Polish Traditions: Pisanki (Easter Eggs)

The tradition of decorating the eggs for Easter was present on the Polish lands throughout the centuries. Pisanki are usually made during the Holly Week, Pisanki are then added into special Easter baskets along with other symbolic food products, and blessed on the Holy Saturday in churches. According to tradition, pisanki should be eaten on Easter Sunday during the breakfast.

Depending on the region, there are many traditional ways of making beautiful and colorful Easter eggs in Poland. Most popular are:

1. Pisanki: created by drawing on the eggs with melted wax and then dipping into dyes. The wax protects the parts of the eggshells underneath it from being dyed, and when it’s melted the patterns are revealed.
2. Kraszanki: the simplest way (today we could say: minimalistic) to make Easter eggs. Simply dyed with the use of natural substances like onion peels, beets, red cabbage etc.
3. Drapanki: These decorations are created with the use of a sharp tool: the eggs are dyed like the kraszanki and then the coloured surface is delicately scratched off, revealing the white colour of the eggshell. Drapanki can have detailed, lace-like ornaments on them, depending on a scratching tool used.