Noblesville Daily Times

Saturday
March 19, 2005

Librarian shares Ukrainian egg decorating experience with children

By Beth Shively | Staff writer

Posted: 03/19/05 – 01:53:18 pm EST

The sticky-fingered girls gathered around a library table working on an
Easter craft had one caution for others who might like to try the modified
Ukrainian egg decorating project.

Dipping egg-shaped Styrofoam in sweetened condensed milk and then rolling it
in green, gold and multi-colored glitter is a fun project, they said, but
just a little bit messy.

“It’s pretty neat,” said Lauren Smith. “But it’s sticky.”

The project was inspired by Gwen Tetrick, a school media specialist who also
works in the Hamilton East Public Library youth rooms in Fishers in
Noblesville. Tetrick got the idea for the project while visiting in Ukraine
last summer, where her daughter was stationed as a Peace Corps volunteer.

“They’re just everywhere in Ukraine, just everywhere,” Tetrick said about
the elaborately decorated Pysanky eggs.

The country even has an egg-shaped museum to house the decorations, which
are made each year to celebrate spring, and are especially prevalent at
Easter. In addition to the Pysanky eggs made by Ukranians with hollowed
shells, hot wax and dyes, the museum houses jeweled Faberge eggs.

Tetrick was so inspired by the ornate objects and the warm and welcoming
people she met in Ukraine that she wanted to create a craft to do with
children who visit the Hamilton East Public Library. In addition to the
glittered eggs, the kids also colored wooden eggs using traditional Pysanky
colors and symbols to represent different emotions and objects.

Roses, for example, symbolize love and caring, ladders mean prosperity or
prayer, and a fish represents Christianity. But while the decoration of eggs
is closely associated with Easter, the craft was not invented for the
holiday.

According to the Easter Traditions Web site, painting eggs with bright
colors to celebrate spring is a practice that predates the advent of
Christianity. But because eggs symbolize new life, they are a logical symbol
for the celebration of Easter.

In addition to Ukrainian customs, cultures around the world have taken the
symbol and each added their own touches, the Web site said. Greeks dye their
Easter eggs red to symbolize and honor the blood of Christ, while Germans
and Austrians traditionally give green eggs on Maundy (or Holy) Thursday –
the day commemorating Christ’s Last Supper.

In Slavic countries, decorating eggs in special patterns of gold and silver
adds luster to the shell and to the sharing. The Armenian tradition is to
decorate hollowed-out eggshells with religious images significant to the
holiday.

But no matter the color or pattern used, Tetrick said in Ukraine there is
one element consistent with all egg decorating.

“It’s a very family-oriented project,” she said.

Know More

When decorating Pysanky eggs, Ukrainians use these colors to represent the
following:

White n purity or wisdom

Yellow n harvest, spirituality, spring, rebirth

Green n wealth, youth, growth, happiness

Blue n good health, clear skies

Orange n power, endurance, ambition

Red n happiness, hope, passion, nobility, bravery, enthusiasm, love

Brown n enrichment, good harvest, happiness

Purple n faith, trust, power

Pink n success

Black n remembrance

To learn more about Pysanky egg decorating, visit For
more information about Easter Traditions, visit

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress