Easter Eggs for Anya: A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ

by Sally Wern Comport (Illustrator), Virginia Kroll

A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ Children love coloring Easter eggs, and here's a story to explain one of the origins of this tradition. In early nineteenth-century Ukraine, Christians celebrated Easter by exchanging colorful, hand-decorated pysanky eggs---but with Papa away at the war and Mama struggling to make ends meet, Anya's family was too poor to buy eggs to decorate one year. That is, until Anya discovered an abandoned nest of goose eggs and began planning an Easter surprise for her family. But God had an even better surprise in store, and when the eggs unexpectedly began to hatch, Anya learned what the Easter story teaches: spring brings gifts of myriad new beginnings, just as the risen Christ gave the gift of new life to us all. Each Traditions of Faith book features a story of how significant Christian traditions emerged in cultures around the world, with a note about the origin and history of the tradition, and offers ideas and activities each family can adopt as its own.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Ukraine, Religion

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Sally Wern Comport is a commercial artist and an award-winning illustrator. She is also principal of Art at Large, Inc., a large-scale environmental graphics studio that has designed and produced exhibitions and public art for numerous museums and institutions. Sally Wern Comport resides in Annapolis, Maryland, with her family.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Easter story about the the Ukrainian celebration of psyanky eggs. They are eggs that women and girls allover Eastern Europe and Russia made. The eggs are designed in intricate designs.In this story Anya finds eggs during a war when her father is away, a real find because her family is destitute.

[Clwseattle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easter Eggs for Anya is such a lovely story. It makes me hope that the sweet innocence of little Anya is still alive in modern Ukraine.