In spring, chickens start laying eggs again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter’s end. So it’s no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.

Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others upgrade the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered “eggs” that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.

One   ancient   form   of   egg   art   is   egg   painting,   which   comes   to   us   from   Ukraine.   For   centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition and adapted the traditional methods to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.

“There’s something about their delicate nature that crazily appeals to me,” says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in egg painting and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. “I’ve broken eggs at every stage of the process — from the very beginning to the very, very end.”

But there’s an appeal in that vulnerability. “There’s part of this sickening horror that I kind of like, the horror of knowing you’re walking on the edge with this, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second.” Chast’s designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny boat, reflect that delicateness.

Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The complex and detailed patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.

Egg painting art, dating back to 300 B.C., was later absorbed into the Christian church. The old symbols, however, still survive. A decorated egg with a bird on it, given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into the field would be a wish for a good harvest.

Chinese Paper Cutting or Jianzhi is the first type of paper-cutting design, since paper was invented in China during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It’s a unique visual art of Chinese handicrafts. The art form later spread to other parts of the world with different areas adopting their own cultural styles. After hundreds of years’ development, now they’ve become a very popular means of decoration among country folks, especially women. The paper-cuts are also used to decorate doors and windows, and therefore they are sometimes referred to as “chuang hua”, meaning window flowers. Paper-cuts are chiefly used as decorations. However, today, Chinese paper-cuts are also used for religious and ceremonial purposes, and they’re buried with the dead and burned at funerals.

Chinese people believe the red paper-cuts on the door can bring good fortune and happiness to the whole family. The paper-cuts are more often seen during traditional Chinese festivals, particularly in Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival. They’re also given as gifts to friends or other family members.

Paper-cuttings aren’t produced by machine, but by hand. There’re two methods of manufacture: one uses scissors, the other uses knives. Knife cuttings are fashioned by putting several layers of paper on a relatively soft foundation. Following a pattern, the artist cuts the motif into the paper with a sharp knife he usually holds vertically (垂直地). The advantage of knife-cutting is that considerably more paper cuttings can be made in one operation than with scissor cuttings.

It’s easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but difficult to master it with perfection. One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly on the paper with some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation will damage the whole image.

People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper-cutting. For instance, for a wedding ceremony, red paper-cuttings are a traditional decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A big red paper character “Xi” (happiness) is a traditional must on the newly-wed’s (新婚夫妇) door.

Having spent more than a decade on the dance floor, ROME — Niccolo Filippi, a 23-year-old Italian dance performer, recently decided to explore Chinese culture and its traditional dance forms and believes that this experience will not only boost his career, but also broaden his horizons beyond the world of dance.

His interest in diversifying his skills grew after he stumbled upon a short video of traditional Chinese-styled dance on YouTube. “I saw it as an art that combines tradition and modernity, which was mostly the reason why I liked it,” says Filippi.

Ever since, he has been closely following Chinese dance performers and watching numerous videos to learn more about the traditional style that he admires. “I prefer the traditional style because of its light movements. It also reflects my personality with elegance,” he adds.

Filippi’s chance came when he was invited to perform for a Chinese New Year celebration in the central Italian city of Florence. He has since fully committed himself to the art form, learning several pieces and putting his newfound passion into practice.

“The biggest difference that I found (compared to other disciplines) is the change of mood and emotional expressions among dances,” says Filippi, adding that he needed to shift from the dynamic moves of hip-hop to the graceful and fluid movements of Chinese dance. Despite various obstacles, Filippi’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two of his friends shared videos of his performances on social media, and the response was overwhelming. One video garnered 500,000 views, while the other received 200,000 views.

Filippi believes that learning about different cultures is priceless, and he sees it as a means of personal growth. “I like to think of a person as a book,” he says. “Embracing different traditions and cultures, such as Chinese culture and many others, is like adding new chapters to my book, making it more diverse and wonderful.”