There is symbolism involved in Easter eggs, in the idea of new life emerging, in the budding of trees and the appearance of flowers, and in the earth’s recovering from the death-grip of Winter (especially this Winter), and in hope for the future.

Traveling to primarily Orthodox countries has afforded me the wonderful ability to learn about Easter traditions that go back centuries. One ancient tradition I’ve always been fascinated with is the art of egg painting in Romania.

Painting eggs is a custom passed on from generation to generation. The drawing technique consists of covering the egg surface in wax and then, using a special tool made of a thin metal pipe, with a very small diameter, the egg is patterned. If you look closely you will see that each egg paints it’s own story.

The straight, vertical lines mean life;
Straight horizontal lines mean death;
Double straight lines mean eternity;
Curly lines mean water and purification;
The snail-like line means time, eternity;
Double snail lines mean the bond between life and death.

Every color symbolizes something: red means fire, sun; black means absolutism, eternity; yellow is happiness and youth; green means spring, freshness and fertility; blue is health and vitality.

There are myriads of motifs used on painted eggs. The most popular ones are: the stray path, the sun , the moon, the shofar, the cross, the star, the snail, the prayer, the plow share, the wave, wheat, the zigzags and the stylized flowers.

Another fascinating way of decorating eggs is with glass seed beads. These eggs are made with intricate Romanian designs by dipping eggs in beeswax and embedding glass beads into the wax. You can see examples of both of these types of eggs in my photos.

I have collected a couple dozen of these gorgeous eggs and the photos I’ve posted are of my own collection.