Ukrainian Canadian

From  Traditional Ukrainian Cookery (1957):

With the break of dawn on Easter Sunday a special Ressurection Service is held with a procession around the church. The most beautiful aspect of th service is the joyful heralding of a risen Christ in the singing of the traditional Ukrainian hymn “Christ is Risen” (Khrystos Voskres). The whole congregation sings in unison with a heightened feeling. At the conclusion of the service, rows and rows of food-laden baskets with a lighted candle in each are blessed by the priest. In favourable weather this impressive ceremony is performed outside on the green church lawn. Food baskets covered with richly embroidered napkins contain Easter bread called “paska” and a selection of various Easter foods along with the multi-coloured pysanky. This custom is treasured in Canada. People greet one another with the traditional Easter greeting “Voistyno Voskres!” (He is risen indeed!). It is the custom to exchange or give Easter eggs with this Easter greeting.

Immediately after the service, people return home to break the long fast with an Easter breakfast of consecrated and other food. The breakfast menu consists of cooked eggs, a variety of hot and cold meats, roast suckling pig, cheese, salads, horseradish and beet relish, and a number of delectable Easter breads and pastries. The meal begins with Easter grace and then a ceremonious serving of the blessed egg, which the head of the family divides into several portions, one for each person, greeting the family with the customary Easter greeting of “Khrystos Voskres!”, and extending to everyone the very best wishes. The particular ritual symbolizes family unity and expresses hope for a happy and prosperous year until the next Easter.

Also this Easter I’ll be creating pysanky again, I wonder if they’ll turn out better than last year:

One of the most beautiful of all Ukrainian easter traditions is decorating eggs with artistic designs of a symbolic nature. In Ukrainian the decorated eggs are called “pysanky” from the word “pysaty” which mean to write. The design is actually written on the egg with a fine-pointed stylus dipped in wax, after which follows a series of dye baths. Pysanky are not eaten. The origin of this art is both ancient and obscure. Archeological excavations in Ukraine show that it was practiced several thousand years before the Christian era. Originally pysanky symbolized the release of the earth from the shackles of winter and the coming of spring with its promise of new hope, new life, health and prosperity. They were associated with mythical beliefs and talismanic powers. Folklore has it that a decorated egg can avert any evil, bring good crops, and help a young maiden to win the man of her desire. After the advent of Christianity, the decorated eggs took the new symbols of the Resurrection with its promise of a better world.

The art of painting Easter eggs is still practised in Ukraine and in Canada. Time has not reduced the design to a simpler form. Each new generation strives for greater perfection, beauty, and intricacy. Ukrainians have become unrivalled experts in this interesting folk art. A painted egg may well be called a miniature mosaic.

Here are some pysanky related news this weekend:

• Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!
• Extravagant Eggs Featured In Local Display
• Eggs-traordinary Art
• Five Minutes With: Linda Priest, pysanky Easter egg decorator and teacher
• Creating art in a centuries-old Ukrainian tradition
• An expert with eggs: Woman celebrates Ukrainian traditions

And if you thought I made a big stink last Christmas because Mama (who’s now known as Baba to newcomers to the family) didn’t make all the food from scratch, I was shocked to see earlier this week some Paska bread that came from a national grocery store chain:

Oh I’m just kidding! I have been assured though most of our Easter meals are coming from more ethnic chains this year: Vatra and Future Bakery (although Future’s quality has been noticeably declining as of late). I hope you all have a Happy Easter and Xpиcтoc Bocкpec!

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.