Religion and Politics

Emily Belz of Christianity Today reports that American churches are practicing pysanky, a traditional Ukrainian ritual that involves intricately decorating Easter eggs with hot wax. Many churches are donating proceeds from the pysanky to Ukrainian relief efforts, while some ethnically Ukrainian American communities are using the practice as a therapeutic activity. Belz writes, “Several American churches have interpreted the Ukrainian cultural practice spiritually: that it has the power to keep evil at bay, or that the egg symbolizes new life and Christ’s resurrection, or that it is a ‘Lenten tradition.’ But according to Ukrainian Christians, the art of pysanky does not have spiritual significance on its own. It is a pre-Christian cultural practice from the region.”