Polish pisanka
Encyclopedia
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
(usually that of a chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, although goose
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
or duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
eggs are also used) ornamented using various techniques. Originating as a pagan tradition, pisanki were absorbed by Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to become the traditional Easter egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
. Pisanki are now considered to symbolise the revival of nature and the hope that Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s gain from faith in the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
of Jesus Christ.
There are various types of pisanki, based on the technique and preparation used:
- Kraszanki (sometimes called malowanki or byczki) are made by boiling an egg in a decoction of plants or other natural products. The colour of kraszanka depends on the kind of product used:
- brown: onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
peels; - black: oakOakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
or alderAlderAlder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
bark or the nutshell of walnutWalnutJuglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
; - golden: the bark of young apple tree or the marigoldCalendulaCalendula , pot marigold, is a genus of about 12–20 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the area from Macaronesia east through the Mediterranean region to Iran...
flower; - violet: petals of the mallowMalvaMalva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
flower; - green: shoots of young ryeRyeRye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
or leaves of periwinkleVincaVinca is a genus of six species in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus .-Description:Vinca plants are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems 1–2 m long...
; - pink: the juice of beetBeetThe beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...
.
- brown: onion
- Drapanki or skrobanki are made by scratching the surface of a kraszanka with a sharp tool to reveal the white of the egg shell.
- Pisanki are created by drawing (Polish: pisanie) on an egg shell covered with a layer of molten wax, or alternately drawing designs with wax on a bare egg. The egg is then submerged into a dye.
- Naklejanki or nalepianki are decorated with petals of elderberryElderberrySambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...
, scraps of colourful paperPaperPaper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
(including wycinankiWycinankiWycinanki is a Polish version of the art form of papercutting.Wycinanki originated with shepherds cutting designs out of tree bark and leather. Paper wycinanki dates from the mid-nineteenth century. Colorful wycinanki were pasted on furniture or roof beams as decoration, hung in windows, and...
) or with patches of cloth. Popular in Łowicz and the surrounding area. - Oklejanki or wyklejanki are decorated with bulrushBulrush-Wetland plants:* Bolboschoenus, a genus in the sedge family * Cyperus, a genus in the sedge family * Scirpus, a genus in the sedge family * Schoenoplectus, a genus in the sedge family...
pith or yarn. They are common in the Podlaskie region of Poland.
The oldest known Polish pisanki date from the 10th century, although it is probable that eggs were decorated by Slavic peoples
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
even earlier.
In the past, only women decorated eggs. Men were not allowed to come inside the house during the process, as it was believed that they could put a spell
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
on the eggs, and cause bad luck.
Until the 12th century, the Catholic church forbade the consumption of eggs during Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. The church wished to distance itself from the pagan roots of the tradition connected with the cult of the dead, in which the egg played an important role as a symbol of rebirth. This ban was lifted, but it was necessary to offer a special prayer before eating.
Today in Poland, eggs and pisanki are hallowed on Easter Saturday
Easter Saturday
Easter Saturday, or Bright Saturday, is the Saturday following the Christian festival of Easter. In the liturgy of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday of Easter Week or Saturday in Easter Week. In the liturgy of Eastern Christianity it is...
along with the traditional Easter basket. On Easter Sunday, before the ceremonial breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
, these eggs are exchanged and shared among the family at the table. This is a symbol of friendship, similar to the sharing of the Opłatek (Christmas wafer) on Christmas Eve
Wigilia
Wigilia is the traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland,held on December 24. The term is also often extended to the whole day of the Christmas Eve, extending further into the midnight Mass held at Roman Catholic churches all over Poland and large Polish communities worldwide at midnight...
.
See also
- Easter eggEaster eggEaster eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
- Egg decorating in Slavic cultureEgg decorating in Slavic cultureThe tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures originated in pagan times, and was transformed by the process of religious syncretism into the Christian Easter egg...
- Pisanica (Croatian)Pisanica (Croatian)Pisanica is a decorated Croatian Easter egg that comes from an old Slavic custom dating back to pagan times. During Easter, eggs would be painted with bright colors, and would be given as gifts, especially to young children or a significant other...
- PysankaPysankaA pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated using a wax-resist method. The word comes from the verb pysaty, "to write", as the designs are not painted on, but written with beeswax...
(Ukrainian) - ŚwięconkaSwieconkaŚwięconka , meaning "the blessing of the Easter baskets," is one of the most enduring and beloved Polish traditions on Holy Saturday. While originally observed by Polish Americans in the U.S., it has become increasingly mainstream in U.S and is starting to grow in the U.K. as the Polish go there...