The tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times,Kazimierz Moszyński – Kultura ludowa Słowian, Kraków 1929Anna Zadrożyńska – Powtarzać czas początku, Warsaw 1985, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg. Over time, many new techniques were added. Some versions of these decorated eggs have retained their pagan symbolism, while others have added Christian symbols and motifs.

While decorated eggs of various nations have much in common, national traditions, color preferences, motifs used and preferred techniques vary.

The oldest decorated eggs for were found in Ukraine. The tradition of decorating eggs (especially for Easter) was popularised and is no longer strictly Slavic, known across Europe and also practised in non-Slavic countries, e.g. Britain (since at least the 13th century), Spain, Hungary (hímestojás), Lithuania (margutis), Romania (ouă vopsite, incondeiate or impistrite) and Sweden (måla ägg, since at least the 18th century).

In Central Europe in particular, it developed into a small-scale art form.

Etymology The names of the various types of Slavic decorated eggs come from the method of decoration, as noted in detailed descriptions below.

Many of the names of wax-resist style eggs derive from the Old Slavonic пьсати which refers to writing or painting.

By country

Croatia The word is derived from the Croatian word that means "writing." The most common phrase put on is "Happy Easter," or Other common decorations are doves, crosses, flowers, traditional designs, and other slogans wishing health and happiness.

In the Međimurje area, soot would often be mixed with oak to make a dark brown color. Green plants would be used for green dye.

Poland The word is derived from the verb which, in contemporary Polish, means exclusively 'to write' yet, in old Polish, meant also 'to paint'.

Today, in Poland, eggs and are hallowed on Easter Saturday along with the traditional Easter basket and richly decorated.

On Easter Sunday, before the ceremonial breakfast, these eggs are exchanged and shared among the family at the table. This is a symbol of friendship, similar to the sharing of the (Christmas wafer) on Christmas Eve.

Slovenia

Suhorje Easter eggs - pirihi Suhorje Easter eggs, also known in Suhorje as pirihi were usually hard-boiled hen's eggs dyed with onion skins, which coloured them in various shades of reddish-brown, and with the bark of a Brazilian tree which in Suhorje they called pražilka, which dyed the eggs red. After the egg had been dyed, the makers, mostly female farmers, scratched ornaments into it with a small blade, such as flowers, hearts, and the symbols of faith, hope, and charity. In the 19th century, the making of Suhorje Easter eggs was widespread throughout the Brkini Hills, but later rapidly declined because of people's growing distance from the Catholic Church and the poverty that followed the World War I. After the World War II., because of the new anti-religious authorities, the great majority of villagers stopped making Suhorje Easter eggs for Easter. The tradition was preserved by Antonija Volk Krebelj, farmer and folk artist from Suhorje who continued making them for next decades. She began using new motifs that had not previously appeared on the eggs: geometric motifs, plant motifs, more detailed floral patterns, the burning heart, a heart with the inscription IHS, the Holy Spirit, the lamb, grapes, ears of wheat, little boats, a swallow, and a dove with an olive branch in its beak. She sometimes also scratched inscriptions onto the eggs, mostly devotional ones, but also the personal names of family members and friends, dedications to recipients, and the year in which the egg was made,... After Slovenian independence, she organized various workshops in schools, within her Catholic parish, and at events and exhibitions, where she passed her knowledge on to younger generation. In April 2022, the making of Suhorje Easter eggs was entered in the Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia.

Ukraine Egg decoration in Ukraine is widespread and practiced by many; in the premodern era, was practiced universally outside of big cities (which often had non-Ukrainian populations). Several traditional forms of decoration are common (, , ) while others (, , ) are practiced less often. Newer forms of egg decoration, like (beadwork eggs), (etched eggs), and (cutwork eggs) are more recent additions, but gaining in popularity, although they are generally practiced by professional artisans rather than the general public. In recent years, shrink wrap decals with traditional designs have become a favorite mode of decoration for many.

The () itself, a wax-resist type egg, is one of Ukraine's national symbols, and is known throughout the world. imagery occurs often in Ukrainian literature, with Taras Shevchenko comparing a lovely Ukrainian village to a . Ukrainian Canadians in Canada erected a giant statue of one in Vegreville, Alberta, and were involved in the effort to release several Canadian commemorative coins.

History

Pagan According to many scholars, the art of wax-resist (batik) egg decoration in Slavic cultures probably dates back to the pre-Christian era. They base this on the widespread nature of the practice, and pre-Christian nature of the symbols used.Kилимник, Степан. Український рік у народних звичаях в історичному освітленні, том. ІІІ, Весняний цикль. Winnipeg, Toronto: Ukrainian Research Institute of Volyn' pp. 189-191 No ancient examples of intact pysanky exist, as the eggshells of domesticated fowl are fragile, but fragments of colored shells with wax-resist decoration on them were unearthed during the archaeological excavations in Ostrówek, Poland (near the city of Opole), where remnants of a Slavic settlement dating to the early Piast dynasty (10–14th centuries) were found.

