Ginette Simpson of New Alexandria is very serious about two Lenten traditions.

One is keeping her Ukrainian ancestors' strict dietary fast from meat, eggs and dairy products. The other is that in the solemn weeks before Easter, she creates dozens of intricately decorated eggs, called pysanky.

She gives many as gifts, but now most are exchanged for donations to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Salemville, Salem Township, a mission of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Unity. The Rev. Xavier Elambassery is pastor of both.

"For years, I made eggs for people whom I want to remember me because they are my legacy," Mrs. Simpson said. "So it was a very hard decision to start selling them to strangers. Then in 2005, our church needed a fundraiser."

Four years before that, the owners of Rizzo's Restaurant in Crabtree, Salem Township, asked Mrs. Simpson and her mother to demonstrate pysanky art on a Lenten weekend. But Stella Nalevanko died before they could. Heartbroken, Mrs. Simpson suspended all public demonstrations of the art that she and her mother shared.

"It was bittersweet going back to demonstrating. But mom would have been thrilled."

Every year since -- except when her father, Andrew Nalevanko, died in 2009 -- Mrs. Simpson has spent a weekend at Rizzo's showing off the art. This year, 40 pysanky raised $800.

"We've been doing OK and we're surviving, but it's a pretty big expense when the insurance comes due," said Nativity church secretary/treasurer Libby Phillips of Salemville. "Ginette makes quite a bit of money for us with her eggs, and that really helps."

The church has eight families. Mrs. Phillips and her husband, Andrew, both 83, are the oldest members.

"I've been going here since we got married 63 years ago, and I've been helping to take care of the church for 50 years," she said.

Her grandparents, Nicholas and Martha Hyduke, were among the founding members, and Mr. Hyduke helped to purchase the chandelier.

Salemville was settled by immigrant miners, many from the Carpathian Mountains and the Ukrainian region of Galicia. They formed a congregation of the Greek Catholic Rite and began meeting in homes, then in the basement of Salemville Public School, where Roman Catholic immigrants also celebrated their liturgies.

In 1907, the Ukrainians built a church in nearby Shieldsburg, across from where Roman Catholics built St. James Church. They called it the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Carpatho-Rusyn Greek (Byzantine) Catholic Church.

Pysanky originated in ancient cultures that revered the egg as a source of life and a symbol of the earth's rebirth in spring. When Ukrainians accepted Christianity in the 10th century, the egg became the Christian symbol of the opening of Christ's tomb and the rebirth of mankind.

Superstitions gave pysanky the power to ward off evil spirits, and the Hutsuls of the Carpathian Mountains believed the fate of the world depended on pysanky. When they were no longer made, a horrible serpent chained to a cliff would break loose and destroy the earth.

Mrs. Simpson wants to keep the tradition alive for other reasons. "I don't want it to disappear," she said.

So she demonstrates when she's asked, and teaches those who want to learn how to use the writing tool, a kistka, to apply designs in wax before the eggs are dipped in dyes.

The process begins with drawing patterns on the egg, then waxing off areas that are to be left white. The lightest color goes on first, wax is applied to retain that color in the design, and the egg is dipped in the next darkest color. It continues until the whole egg is covered in wax.

Mrs. Simpson prays a "Hail Mary" in memory of her mother and an "Our Father" in memory of her father when she wipes off the wax with a warm cloth.

"It takes my breath away when I see the egg," she said. "Each time, I thank God for giving me that ability to make this beautiful piece of art."

The designs have meanings. Wheat is for a bountiful harvest, birds are fertility and the fulfillment of wishes, ladders are for searching or eternity, oak leaves are for strength. Teardrops represent the Virgin Mary weeping for Jesus, and butterflies and the cross symbolize the Resurrection. A triangle represents the Holy Trinity, and netting suggests Christ fishing for men.

Colors have meaning, too: white for purity, yellow for wisdom, orange for strength, green for hope, red for spirituality, blue for health, brown for happiness and black for remembrance.

"I have developed my own style of eggs, using a lot of ladders and dots," Mrs. Simpson said. "It's become my signature, and I just like the way it looks."

On Sunday, Mrs. Simpson, who is postmaster for the Hostetter section of Unity, will pass on another Ukrainian tradition. She took over as cantor after her mother died, and on Easter, she will be joined by Trent Perfetta, whom she taught traditional Easter songs.

He attends the church with his grandparents, Ron and Wanda Hodoba of Loyalhanna.

Trent, 10, is the congregation's youngest member.

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