Pysanky...Ukranian Easter eggs!

Hey there everyone...a few weeks ago my frined Monica hosted a Pysanky making party...this is an annual treat for her girlfriends and it seems to grow each year. Some of us go to make the best dang egg we can...and some of us go to enjoy the company and have some good food and wine. I fall into the first category, although the company, food, and wine make it one of my favorite new traditions! This was my second year making the eggs and I love it!

A brief background on this tradition...this goes back to the WAY olden days where the Ukrainian women would put their children to bed and then stay up all night making these eggs. Tradition says that if Pysanky are not made each year than evil will overcome the world. They believe that they are keeping the world a good place year after year by making these amazing eggs. They would give some to their church, some to their children, the single women would give then to a man she was interested in, and they would keep some for their home. Each of the colors and symbols have a different meaning. As a point of reference...it took me about 12 hours to make these 2 eggs...each woman would make from 15-20 eggs for their family! And the eggs they make are FAR better and more detailed than the ones I made! Incredible!

Basically, you draw a design on the egg with beeswax and you dye the egg. Then you draw more with the beeswax and you dip the egg in another color of dye...you repeat this process until you are finished. Sounds simple...but it isn't. It's time consuming for sure...but it's one of my favorite new traditions that I've been exposed to since moving to Chicago.