Decorating Easter eggs — specifically using traditional Lithuanian techniques, is my favorite craft.
These techniques require a few simple tools and a lot of patience. Of the two methods — wax resist, and scratch — some years I do more of one, and then a year or two later I switch my preference.
I used to struggle keeping the wax warm for the former. A few minutes on the stove and a few off was not ideal. In recent years I picked up dollar store wax warmers, and with small candles popped in the bottoms they work quite well.
Now I’ve learned another option is half a potato placed on the table with a spoon stuck into it. With a little bending the spoon can hold some wax while suspended over a little candle. Although I don’t need to use this method, I think it is pretty clever, and wish I had known about it in my early years of decorating.
Other than a wax warmer, my tool is a pin stuck into a pencil eraser. I dip the head of the pin into hot wax and quickly drag it on the egg, creating an elongated tear drop shape.
This is a traditional Lithuanian Easter egg shape along with a dot. The two are combined to make sunbursts, undulations, flowers and geometric patterns. After decorating, the eggs are dyed in a cool dye bath — hot would melt the wax off.
For the scratch method, color is scratched off dyed eggs making various designs. A utility knife works well for this. Stars, geometric shapes and intricate lines (some straight, some zig-zagging) are traditional for this method.
While I dye eggs almost every Easter, I never thought too much beyond the basics of the tradition — such as traditional dyes (plant materials), and the traditional patterns used.
This weekend I chatted with members of the Pittsburgh Lithuanian Society, when they taught a class on this craft. The class was at the Mon Arts Center, where I work as programming coordinator. The conversation made me want to learn a little more about the history.
I knew the tradition pre-dates Lithuanian Christianity. I learned that likely not only did the scratched and waxed symbols have significance, but so do the dye colors.
However, the claims for color significance vary by source. One said that yellow stands for good harvests, and given a few bum garden years I’ve had, I considered dyeing all my eggs yellow this year.
Colors ranging from pale yellow through orange to a rich brown can come from onion skins boiled in water. Blue from red cabbage, and pink from beets are pretty basic natural dyes. I also read that you can get black from alder.
I dyed some eggs a very deep brown using black walnuts. I’ve seen photos of decorated eggs dyed black, and they are stunning. Since I have alders growing nearby, I’m going to try making some dye, to see if I have the right species of alders to achieve black Easter eggs.
Other Lithuanian Easter traditions include an Easter granny rather than a bunny, and a game that involves clinking eggs. The last player with a solid egg wins — the trick is to tap hard enough to crack an opponent’s egg while not your own.
I’ve considered looking up what aspects of these old traditions were thought to bring good health and good harvests, and to go all out on those. But instead I will probably just enjoy one of my favorite holidays, my favorite holiday craft and my favorite time of year.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She uses experience gained working on organic farms in Europe to help her explore possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County. Email columns@dominionpost.com.
