---
title: "The Colors of Easter, Handed Down"
date: 2023-04-07T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/the-colors-of-easter-handed-down"
section: Articles
---
# The Colors of Easter, Handed Down

*April 7, 2023* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> For One Alum, Ukrainian Pysanky Eggs Are the Stuff of Childhood Memories—And a New Book

*Eggs i Stock 639440178 1920x1080 — Terese Wallack Waldron ’83 (below) loved celebrating Easter with her family and their Ukrainian tradition of intricately decorated eggs known as pysanky. Now, the springtime ritual is the subject of a children's book Waldron wrote, with illustrations by her cousin.*

Growing up in Bristol, Conn., Terese Wallack Waldron ’83 always eagerly awaited her family’s Easter tradition: decorating *pysanky*. Waldron’s Ukrainian grandmother brought the ancient custom of dyeing these intricately decorated springtime eggs from her native country when she immigrated in 1923. Waldron, her seven siblings and their many cousins spent hours choosing colors, making mistakes, starting over and creating treasured memories together.


*Terese Wallack Waldron headshot*


*“Sophie and Her Sisters Decorate Eggs for Easter” book cover*



**Sidebar note:**

A [version of this story](https://alumni.umd.edu/news/for-one-alum-ukrainian-pysanky-eggs-are-the-stuff-of-childhood-memories-and-a-new-book) first appeared on the UMD Alumni Association website.





**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [War in Ukraine](https://today.umd.edu/topic/war-in-ukraine)