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for the egg to be beautiful to the eye. The ornaments inscribed on it had symbolic meanings. Egg painting was chiefly women's work because they sewed and embroidered, hence ornamentation was familiar to them. Because women cooked, they also prepared the various colors or dyes necessary for egg painting from leaves, bark, berries, fruit and other plants. In some places in Ukraine, the painting of the eggs was exclusively done by older women, but according to some rules only married women had that privilege. The job of egg painting was tedious and required a steady and practiced hand. If a mother died, this responsibility was passed to her married or oldest daughter. In some places older girls after the age of 16 were allowed to paint eggs. They would all meet at one house, bringing with them the necessary supplies. The ornamentation was copied from old painted eggs. They painted eggs in large quantities to give to family and friends. There was a custom which required that the water to wash the eggs be carried from the place where the snow melted and the carrier was not turn her head nor speak to anyone she happened to meet. The melted ice water signified the arrival of spring and the awakening of nature from winter sleep. All the materials and tools used to decorate eggs had to be generic, because only then the painted egg was infused with the power of nature. Various ornamental designs were used to decorate the eggs, from the very simple to the very ornate. The eggs for decorating were cooked, rarely uncooked ones were used, and placed on a table in a basket. Some times they were soaked in alum. Also on the table was a dish with a dye, a larger pot with hot glowing coals and on it a smaller pot with melted wax and several special writing tools. In order to make these writing tools, a small piece of metal was pounded into a thin strip, then fashioned into a tiny funnel, with one end bigger than the other. Finally, this funnel was attached to a piece of wood. Hot wax was scooped into the funnel and the necessary design was drawn on the egg with the wax. This tpol was most important and was called by various names: kystochka, kostochka, kvachyk, pysak, tyhawka, sha- ralyk and probably by many others. The simplest method of painting eggs was by dunk ing a cooked egg into one dye. These eggs did not have any ornamentation and were called krashanky, paska eggs, halunky (because alum, halun, was added to the dye), as well as m alyjivky and bychky. Single colored eggs also served as the first stage toward ornamenta tion. A simple design was usually scratched on the egg using a sharp needle, a nail or a knife. These eggs were called skrabanky, drapanky or pysovanky. The most complicated design were put on the eggs with the help of wax. The first lines drawn on the egg with wax, remained white, the next yellow, red and other colors, progressively moving toward the darkest. At the end of the procedure the entire egg was covered with wax. Then the egg was gently heated and the wax removed with a cloth, uncovering slowly the beauty of the finished product — an artistic pysanka. The time frame for decorating pysanky as rigidly set in various regions of Ukraine. In Podolia it started before Lent on a holiday called ’’Kolodij” which symbolized nature’s awakening from winter sleep. On this day girls would tie a wooden log to each boy’s leg, as punish ment for not being married. By bribing a girl with sweets, a boy was released from this bondage. However, she in turn had to reciprocate by giving him a pysanka on Easter. In many places egg painting began on Holy Thurs day with the first ring of a church bell, since a bell is a metaphor for thunder. On Holy Thursday people would also bake salt in ovens, for then it would have medicinal value and cure all kinds of illness. Also, the candle used on that day had a special name — hrom nycia — since it was lighted only during thunderstorms. In order to pro tect the house from thunder a colored egg was thrown over the roof. Painted and decorated eggs are part of our folk art and culture from the pagan times of our history and have become part of our Christian traditions, having acquired Christian symbolism. Many symbols currently used to decorate pysanky cannot be explained. Their meaning remains in the dark, forgotten past. SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANING. Forty pegs: Although it looks simple, it is a compli cated motif. It was very popular because each peg was dedicated to a wish or desire. A prayer was said with the painting of each peg to a higher power such as the sun, moon, stars, water, air, etc. Kryvul’ka — a crooked line with no end. Between the line other motifs were inserted. The line represented the sun’s travels across the heavens, as well as eternal life eternal. 20 ’’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 1990 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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