Germans Still Paint their Easter Eggs

ANCHOR:
Easter is a time for traditions for most around the world - like Easter eggs. And so what can
be better than painting Easter eggs in a traditional way - an old one, handed down from generation to generation. Lets have a look at this in Lehde on the German-Polish border.

STORY:
Visitors to an open air museum in the small Slavic community over Easter can delight in watching the Sorbian women decorating eggs in traditional styles, using traditional methods.
The museum was opened to preserve their culture and preserve their traditions.

The eggs are hard boiled and then tipped with wax in a pattern, dipped in dye, tipped with wax to make another pattern, and then dipped in dye again - over and over again until a batik-style pattern emerges. It takes a lot of time, but then the effort taken in making the eggs was all part of the result.

A local lady dressed in traditional Sorbian dress tells us about the customs.

[Ute Henschel, Sorbian Artist];

"In olden days, every farmer's wife in every family would paint eggs on Good Friday. They believed that if you gave it to someone on Easter Sunday and they ate it, then all the power from the patterns and motives would be carried over onto them."

Triangles on the eggs stand traditionally for wolves' teeth and are supposed to protect house and home, palm leaves symbolise health, and the sun the beginning of life. Certain families also had their own different patterns.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntdtv
• germany
• Easter
• Eggs
• eggs
• Painting

[Pobednik85]

This tradition is practice also in Serbia. Greetings from Serbia!

[vlogorgeous]

this is interesting! :D

btw I'm from Germany. :)

[Saporoshez968A]

@gral555

Sorbs are Sorbs and Serbs are Serbs. Do not confuse that.

Greetings from Lusatia

[Saporoshez968A]

It is a Sorb tradition not a German! Nevertheless also Germans in Lusatia have begun to practice ancient Sorbian traditions as Waleien and Zampern, f.e.,too.

[gral555]

Hold on,Serbs in Lusatia and Balcan!

Keep tradition,,

Better times must come and freedom for all!!