Living as an expat in
a new country opens your eyes to new traditions and experiences.
Last year, we were greeted
with Easter Snow Bunnies near our hotel on our first night in Poland. We didn’t know about this tradition! Luckily, this
year, Easter falls later in April (Sunday, April 20th) and our
weather is warm and spring-like.
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| An Easter Snow Bunny on April 1, 2013, in Warsaw. |
This past week, I just
learned about the colorful tradition of Polish
pisanki, which are real eggs usually
decorated with melted beeswax and then dyed for Easter. The pisanki
I’ve seen so far here in Warsaw
are exceptionally beautiful! Take a look:
Polish pisanki are named after the verb verb 'pisać' which in contemporary Polish
means 'to write' yet in old Polish also meant 'to paint.' Yesterday, I watched
a woman demonstrate how to make Polish pisanki
as part of my expat group called International Women’s Group of Warsaw. She
heated the beeswax over a candle, dipped the stylus tool into the wax and “wrote”
on the egg making various designs. Later, she dyed the egg, then removed the
wax by heating it over the candle and rubbing off the wax with a towel. Thus,
revealing the intricate design and pattern on the egg.
There are even various
types of Polish pisanki, based on the
technique and preparation used. For example, at my favorite farmer’s market, Hala Mirowska, I bought a basketful of malowanki –
hand-painted Easter eggs. Luckily, these are wooden and not fragile real ones!
Another variety is called drapanki –
solid-color eggs with a design scratched onto the surface after they are dyed.
I only bought one of these because drapanki cost
20-30 pln ($6-10) each instead of the 7 pln ($2.50) I paid for the handmade pisanki made with beeswax and dye.
(Meanwhile on Etsy, you’ll
pay upwards of 70 pln (about $23) PER egg if you want to buy outside of
Poland!)
Lastly,
another variety you’ll find is nalepianki – eggs decorated with paper cut-outs or straw.
The Polish rooster seems to be a popular motif for these Easter eggs.
Did you know that Polish pisanki are usually made to be given to your
family and close friends as a symbolic wish for the gift of life? The eggs can
be saved from year to year and sometimes are even blessed at church during the
Easter celebrations. I won’t be visiting my family until Christmas, so
these pisanki are all mine.
Did you also know there’s
even a Muzeum
Pisanki in Poland? This small museum in the town of Ciechanowiec, 140
km northeast of Warsaw, is dedicated to the history of Polish Easter eggs and
more from Eastern Europe. Hopefully, I can drag hubby here one of these days.
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| More Polish pisanki for sale at an ornament store on Emilii Plater in Warsaw. |
Meanwhile at home, we simply
dyed Easter eggs with some of our colleagues’ children the old-fashioned way –
store-bought dye kits! Last weekend, the kids had fun getting their hands messy
with dye and putting stickers on the Easter eggs. I’ve been eating a lot of egg
salad this week!
Maybe next year, I’ll get
a bit more crafty and attempt to make my own Polish pisanki!
To those of you who will
celebrate Easter this weekend, Happy Easter!
***Please check out what
some of my fellow bloggers have to say about celebrating Easter abroad and at
home:
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13 comments:
I had no idea there was a museum dedicated to these eggs; sounds like fun.
This is my last Easter in Poland, so I think I need to pick up a few more eggs this week@ ;-)
@Lois, yes, I thought museum sounded cool too! Do you know yet where you are off to next? :-)
These eggs are magnificent! I will be dying real eggs the next few days, too.
pisanki are very popular in this city! there are classes all over town teaching people how to make them. we have the wooden ones too! happy easter joy!
@Barbara, thanks! Hope you have a lovely Easter! See you in about 6 weeks! ;-)
@Joyce, Interesting! I had NO idea there were so many people with Polish roots in Pennsylvania! :-) Happy Easter to you and your family as well!
I bet you would do a great job decorating pysanky eggs, given your cookie icing ability! I picked up the hobby a few years back and found it one of the most relaxing crafts I've ever done. Of course, mine weren't quite up to true Polish standards!
Awww...thanks! I would like to try the pisanki at least. I imagine it just takes lots of practice to get right! :-)
In Germany you can buy already-dyed eggs in the supermarket all year around, you boil and eat them just like normal eggs. So weird to see. For Easter I can understand but rest of the year?!?
No snow Easter bunnies this year I hope, btw?
Really can't let go of the thought of the beautiful Easter eggs. We'd paint or draw eggs in Sweden but it was a long time ago and I never saw as pretty ones as the bee wax ones from Poland. And I don't get more creative than wrapping them in onion peel and then boiled nowadays. Should let myself be inspired by your post
@A-K, happy Easter wherever you may be right now! :-) Luckily, our temps were 21 C yesterday and 15 today for Easter. I certainly can't complain!
Yes, the Polish Easter eggs are beautiful! I hope I can learn how to make them someday.
I'm going to try my hand at wooden eggs this year.
What type of paint do you think should be used? I think spraying a sealer, like shellac, then a coat of a neutral primer, and then a finish coat of the final color would be a good start.
I like the process of inserting a straight-pin into a pencil's eraser and using the head as the stylus.
Any thoughts?
Is there a website that has designs and the meaning behind it? Do they differ due to location or family heritage?I was too young to learn when the Zielinski women gathered for Easter prep.
Cheryl Zielinski Tromley
Cz1963@msn.com
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