Ukraine's Giant Easter Egg Festival Is A Feast For The Eyes

These elaborately decorated eggs from different regions are on public display throughout Orthodox Holy Week.

While many Christians in the world emptied out their Easter baskets weeks ago, for Orthodox Christians, the celebration is just getting started.

Easter falls on May 1 on the Orthodox Christian calendar. There's no mistaking the festive atmosphere in Kiev, Ukraine, where residents are marking the occasion with an annual Easter Egg festival.

In the city's Sophia Square, shown in the video above, about 374 artists from different regions in Ukraine were invited to decorate giant fiberglass eggs for public display throughout Orthodox Holy Week. The designs vary greatly -- from eggs painted with geometric designs to eggs that illustrate Biblical themes.

Ukrainian communities have an ancient tradition of exchanging elaborately decorated eggs, or pysanky, to celebrate the holiday. Although, it's now related to Easter, it's believed that the practice of decorating these eggs existed in Ukraine long before Christianity came to the country. Traditionally, the eggs are decorated using a method involving a stylus and wax.

Scroll down to see images of these amazing works of art.

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