E a ster eggs in Poland Easter eggs in Poland Multilateral School Partnerships „Showing Our World Heritage” Comenius Bulgaria, 2014 Nicolaus Copernicus Middle School no. 2. in Olecko

HISTORY Easter eggs, coloring on the eggs and blown eggs derive from the Slavic rites. The egg was a subject in honor of the gods. It was the subject of the Slavs in the intermediary between the living, the spirits and gods. The egg was (and still is) a sign of the beginning of the universe, the sun, life has been associated as the beginning of life with all the construction and shaping something. Therefore, decorating Easter eggs have a unique place in the Slavic rites and relates to the strength and power of nature, the universe and the gods. The oldest known Polish Easter eggs come from the tenth century.

Nowadays Easter eggs are made before Easter, blessed, shared and eaten during Easter Sunday. Their beauty represent the emerging nature of life, and above all, the hope that comes from our faith in the resurrection of Christ. The only museum in the world devoted exclusively to Easter Eggs exists in Kołomyja (now Ukraine), while in Poland Easter eggs are only part of the exhibition at the Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec (exhibition about 1000 eggs)

There are many schools and techniques – some people paint Easter Eggs, others scratch or paste patterns on their surface, others still dye them in special extracts. But one thing has not changed for centuries – the tradition of decorating Easter eggs is alive and well all across Poland. Let us introduce you the most common Polish Easter Eggs!

PISANKI PISANKI They are created by drawing designs on egg shells with molten wax. Then, the eggs are dyed and the wax is removed, leaving a pattern on the surface. Lambs, crosses, flowers and other springtime motifs are the most popular symbols depicted on pisanki.

KRASZANKI Extracts of young rye, barley, grass or mistletoe leaves will dye your eggs green, and to get black colour use some alder bark. Eggs soaked in cornflower decoction will turn blue, in coffee – brown, in beetroot extract – dark red. They also known as malowanki, are single-colour dyed eggs. To make the shells yellow and orange, you need to boil eggs in water with onion peels; brown hue will result from adding some oak bark; while dark hollyhock flower will give your kraszanki a beautiful violet colour.

DRAPANKI Dyed eggs are traditionally covered with decorations, e.g. drawings made with a sharpened pin. Pisanki created this way are called drapanki.

OKLEJANKI Eggs decorated with flower petals, pieces of cloth or paper cuttings are called oklejanki

AŻURKI And those with their contents removed and shells painted are known as ażurki.

Authors: Julia Kapuścińska Wiktoria Jurczyk Julia Raczkowska Class 1c Teacher: Małgorzata Harasim Thanks for watching !