Decorating Easter eggs has always been a tradition in our house. We generally make a variety of simple, often humorous designs on hard boiled eggs and dunk them in a solution made with food colouring. They are admired for a short time and then consumed in the form of devilled eggs with Easter dinner. That is our tradition.

However, witnessing the makings of the true art form called Pysanka, the Ukrainian tradition of decorating eggs using a combination of intricate design, wax, pysanky dye and live flame, brings egg decorating to a whole new and beautiful level.

This art form is steeped in tradition, and was only done by women. It is said that the pysanky were made at night, after the children were asleep the women would gather together in secret, pray and then work on the patterns and colour combinations that were carefully guarded and handed down from mother to daughter.