Ukrainian Canadian

Photo: Христос Воскрес! – Easter Table with Food from the Basket

I’m a little late with this post, but I hope everyone’s Easter went well. Here are some articles I’ve highlighted:

• Chicago Ukrainians gather for blessing of Easter baskets

Today, Sts. Volodymyr and Olha remains a symbol of Chicago’s rich ethnic history. On Saturday, it was also the scene of a unique Eastern European religious tradition—the blessing of the Easter baskets.

In a parking lot behind the church, hundreds of people gathered with Easter baskets. Many were filled with decorated eggs, bread, salt, pepper and sausage while Rev. Krotec blessed each one with holy water

• If it ain’t broke, BREAK IT: Local artist transforms painstakingly painted pysanky shells into meticulously made mosaics

a Winnipegger has perfected a way to recycle fragments of intricately decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs into lasting artworks.

"I’m the only one in the world that’s doing this," says Dave Wasylyshen, who painstakingly pieces together mosaics out of the colourful eggshells, then coats the finished works with clear plastic resin.

Read more…

Had some people over last night to make some pysanky! Picked up my supplies at Koota Ooma in the west end of Toronto and used the design from LearnPysanky.com.

Read more…

" Palm Sunday In Ternopil”

From Wikipedia:

Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Canonical Gospels Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19: the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion.

…

In the … Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, and Ruthenian Catholic Church, the custom developed of using pussy willow instead of palm fronds because the latter are not readily available that far north. There is no canonical requirement as to what kind of branches must be used, so some Orthodox believers use olive branches. Whatever the kind, these branches are blessed and distributed together with candles either during the All-Night Vigil on the Eve of the Feast (Saturday night), or before the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. The Great Entrance of the Divine Liturgy commemorates the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", and so the meaningfulness of this moment is punctuated on Palm Sunday as everyone stands holding their branches and lit candles. The faithful take these branches and candles home with them after the service, and keep them in their icon corner as an evloghia (blesing).

It is custom for people to ‘tap’ each other with their pussy willows and say:

( Thanks Brama)

While traditionally Ukrainians celebrate Easter next week according to the Julian calendar, some in North America are celebrating it today – xриcтoc вocкpec!

The most notable art piece highlighted during Easter time is the Ukrainian Easter Egg called the ‘ pysanka’ , and here’s how they’re made:

If you’re interested in making them, LearnPysanky is a great site. Too much work?  Don’t worry you can always buy a decorated wrap for your egg

People are still making pysanky the traditional way, or using more modern techniques. You can also view some of Edmonton’s best pysanky in 3D.

Here are some news outlets that have covered the pysanka:

• The art of Ukrainian Easter egg dyeing lives on – Virginia
• Pysanky eggs are an ages old tradition – Indiana, PA
• Some Easter traditions kept alive among ethnic Catholics: Global Village – Cleveland, OH
• Ancient Ukrainian custom celebrates Easter, new life – Davenport, IA
• The Pysanky of Folk Artist Iryna Bilianska on View at the Ukranian Museum – New York, NY
• Vivid art on eggshells – Baltimore, MD (Video)
• Warren man creates ornate Ukrainian Easter eggs – Detroit, MI (Video)
• The art of Ukrainian egg decorating – Sudbury, ON (Video)

Also in some unrelated pysanky news, today on CBC News Sunday the Ukrainian Orthodox Catholic Church St. Elias in Brampton was featured (yes they do both services).  It will replay tonight on CBC at 10pm, and on CBC Newsworld on 9pm and midnight EST.