Since ancient times, each region of Ukraine has had its own traditions and peculiarities of Easter egg making. One look at the egg was enough to tell in which region it was made and what exactly the author of the egg wanted to say (some of the eggs told whole stories about the life of a person or an entire family). So what were the differences between the eggs of different regions?
Lemko region . Here, single- and two-color pysanka were common: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and white (black was almost never found). On Easter pysanka, Lemkos depicted the sun, stars, crosses, and roses.
There were up to 100 variations of drawings on the Boykivshchyna pysanka: stars, curves, three-quarters, spirals, etc. Each symbol had its own meaning. For example, the Aryan symbol of the sun (swastika) was a wish for longevity and happiness, curves and spirals symbolized the “thread of life (fate), the path of life” and the eternity of the sun’s movement.
The Hutsul Easter eggs were considered the most informative - you could read a whole story about a person's life on them. Initially, Hutsul Easter eggs were orange, but later other colors appeared on them: blue, red, pink and purple. Each color had a symbolic meaning: black - earth, red - life, strength, health and love, white - purity and holiness, yellow - the color of the sun and abundance, green - spring and the awakening of nature from winter sleep. Among the patterns on Hutsul Easter eggs are a cross (symbol of God), a triangle (a married couple), a ladder (symbol of striving for the highest), a tree (tree of life, family tree), as well as animal and plant motifs: oak leaves (strength), spikelets (prosperity, good harvest), birds. Hutsul Easter eggs are distinguished by their subtlety, tenderness and miniature.
Kosmatski pysanky are a more colorful variety of Hutsul pysanky. Traditionally, they depicted geometric patterns that were combined with the tree of life (a branch with birds), a Hutsul hut, grasshoppers, butterflies, fish, etc. They also feature flowers like roses.
Pokutsk pysanky have a green, blue, red, brown or yellow background, on which is applied a large pattern with floral motifs and lines that divide the pysanky in half or into more small parts. A characteristic feature of these pysanky are bright contrasting spots on the entire surface of the egg.
In Bukovina , geometric patterns of rather large size were popular. Among the ornaments were stripes and rosettes, which were placed on a dark red or black background.
Carpathian pysanky are yellow, orange, and black. They depict churches with crosses, a swastika, and a crucifix with a schematic representation of a person.
Sokalski pysanky are distinguished by their detailed, mostly plant motifs, applied to a red, black, dark green or lilac background (sometimes drawings are applied to unpainted eggs). Popular ornaments include oak leaves, swastikas, lattices, ladybugs, windmills, butterflies, etc.
In Podillia , dark-colored eggs are common: black, purple, and brown. The patterns also have a dull color: black, red, and white (sometimes yellow and green are found). Among the ornaments are geometric, plant, and animal motifs: oak leaves, chicken feet, shells, etc. Patterns and wishes were drawn on gift eggs. For example, flowers and butterflies were depicted for children, and spikelets of grain were for farmers, as a symbol of a good harvest.
In the Black Sea region, the most popular colors for Easter eggs were combinations of blue and green, red and black, and yellow and green. The ornaments were most often geometric and floral.
In the Dnieper region , the eggs depicted floral motifs on a black, dark cherry, red, and sometimes green background. The egg was divided into fields. The flowers were always depicted unfolded and were white, yellow, and red.
The Easter eggs of Poltava region were white, yellow and green with red, brown, black and green ornaments. The main motif of the painting was plant motifs, which were complemented by images of people and animals.
Pysanky from Kyiv region are somewhat similar to Poltava ones, however, geometric motifs (triangles, stars), animal motifs (chicken feet) and images of flowers are more common here. The colors of the ornaments are more saturated and quite large. Kyiv pysanky are distinguished by bright images of solar signs and plant motifs.
In Chernihiv region, white, red, and black Easter eggs predominate. Among the ornaments are solar and plant motifs (geometric ones are almost never found): hops, roses, endless circles, waves, etc.
Zaporizhzhia pysankas are characterized by floral motifs, depicted with wide lines of black and red.
Dnipropetrovsk pysankas successfully combine geometric and floral ornaments in rich colors.
Solar motifs and water symbols are characteristic ornaments on pysankas of the Cherkasy region . They most often depict the sunrise, as a symbol of new life.
Pysanky in Ternopil region are decorated with waves, infinity, curves, spiders, and flowers. Black pysanky with ornaments in white, blue, and yellow (sometimes red) colors are also common here.
The Volyn pysanka is divided into several paired fields, which depict windmills, rakes and spirals, on a cherry or green background - the color of the ornament: yellow, orange, red, white, pink. A combination of geometric and plant ornaments is common on pysanka: symbols of fertility, earth and water (triangles, lattices, wavy lines).
Easter eggs of Lviv region have geometric patterns (triangles), solar motifs and floral ornaments. Some have images of birds, crosses, and symbols of water. Lviv Easter eggs are characterized by detail and smallness of the pattern.
The Zhytomyr region's pysanky feature floral motifs and mirror symmetry (the pysanky is often divided into four parts, each of which is a reflection). The most common ornaments are bells, tulips, and roses.
The most common motifs on Rivne pysanky are geometric and floral motifs, depicted on a green or red background. The colors of the ornament are white, red, yellow, and green.
In Vinnytsia and Khmelnytsia regions, pysankas have bright geometric and floral ornaments of a fairly large size. These pysankas are characterized by a certain roughness of execution and forms. Ornaments: parallel lines (symbol of water), zigzags, spirals, curves, swastikas and broken crosses.
Pysanky of Sumy region are traditionally divided into two parts (the same drawing is applied to each part). Characteristic ornaments: solar signs (stars, sun). Ornament colors are red, white (the background is most often black, as in Ternopil pysanky).
Kharkiv pysankas are dark in color: black, dark red or green. Ornaments are in calm colors: brown, yellow, white. The most common symbols: oak leaves, tulips, roses, stars.
Pysanka from Southern Ukraine are characterized by bright and contrasting colors, large drawings with few details. Geometric motifs combined with plant symbols are common.
These are classic examples of Easter eggs, typical of different regions of Ukraine, which can now only be seen in museum exhibits and, sometimes, at Easter exhibitions.
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