LAC LA BICHE – On April 5, people who came to the Lac La Biche Museum were able to learn about the history of Easter eggs and have fun painting them during the ‘Spring Traditions’ event.
Tara Jacklin, curator of the Lac La Biche Museum, said ‘Spring Traditions’ is the museum’s April program that is part of the Lac La Biche Explorers program.
While decorating eggs is one of the most well-known traditions around Easter, it does have pagan roots that predate Christianity.
“Eggs are a traditional symbol for spring, fertility and rebirth, all very important factors to early agrarian societies,” Jacklin said. “In Orthodox Christianity, the painting of eggs red on Holy Thursday is a long-standing tradition rich in symbolism.”
The program was shaped by first-hand knowledge from Dr. Artemii Plekhanov, the tourism and social media coordinator for the Lac La Biche Museum.
“Egg painting has long been a communal and expressive folk tradition, with each nation infusing it with its own symbols, techniques, and meanings. Even during the Soviet period, when religion and associated customs were suppressed, the tradition endured,” Plekhanov said.
For the Spring Traditions program, the Lac La Biche Museum was inspired by its Ukrainian Display within the museum’s multicultural exhibit, which features three beautifully decorated pysanky eggs. These eggs use a wax-resist method where the egg is successively covered in wax designs, dyed, and the process repeated.
“Once the artist is finished and all the wax is removed, the egg is left with intricate multicoloured designs,” Jacklin said.
The eggs featured in the display are meant to celebrate the different cultures that make up the Lac La Biche region. Around 1929, most Ukrainian settlers to the Lac La Biche region had settled in the Craigend area, which is located 20 miles south of the hamlet of Lac La Biche.
During this time, immigration policies favoured farming expertise over country of origin, drawing immigrants who would put hard labour into clearing land for agriculture.
“Moving to Canada was not easy for early settlers, there were bad roads and language barriers,” she said.
In 1931, a Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church was built in Craigend, which would later move to Lac La Biche. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church that is present today in Lac La Biche dates to back 1945.
Speaking to the ‘Spring Traditions’ event, Jacklin said, “We hope that [people] leave with a deeper appreciation of the history of Easter eggs and the importance to different cultures in the region,” she said.
