| Eggs
are associated with springtime because the rooster is
considered the herald of the sun and because egg production
increases in springtime. Thus, decorated eggs were believed
to help the cycle of the seasons and to bring on spring
and the new growth of animals and crops. The egg's potential
to bring fertility was enhanced by the symbols drawn in
wax on the egg: ears of wheat, grapes, rakes, cross-hatching
symbolizing the plowed field, pictures of chicks, rams
and other farm animals, and, of course, pictures of the
sun. Decorated eggs were buried in fields to transfer
their fecundity to the earth and in houses to protect
the home. Archeological excavations of these buried eggs
tell us how ancient pysanky are.
When Christianity came to Ukraine,
pysanky acquired a Christian meaning. They became Easter
eggs. Old symbols were reinterpreted in the Christian
context. Thus, representations of the sun, the four-spoked
solar wheel, for example, came to represent the cross.
New symbols were added and pictures of churches were
drawn on eggs, as were the first letters of the words
"Christ is risen."
Soviet authorities did not look kindly
on pysanky because they were associated with Christianity
and were considered a symbol of Ukrainian identity.
Pysanka collections in museums were hidden and any pysanka
making in the home, if it was done, was done in secret.
The tradition of pysanka making was maintained in the
west. With the birth of an independent Ukraine, pysanky
have returned to their homeland and the tradition of
making these colorful eggs is now freely practiced.
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