New Collaborative Exhibition Explores Easter Egg Traditions of Pennsylvania

BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – Exploring Pennsylvania’s colorful and diverse Easter egg traditions, Easter Eggs: Symbols of Rebirth and Renewal is a collaborative exhibition at Glencairn Museum produced in partnership with the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University. Featuring an unparalleled display of historic and contemporary Easter eggs, artifacts, documents and ephemera, the exhibition traces the origins, history and cultural diversity of Pennsylvania’s unique role in the development of Easter traditions in North America.

The exhibition opens Saturday, March 2, and runs through Sunday, May 5, at Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pa. The exhibition is available weekends 1-4:30 p.m. or weekdays with a guided tour or by appointment. Admission is $5 per person, included with a guided tour or other event attendance. Exhibition access times can be pre-booked online 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. at https://www.glencairnmuseum.org.

For hundreds of years, the egg has captured the imagination of cultures and religions throughout the world as a symbol of the mystery of creation and the reawakening of the earth at springtime. Since the Middle Ages, Christians have decorated eggs as symbols of resurrection and new life. This exhibition explores age-old European Easter egg traditions and how present-day Pennsylvanians are keeping them alive. From the colorful Pysanky eggs of Ukrainian immigrants to the intricate scratched eggs of the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Lithuanians, the Easter egg embodies the vibrant mosaic of Pennsylvania’s diverse cultural and sacred expressions.

There will be an opening event for the exhibition 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 2, including a special presentation by co-curator Patrick J. Donmoyer, director of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University. Limited seating available; for more information visit https://www.glencairnmuseum.org/upcoming-events/2024/3/2/member-event-easter-eggs-exhibition-preview.

For exhibition information, visit https://www.glencairnmuseum.org/exhibitions-full/2024/3/2/easter-eggs-symbols-of-rebirth-and-renewal, call 267-502-2600 or email info@glencairnmuseum.org.