The Ukrainian decorated Easter egg made with wax and dye is called pysanky.
The name comes from the Ukrainian verb pysaty, meaning “to write,” because the designs are drawn with melted beeswax rather than simply painted onto the shell. A stylus called a pysachok applies wax to selected areas, which resist each successive dye bath.
Traditional makers work from light colors to dark ones. Wax preserves the earlier colors, and after the final dye the wax is heated and wiped away, revealing intricate geometric, floral, and symbolic patterns. Pysanky were historically associated with ritual protection, fertility, family continuity, and Easter blessing.
A common mix-up is treating every decorated Easter egg as a pysanka. In traditional usage, the term specifically refers to the wax-resist style; painted eggs and red-dyed krashanky are different Ukrainian forms. “Pysanka” is singular, while “pysanky” is plural.