2. Easter eggs – one of the crumbliest part of folk
art. It is a kind of arts and crafts. Colouring of eggs
connects elements of painting and graphics. From
ancient times to the present days adults and
children, people of village and town paint them.
The custom of painting eggs is associated with the
rites of spring holidays . Eggs were coloured for the
Easter, the Sunday after Easter and St. George's Day.
3. • Until the XX century eggs were
painted mostly with vegetative
dyes – onion shells, birch
leaves, hay, rind of oak or alder.
There were also used a wide
range of grasses, berries and
tree bark. These things give
brownish, greenish and
yellowish tints.
4. Eggs were painted in two ways:
• erasing patterns with a needle, shaver or knife
onto one colour painted egg top
• and drawing patterns on egg with a hot
beeswax, using a stick or drawing-pin.
5. Coloured scraping
Painted or boiled in dyes eggs
are scraped with a knife in
various patterns. Decorating
eggs in this way, the pattern is
usually very fine and openwork;
lines are graphic and angular.
Sometimes these patterns
developed and it becomes an
excellent graphical
representation of the pattern,
just a piece of graphics.
6. Painting with a beeswax
An egg is painted after it had
been covered with a beeswax.
To obtain a colorful letter the
surface of the egg is covered
with wax and placed in the paint
several times, starting with the
brightest and finishing with the
darkest colour. There is
dominating a geometric
ornament. Prints are made up of
dots and dashes, resembling an
elongated drop.
7. Painting patterns
Various patterns are arranged of these two elements.
Patterns in the compositions are connected with dots and
curves. Even a small regrouping of elements in the letter
can change the entire composition, making it difficult to
find even two identical patterns Easter eggs.
The patterns are made up of meaningful geometric signs
and symbols from the ancient times. A big variety of
characters are used on eggs. The sun, crosses, spirals,
grass-snakes, rings, teeth, trees, bird’s feet, Rues and etc.
Harmoniously arranged dots, dashes, collar curves,
triangles, rhombuses, crosses creates a celestial images -
innumerable variations of suns and stars .
Repeating a twining grass-snake, coil, horn on the egg
highlights an oval of the egg .
Primordial symbols mixed to the outer - the flora and
the birds’ motives.
8. • Easter eggs were given as gifts,
offered to and used for the beginning
of sowing and grazing celebrations
and festivals.
• Not only the festive table is
decorated with Easter eggs. They are
gifts for guests and relatives, mostly
children. Easter eggs are exchanged,
they are being broken and rolled.
People called „lalaukininkai” collect
them with other gifts. games of
breaking and rolling eggs are also
very popular.