April is a busy month: Easter, Passover, Earth Day, and spring break.
It might seem over-the-top, but I started dyeing Easter eggs again in my adult years. Growing up, springtime in our family meant Easter egg baskets, patent leather shoes and beautiful hand-sewn dresses by my mother. Yes, Easter eggs and springtime connect me deeply to my past.
Today I dyed eggs with a new friend, in accordance with the Latvian tradition. Their tradition is to dye eggs with onion skins, using no artificial ingredients. We then wrapped our eggs with silk, dropping the eggs in hot water. Many Latvian families save yellow onion skins all year to get ready for Easter egg dyeing. Some of my photographs follow. Thank you Terrain Westport and the uber-artistic Nancy Geaney of Vagabond’s Daughter.
My eggs at home.
There are a few Latvian traditions for dyeing eggs. Pressing small leaves or flower petals on the egg before layering onions on top can enhance the look. Today we had two pots of liquid, one with blackberries and the second with an onion dye bath for egg dipping. The onion skins produced plain darker colors.
Nancy G. collected fern and flowers from her yard.
We wrapped Maiden Hair fern and lace around the egg.
We went through a lot of onion skins.
A stocking is used to keep the fern in place.
We dropped the eggs into a pot of boiling water mixed with organic blackberries.
Voila. My finished product. You can see the imprint of the Maiden Hair fern, rosemary, and dill.
Here is a quick history lesson on decorated eggs: In Africa, engraved ostrich eggs have been found that are up to 60,000 years old. Ornate ostrich eggs were placed on graves of ancient Egyptians and Sumerians. What does that have to do with Easter? Not much. Decorating an egg specifically for Easter started with the early Christians of Mesopotamia. The Christian Church made the custom official when it adopted it in A.D. 1610. It seems I’m not the only one connecting Easter eggs with memories from the past.
Isn’t it amazing how far traditions extend?
My friend Lori and her daughter Phoebe invited me to an egg dyeing party back in 2009. The eggs were hand “blown out” by her sister, Jana. How impressed was I when Lori still had our decorated eggs, five years later! Mine is on the left and Lori decorated the one on the right, very fancy using rubber bands.
Easter Eggs kept in one piece from 2009.
Easter egg traditions are vibrant with variety. One that caught my eye this year is the German tradition of decorating trees and bushes with eggs. Take a look at Volker Kraft’s spectacular display—that is 10,000 eggs! I’m in awe of this man.
Since 1965 Volker and his wife Christa decorate a tree with their collection of 10,000 hand-painted Easter eggs. Photo Fabrizio Bensch for Reuters as seen on NBC News.
No springtime blog is complete without peeps.
After I took pictures of these, I ate the entire box.
PS. Easter is REALLY not complete without pink sheep. Enjoy your Spring!
Freshly dyed sheep are in plain view in Bathgate, Scotland. Non-Toxic dye is used by this fun loving sheep farmer. Photographer unknown.
Nancy, what a lovely blog, illustrating too all that is best about blogging.
@philhamlynwilliams:disqus Hi Phil, so happy to see you here. Hope all is well at Lincoln Cathedral in the UK. I’d like to know if you come back to NYC for a presentation!
Oh so many objects connect me to my past Moon. I grew up in a very Lutheran family, my
Grandfather was a Lutheran minister…so all of these traditions bear memories and sweetness and today, a bit of melancholy. Not bad though. I am so happy you dyed eggs like that. I will try that next year. Right now I am filling a thermos to take on a long walk around Stockbridge, looking for signs of my friend the Guerilla Bunny eggs. Will share a photo of her handiwork. xo S
@suzibanksbaum:disqus Hi Suzi, I’m so glad to hear you say that about Easter memories! It’s right up there with Christmas. BTW, your blog is wonderful today, love YOUR Easter eggs….
Wow! This is amazing. I had no idea about this Latvian egg-dying tradition and what a great question about the objects that connect us to our past. I’m going to give that some thought today, which seems fitting on a day of new beginnings. These would be great photos to share on Pinterest. Look forward to the next post!
Thanks, @jacquelineboone:disqus. Happy to get your comment, YES, posted most to Pinterest. Great idea.
I loved learning about the Latvian egg-dying process. Your eggs turned out beautiful! On Easter, I have the most wonderful memories of Easter Egg hunts with my children both at home and in Central Park. I used to spend weeks planning their special Easter baskets. I don’t have any physical objects to remind me of these things, but the memories are still vivid in my mind.
@karennedlerquinn:disqus I bet you created the best baskets! I would love to go on a hunt in Central Park! Thanks, Karen.
Great post. Thanks, Nancy. I’ve already forwarded it to friends and family and grandkids. You made everyone happy with these photos.
@gil_effron:disqus Thanks so much, Gil. You made my day. Really appreciate you doing that. Back to reality now, Happy Monday.
I love reading your blogs, but you won me over with…
“After I took pictures of these, I ate the entire box.” (see Peeps photo)
@katiesettel:disqus so funny, Katie. I had to add that transparency in! Thanks for reading, and when can I read a blog of yours?
very cool project ,you have the creative talent and the patience to make these delicate eggs so very beautiful,i love the fern ,i love the process the way you explain it,i love the egg collection tree and the man on his ladder hanging the egg,i love the nancy and steve egg ,most of all i love you xxoo
Thank you, @disqus_8DQYaeiH2m:disqus. I always like your comments, they make me smile.
You are so creative!