Blog Post
Memories of Learning the Art of Pysanky
Maria Everett • January 26, 2019
Memories of a Young Child Learning the Art of Pysanky
I always looked forward to Lent as a youngster because that was the time my aunt would set up the dining room table for us to practice the art of the pysanky writing tradition. My aunt began teaching me the basics when I was five years old. I remember the smell of the kistka heating over the candle. Apparently
, like any youngster, I did not always sit still. I remember her always pulling my long hair back into a ponytail to avoid any contact with the flame. She taught me to respect the flame.
Over the years, she not only taught me the intricacies of writing pysanky but also taught me patience and perseverance. I share that because there were many times when I would work through the process but would not make it to the end. Instead,
I might
have dropped the egg shattering it, heated the kistka too much causing a blob of wax on the egg, or
accidentally
wrote on the egg where I should not have. I learned to appreciate each step of the process – especially removing the wax to see the colors of the final product. I was always amazed and continue to be so even today.
Many years passed before we learned to “blow out” eggs. This resulted in many earlier pysanky having a dried yolk. I remember one warm Lenten season when my aunt displayed the pysanky in a basket on the table positioned under the ceiling light. One afternoon we
were drawn
to the room by popping sounds to find the eggs shattered and the room had a foul-smelling aroma. My aunt learned very quickly
about “blowing out” the yolk so we would not have a repeat.
I am fortunate to have had an aunt who was willing to take the time to teach a young child the tradition of pysanky writing. I will always be grateful to her. Love you Aunt Dede!
I loving memory of Joseph M Gogno
Nativity BVM Ukrainian Catholic Church Ukrainian Food & Easter EGG stravaganza 2022
Each year my mom and her sister would gift each other bayberry candles - always a box of two tapers. The candles would burn in the kitchen one on Christmas eve and one on New Years eve. Bayberry candles signify a special gift giving pleasure at Christmas time. Legend has it that if you burn a gifted Bayberry candle down to the end on Christmas Eve, you will have good health and gold in your pocket the following year. Some families, like ours, burn one on Christmas Eve and one on New Year's Eve. Others only on Christmas eve. Many Christians believe that the light of the Bayberry Candle on Christmas Eve will welcome the Christ child into their home. Legend states that the Bay Tree sheltered the Holy Family during a storm and as a result lightning will never strike it. Give the gift of a Bayberry candle. Many believe burning a bayberry candle to the end on New Years Eve ensures your household will enjoy a year of prosperity and good luck. “These bayberry candles come from a friend. So on Christmas Eve & New Years Eve burn it down to the end. For a bayberry candle burned to the socket will bring joy to the heart & gold to the pocket.” Anonymous Learn more about the history and traditions of the bayberry candle from our friends at A COAL CRACKER KITCHEN here: Legend of the Bayberry Candle
Julie Gogno (née Stefansky) 83, passed away April 3 at the Reading Hospital. Born and raised in Dowdentown, she was the daughter of the late John Stefansky and the late Anna Stefansky Wallace. She was preceded in death by her sister, Mary Stefansky Barton, Dowdentown, and her husband, Charles Gogno, Brier City.
Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Gogno! Here is a link to pics from Jacob & Angela's Wedding!
On March 23, 2019 the Wyomissing Public Library help a pysanky egg decoration class taught by Diane Rollins & Maria Everett.
Pysanky Egg Class at Nativity BVM Ukrainian Catholic Church on March 17, 2019.
Over time we began participating in various egg shows displaying and selling our pysanky egg creations.
Our Ukrainian pysanky egg art stories, traditions, and food recipes.
Ukrainian pysanky eggs were once used by the Ukrainians in mystical and magical rites, considered vital to their survival. Decorated egg represents rebirth, life, spring, and life winning over death. In Christianity, the eggs have taken on religious meaning as well. An ancient folk tale The Blessed Mary decorated some eggs to offer to Pontius Pilate in a pleas for sparing her son’s life. As she prepared the eggs, her tears fell onto the shells, forming dots of brilliant colors. To this day, in honor of Our Lady’s tears, dots are often incorporated into the egg designs. When Mary came before Pilate, she dropped to her knees, and the story goes that the eggs rolled out across the floor, a symbol of their distribution world wide. At Easter time, these eggs are still distributed to commemorate Christ’s teachings of Peace and Love, and to help us open our eyes and witness the rejuvenation and rebirth of spring and new life. Meanings and symbols change with time, but one fact is certain — there is no life without art. Pysanky is a folk art which has been the life pulse of the Ukraine people for many centuries. Today, artisans and crafters continue the tradition.