As in many ancient cultures, many Slavs worshipped a sun god, Dazhboh. The sun was important — it warmed the earth and thus was a source of all life. Eggs decorated with nature symbols became an integral part of spring rituals, serving as benevolent talismans.

In pre-Christian times, Dazhboh was one of the major deities in the Slavic pantheon; birds were the sun god's chosen creations, for they were the only ones who could get near him. Humans could not catch the birds, but they did manage to obtain the eggs the birds laid. Thus, the eggs were magical objects, a source of life. The egg was also honored during rite-of-Spring festivals—it represented the rebirth of the earth. The long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg therefore, was believed to have special powers.Manko, Vira. The Ukrainian Folk Pysanka L'viv, Ukraine: Svichado, 2005

Christian Originating as a pagan tradition, decorated eggs were absorbed by Christianity to become the traditional Easter egg. With the advent of Christianity, via a process of religious syncretism, the symbolism of the egg was changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man. Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose. With the acceptance of Christianity in Slavic lands in around 9th century, the decorated egg, in time, was adapted to play an important role in local rituals of the new religion.Біняшевський, Ераст. Українські Писанки (Ukrainian Pysanky) Київ: «Мистецтво», 1968 Many symbols of the old sun worship survived and were adapted to represent Easter and Christ's Resurrection.

During Holy Week, eggs are dyed in bright colors and decorated by various techniques. On Holy Saturday Slavic Christians, Catholic and Orthodox, go to a late night service carrying a basket with traditional foods, including Easter bread, cheese, butter, meats, and eggs (decorated or plain). During the service, priests bless the food, which will be eaten on Easter morning.

Some of the blessed eggs would be given as gifts to children, relatives, and romantic partners. Others would be set aside for ritual and protective uses. Easter eggs are now considered to both symbolize the revival of nature and the salvation that Christians obtain from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Ukrainian The Ukrainian name for a wax-resist type egg, pysanka, comes from the verb pysaty (писати), meaning "to write", as the designs are written onto the egg with beeswax, not painted on.

No actual pysanky have been found from Ukraine's prehistoric periods, as eggshells do not preserve well. Cultic ceramic eggs have been discovered in excavations near the village of Luka Vrublivets'ka, during excavations of a Trypillian site (5th to 3rd millennium BC). These eggs were ornamented and in the form of торохкальці (torokhkal'tsi; rattles containing a small stone with which to scare evil spirits away).Кириченко, М.А. Український Народний Декоративний Розпис Київ: «Знання-Прес», 2008

Similarly, no actual pysanky from the Kievan Rus' period exist, but stone, clay and bone versions exist and have been excavated in many sites throughout Ukraine. Most common are ceramic eggs decorated with a horsetail plant (сосонка sosonka) pattern in yellow and bright green against a dark background. More than 70 such eggs have been excavated throughout Ukraine, many of them from graves of children and adults. They are thought to be representations of real decorated eggs.

These ceramic eggs were common in Kievan Rus' and had a characteristic style. They were slightly smaller than life size (2.5 by 4 cm, or 1 by 1.6 inches) and were created from reddish pink clays by the spiral method. The majolica glazed eggs had a brown, green or yellow background and showed interwoven yellow and green stripes. The eggs were made in large cities like Kyiv and Chernihiv, which had workshops that produced clay tile and bricks; these tiles (and pysanky) were not only used locally but were exported to Poland and to several Scandinavian and Baltic countries.Tkachuk, Mary et al. Pysanka: Icon of the Universe Saskatoon: Ukrainian Museum, 1977

The oldest "real" pysanka was excavated in Lviv in 2013 and was found in a rainwater collection system that dates to the 15th or 16th century. The pysanka was written on a goose egg, which was discovered largely intact, and the design is that of a wave pattern. The second oldest known pysanka was excavated in Baturyn in 2008 and dates to the end of the 17th century. Baturyn was Hetman Ivan Mazepa's capital, and it was razed in 1708 by the armies of Peter I. A complete (but crushed) pysanka was discovered, a chicken egg shell with geometric designs against a blue-gray background.Потапчук Наталія. УКРІНФОРМ 23-07-2008

The practice of pysankarstvo was widespread throughout Ukrainian ethnographic lands. They were written in every corner of Ukraine, with traditional folk designs being documented by ethnographers well into the late 19th century in every region of Ukraine. This included those Ukrainians resettled within the Russian empire, and into nearby Slavic countries.

In the mid-19th century, as the modern era unfolded, a shift began in the function of the pysanka, from being a ritual object to that of being a decorative one. Pysankarky (women who wrote pysanky) in the Carpathian Mountains (mostly Hutsuls, but Bukovinian Ukrainians and Pokuttians as well) began mass producing pysanky and taking them to nearby towns to sell at Easter. This practice proved profitable, and Ukrainian pysanky began to appear in markets throughout western Ukraine and the rest of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including major cities like Vienna and Budapest.