One item that had been on my bucket list ever since moving to New York was a visit to the Ukrainian Museum, located in the East Village. No, I am not Ukrainian, nor have I ever been to Ukraine, but … I do love colorful things. And the Ukrainian Museum happens to have a collection of very, very colorful things: hundreds of pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter eggs.
The Ukrainian Museum’s website notes that the “intricately colored” pysanky “were used for various social and religious occasions and were considered to be a talisman, a protector against evil, as well as harbingers of good.” The eggs are decorated with all kinds of shapes and colors, including geometric motifs, stars and suns, flowers, leaves, the tree of life, stags, horses, birds, and crosses and other religious symbols.
I had the museum basically to myself when I visited, which happens to be just how I like it. I made my way around the display slowly, admiring all the different colors and patterns. All the eggs were beautiful, but I had a particular soft spot for the eggs covered in flowers – so gorgeous!
The Bottom Line: One of the things I love most about New York is how there seems to be a museum for nearly every niche you can imagine. Who knew how interesting hundreds of Ukrainian Easter eggs could be?
