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30 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ТРАВЕНЬ 2018 T he Universal Symbolism of the Egg : A Pysanka Workshop by Marianna (Szczawinsky) Crans, Br. 95 One of our most beloved and best known art forms and traditions is associated with the Easter season. As Ukrainians, most of us know the symbolism and meanin g of pysanky; non - Ukrainians who become interested and engaged in the art of making pysanky learn something about the traditions and symbols associated with this process. When I teach pysanky classes, they are open to people with Ukrainian roots and to non - Ukrainians who simply enjoy the creative challenge. In the process, I make sure to talk about the evolution of pysanky, so that my students know just how far back in his- tory these decorative eggs come from; I also ex- plain the spiritual connections between pysanky and people that have evolved over the centuries. Author and Harriet Miller (photo by Cathy Gorham) Regarded as having mystical powers, (be- cause something live can emerge from them), pysanky date back to ancient pagan days w hen Mother Earth was worshipped along with the Sun. Back then the egg was a symbol of rebirth and re- newal, especially in springtime. In my pysanky workshops, I explain that decorated eggs were con- sidered sacred blessings and kept to ward off ill- ness, prote ct houses and livestock, and ensure a fruitful harvest. Once Ukrainians adopted Christi- anity, pysanky became a symbol of the risen Christ; to this day, they are blessed and kept as symbols of protection and faith and are often presented to others as tokens of love. During the workshops, which are attended by Ukrainians and non - Ukrainians and by Christians and people of other faiths, I also share some of the pagan and Christian legends about the origins of pysanky. This year, our day - long pysanky workshop in cluded a variety of students, some neither Ukrainian nor Christian, but all nonetheless interested in our traditions as well as in the art form itself. One of this year’s stu- dents was my Jewish friend Harriet, one of the sponsors of the Kingston Multicultu ral Festival, an event our UNWLA Branch 95 participates in. She joined the class out of friendship and in the spirit of cultural sharing, which meant a lot to me. As a result of my sharing of our historical origins of pysanky, the people in this year’s cl ass got into a discussion on the universal symbolism of the egg in other ethnic cultures, religions, and his- tories. One shared characteristic was how the egg became a symbol of fertility, rebirth and re newal. In many ancient cultures of the Me diterranean and India, the egg was part of the cre ation myth. Eggs were also part of ancient burial rituals because it was believed they had mystical pow ers. Decorated eggs became part of many spring time rituals across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia and were embellished with designs representing protection, religious sym bols, and the goodness of the family — themes very much like the concepts and images Ukrainians incorporate into our tradi- tional pysanky. Cooked eggs are also an important part of many rel igious celebrations, including a va- riety of cultural Easter rituals and Jewish Passo- vers. They are the first food consumed in religious meals of remembrance associated with these holy days. They are also eaten as part of many other eth- nic Spring rituals . This year’s pysanka workshop included in - teresting conversations on technique. We talked ab out the application of wax and dyes with tools similar to those used in other cultural art forms, like the art of Batik. We also compared the dif fer- en ces in decor ated eggs made by a variety of Slavic countries and the design variations among them.
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