot wax to the shell of an egg, which is placed in a series of dye baths. The wax seals the dye into the egg; the colours and pattern are revealed when the wax is  melting and removed at the end.

Other techniques include "scratch" technique, where dye is applied to an egg and then patterns scratched onto the shell; painted eggs, where the shells are painted using a brush; and various versions of appliqué, where items (straw, paper, beads, sequins) are glued to the shell of an egg.

I use an old-fashioned natural method: I put some little leaves on the eggs, wrap them in pieces of old tights and boil them together with red onions skins. 

                                            HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF YOU!