UNESCO Recognizes Ukrainian Pysanka Art as Intangible Cultural Heritage

UNESCO has officially recognized “Pysanka: Ukrainian Tradition and Art of Egg Decoration” as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, reported Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture on December 3.

The decision was made during the 19th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asunción, Paraguay. Ukraine submitted the nomination jointly with Estonia.

Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, explained that in 2013, Tallinn acknowledged pysanka as part of Estonia’s intangible heritage. Later, both countries collaborated to secure UNESCO recognition at the global level.

“We thank our Estonian partners for their unwavering support, as well as our Ukrainian colleagues,” said Ministry of Culture.

The Ministry added that this achievement is a result of close cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to UNESCO, and civil society practitioners.

A pysanka (plural Pysanky) is a traditional Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated using a wax-resist method, known as the batik method. The process involves applying melted wax to the eggshell in a design, and then dipping it into different colored dyes, layer by layer. Once the final layer of dye is applied, the wax is melted off to reveal the intricate design underneath.

Earlier, borsch, a traditional Ukrainian soup made of beetroot and other ingredients, an element of Intangible Cultural Heritage recognized by UNESCO flooded the Russian city in the Chelyabinsk region.