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6 Ancient and new symbolism endures through Ukranian Easter Eggs THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, APRIL 02, 2015 Modern designed Easter Eggs. - Jane Dougan photo By: Jane Dougan After a long cold winter, spring is hiccupping towards us bringing signs of new life. One of the most enduring symbols of the passage from winter to spring is the egg ­ lying silent and still until, suddenly, a chick emerges. Alternately, the yolk can represent the sun; the white, the moon. The foil-wrapped decorated Easter eggs we see on store shelves to day link back directly to such ancient traditions. A beautiful example are Ukranian Easter eggs (pysanky). According to Halton Hills artist and photog rapher Doris Burfind, pysanky designs can be traced back to Ukranian Trypillian pottery from 5000 B.C. Tri-color spirals and whirls represented eternity and the cycle of life. Powerful ancient traditions took on new meaning in the Easter celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Doris Burfind has been making pysanky for more than twenty years. "A friend who had Ukranian parents taught me. I loved it so much I had to make a go of it. ... Psanky eggs would be put in chicken's nests so hens would lay more eggs or in beehives so bees would give more honey. After Christianity the symbolism became more religious." Acton's Merrick family describe how pysanky are part of an Easter basket filled with symbolic foods ­ including ham, bacon, salt, cheese and butter shaped into the form of a lamb ­ which may be taken to church for blessing on Easter Sunday. Doris has demonstrat ed her craft in regional schools including Acton's Robert Little. The pro cess involves drawing hot beeswax onto an eggshell using a special tool (kistky), and then dipping the egg into a succession of coloured dyes while layering and removing wax to create the design. Doris recommends blowing-out the egg after the dyes and varnish have dried. "It gives a more solid surface to paint on. You should see the children's faces when all the wax is melted off and the final design appears. They are so excited. It's like magic." Traditionally, prepara tion of pysanky at Easter is a combination of a spiritual state of mind, the symbolic placement of the motifs and ­ perhaps most importantly ­ the hope and love expressed through their creation. Traditional Ukranian Easter Eggs. - Jane Dougan photo Everything you wanted to know about hot cross buns By: Vivien Fleisher Do you ever find yourself wondering at Easter time why those delectable sweet buns with the X on top are called `Hot Cross Buns'? Does it have something to do with angry rabbits, given the theme of Easter? Of course not, in spite of the coincidence in names. But, did you know that in the old days in England, people believed that if hot cross buns were baked and served on Good Friday, they wouldn't spoil or go mouldy? Or that they were believed to have medicinal properties that could ward off illness? These are just a few of the many superstitions projected onto the humble, traditional bun. Historically, they were made without dairy products which were forbidden in Lent until Palm Sunday, and eaten hot. The Greeks added the cross, which is either baked in, or deliciously added after using sweet icing in a piping bag. The exact debut of the hot cross bun is not clear, but they were most certainly around long before the arrival of Elizabeth the 1st in the late 16th century. These were bad times for the bun, as she forbade the sale of them except at specific times (burials, Good Friday, Christmas), pushing them `under ground' where people resorted to making them at home. Today, they really only appear at Easter anyways. (Although in Britain and Australia, they are becoming more of a year-round item, thanks to the addition of chocolate and other flavours.) Rockwood's Saunders Bakery owner Brenda says that the bun is a staple of their bakery. And best of all, these are the ones with the yummy icing. Share one with a friend to keep your friendship strong in the coming year. Or, better yet, share one, and then another. And maybe another after that. After all, they only come but once a year.