Painted eggs - an ancient Romanian tradition

In Romanian folk tradition, Easter eggs are considered a symbol of regeneration and purification. The dyeing of Easter eggs is an ancient tradition of pre-Christian origin, practiced in Central and Eastern Europe. Painted eggs symbolize the arrival of spring and the rebirth of nature.

In the popular Romanian tradition, Easter eggs are considered a symbol of regeneration and purification, which protects the animals in the household. The dyeing of eggs is practiced exclusively by women, a week before Easter, usually on “Green Thursday” and “Dry Friday” in the belief that they do not spoil. The reasons for the ornamentation of unpainted eggs differ depending on the locality, which are presented in several variants.

Currently, several colors are used to dye eggs, each of them having a certain symbol, namely: white is a symbol of purity, red means life (the color of blood), blue is the color of the sky and water, and black represents fertility, yellow represents the sun and gold, but the lines painted on the eggs symbolize eternity. Eggs, in the past, were dyed in vegetable colors, but today synthetic, chemical ones are used more often.

Vegetable colors are prepared according to ancient recipes, which are based on a wide variety of processes and techniques, as follows: the red color is obtained from sweet apple peel, sweet apple leaves and flowers, sovarf flowers, macies peel, etc., the blue it is obtained from viola flowers, yellow is obtained from onion skins, forest wood bark, dogwood bark, green can be obtained from walnut leaves, sunflower, black is obtained from the green bark of walnuts, etc.

The painting technique follows a well-established scenario, namely: carefully wash the peel and wipe it with vinegar (degreasing is necessary for uniform adhesion of the paint); they are boiled over low heat, lying down in the water of the vessel and then they are introduced into the paint bath. The most beautiful Easter eggs are dyed eggs, improperly called unpainted eggs. The technique used is that of preserving the background color and consists in drawing some designs on the egg, with the help of melted beeswax, and successive immersion in color baths (yellow, red and black).

The tool used is called “chisita” and it is a wooden chopstick that has a tiny funnel made of brass attached to one of the ends, through which a strand of pig hair is passed. At the end, after writing and bathing, the egg is heated a little and, with the help of a cloth, also slightly heated, the layers of wax are removed, highlighting the design. If we want the egg to be multi-colored, then it is successively immersed in darker and darker colors, after the motifs have been written with wax, also successively. To remove the wax, put the egg close to a heat source and wipe it with tweezers, then brush it with oil or fat to give it a shine.

Source: laPensiuni.ro

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