Inspring,chickensstartlayingagain,bringingawelcomesourceofproteinatwinter’send.Soit’snosurprisethatculturesaroundtheworldcelebratespringbyhonoringtheegg.Sometraditionsaresimple,liketheredeggsthatgetbakedintoGreekEasterbreads.Otherselevatetheeggintoafancyart,liketheheavilyjewel-covered“eggs”thatwerefavoredbytheRussiansstartinginthe19thcentury.OneancientformofeggartcomestousfromUkraine.Forcenturies,Ukrainianshavebeendrawingcomplicatedpatternsoneggs.Contemporaryartistshavefollowedthistraditiontocreateeggsthatspeaktotheanxietiesofourage:Lifeisprecious,anddelicate.Eggsare,too.“There’ssomethingabouttheirdelicatenaturethatappealstome,”saysNewYorkercartoonistRozChast.Severalyearsago,shebecameinterestedineggsandlearnedthetraditionalUkrainiantechniquetodrawherverymodemcharacters.“I’vebrokeneggsateverystageoftheprocess—fromtheverybeginningtothevery,veryend.”Butthere’sanappealinthatvulnerability.“There’spartofthissickeninghorrorofknowingyou’rewalkingontheedgewiththis,thatIkindoflike,knowingthatitcouldallfallapartatanysecond.”Chast’sdesigns,suchasaworriedmanaloneinatinyrowboat,reflectthatdelicateness.TraditionalUkrainiandecoratedeggsalsospoketothosefears.Theelaboratepatternswerebelievedtoofferprotectionagainstevil.“There’sanancientlegendthataslongastheseeggsaremade,evilwillnotprevailintheworld,”saysJoanBrander,aCanadianegg-painterwhohasbeenpaintingeggsforover60years,havinglearnedtheartfromherUkrainianrelatives.Thetradition,datingbackto300B.C.,waslaterincorporatedintotheChristianchurch.Theoldsymbols,however,stillendure.Adecoratedeggwithabirdonit,giventoayoungmarriedcouple,isawishforchildren.Adecoratedeggthrownintothefieldwouldbeawishforagoodharvest.WhydoesChastenjoytheprocessofdecoratingeggs?