A pysanka (Ukrainian: писанка, plural: pysanky) is a Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs using a wax-resist method. The word pysanka comes from the verb pysaty, "to write" or "to inscribe", as the designs are not painted on, but written (inscribed) with beeswax.
Many other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups decorate eggs using wax resist for Easter. These include the Belarusians (пісанка, pisanka), Bulgarians (писано яйце, pisano yaytse), Carpatho-Rusyns (писанкы, pysankŷ), Croats (pisanica), Czechs (kraslice), Hungarians (hímestojás), Lithuanians (margutis), Poles (pisanka), Romanians (ouă vopsite, încondeiate or împistrite), Serbs (pisanica), Slovaks (kraslica), Slovenes (pirhi, pisanice, or remenke) and Sorbs (jejka pisać).
Many other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups decorate eggs using wax resist for Easter. These include the Belarusians (пісанка, pisanka), Bulgarians (писано яйце, pisano yaytse), Carpatho-Rusyns (писанкы, pysankŷ), Croats (pisanica), Czechs (kraslice), Hungarians (hímestojás), Lithuanians (margutis), Poles (pisanka), Romanians (ouă vopsite, încondeiate or împistrite), Serbs (pisanica), Slovaks (kraslica), Slovenes (pirhi, pisanice, or remenke) and Sorbs (jejka pisać).
Viorica Semeniuc
