Another very common method, which doesn’t require much skill, is batik. Eggs are wrapped in a piece of cloth with onion shells, strawberry leaves, ribbons, etc. reinforced with yarn and then boiled in paint.
Easter eggs feature all kinds of symbols: suns, crosses, spirals, grass-snakes, rings, purls, herringbone, stars, crow feet, rue, etc. The traditional composition of symbols and ornaments can be arranged in 3 major schemes: symmetric division of an egg lengthwise, crosswise or in a spiral.
Easter egg painting in Lithuania dates back to 16th c. Until the early 20th c. eggs used to be painted using plant dye (onion shells, birch leaves, straws, oak or black alder bark, etc.). A single-coloured egg is referred to as dažytinis (meaning “painted”, from dažyti — “to paint”) and each of the colours had their own magic meaning. Black symbolised the goddess Žemyna — mother earth and the birth-giver to all the greenery. Red — fertility, birth and life. This colour was also believed to be able to neutralise all evil forces. Green referred to spring greenery and crop sprouts. Yellow and brown — mature crops. Blue symbolised the sky, bringing wealth to crops and all plants. An egg with wax or etched ornaments used to be referred to as margutis (from margas — “colourful”). Ornaments also carried a magic and symbolic meaning. These included suns, stars, rue, grass-snakes, lizards, trees of life, etc. Smartly arranged, they compose complex artistic combinations. A symbol of the sun meant the spirit of the world, also warmth and life, while the moon was related to beliefs that it influences the growth of plants. Easter eggs also used to be decorated with geometric figures: purls, stripes or herringbone.
