New Times

I have been paying attention to the international press about the situation in Ukraine, as have many other millions of people.  In fact, I was startled to discover there are actually 20 million people identifying as Ukrainians in the diaspora! Astounding, there are actually people on islands of the Pacific, living under another political jurisdiction, identifying as Ukrainians there too!  Imagine churches, clubs, organizations, dancers, ......everywhere!  The diaspora is a very interesting phenomenon!

Whether one assimilates quickly or slowly in the diaspora, a lot of people have close ancestral ties to their homeland.  Caring, hoping, and contributing in very small ways to the efforts for Ukraine's wellbeing, there are thousands of places where Ukrainians gather for community - outside of the homeland borders! Astounding!

etsy

Sadly, here in my community, when the most recent events started unfolding in Ukraine, there were people who were "of another opinion". What other opinion?  Imagine, people living with freedoms, rights, privileges guaranteed by their new homelands, in the embrace of a democratic, sovereign state, presented with economic opportunity for all, being of "another opinion" on the status of Ukraine! Imagine those who would not extend a prayer or stand in principle because of "another opinion".  Quite frankly, I have been quietly incensed!  And I don't mean in a holy way!

The generations of people who escaped the clutches of totalitarian states, choosing dignity, freedom and opportunity for their offspring, all dreamed of a time when their homeland would attain these cherished prizes too. Ukrainian churches, institutions, organizations, foundations, choirs, drama groups, dance troupes, Ukrainian schools, scouts, youth groups, community connections and personal relationships create opportunities of embrace, with the smells, tastes, sounds, textures, of "home".  They all flourish out of an idea  - the beautiful idea that justice and truth should always prevail, that the torch of freedom is raised for all!

Twenty million people of Ukrainian ancestry in the diaspora - and about 46 million in Ukraine?  Does that mean one third of all Ukrainians have left the country for better opportunities elsewhere!  What does that say about roots and wings?  New Times indeed.  

The Happy Magpie

Kaniv amk2013

My daughter recently laughed while calling me a "hobby Ukrainian".  I instantly got the impression she was humouring me for the intense delight Ukrainian stuff gives me.  I get the impression she thinks I am like a magpie, gleefully picking out the sparkly bits from a pile of refuse - but I am a happy magpie.

Kaniv amk2013

Sparkly things call out to me.  I get such a kick out of the simple reminders of happy times, call it a nostalgia for the romantic things that tug at my heart strings.  Old friends,  comfortable with a soft reference to a common experience that forever changed our life path.  We could have been "other", but for some reason, over wide distances and across time, we carry a bond, a love of ancestral things, maybe it is simply love? Family isn't just who you grew up with, for me at least.  Family is the people who have contributed to my world view - to my romantic, rose-coloured lens view of Ukrainian stuff.

Living the diaspora experience is living "without" - hopefully living with economic opportunity, but sadly having to leave the ancestral places, the soil in which great-great-great grandparents stepped, living with a snapshot picture of the ideal past, the ideal present, the ideal future.  Really, it is living in a time warp.  A person living away from the ancestral homeland cannot possibly live in one reality while living completely in another place, but for Ukrainians world-wide, ancestry is like a gift of time - time in a bottle.

Kaniv amk2013

So in my private life I enjoy the "hobby Ukrainian" things, stuff like reading the runes in an embroidered scarf - trying to figure out the magic in the message.  Sometimes I look at Ukrainian ceramics, pysanky or other art and try to understand the symbols, the birds, the ram, the colours.  It is like I am trying to figure out what the person creating the art work was thinking, because I know artists think differently.  Some artists think in words, some think in art, some think with their hands, their bodies, their voices, others pass on a phrase or idea that has been passed on for generations.  Other boldly try to shape the world to match their vision of how it should look! How to enjoy the small things, within the big things, and still understand the huge things? How it all connects?  Try to soar above it all, and pick up the sparkly bits! You never know what you might find?  Maybe, like me, you might want to take some of the sparkly stuff into your everyday life just for fun!

Shaping Community with the Pysanka







amk2012

Having Ukrainian cultural elements in my life, it is easy to take for granted what others consider absolutely beautiful. Embroideries, ceramics, weavings, but this season is the time for the Ukrainian Easter Egg - the pysanka.



Recently got an invitation to teach pysanky to the children at the community school nearby. Now that Ukraine is a focus in the Alberta Social Studies in both Grades 3 and 5, it is not only an extra to "do Ukrainian things", it is a curricular expectation. But it is assumed that everyone teaching has an expertise in every aspect.....could one conceivably have expertise in everything? Mindful to focus on the curricular expectations, I am glad to accept the invitation.



http://aroundnewyorkin80worlds.wordpress.com/author/emilyparkey/

What an opportunity to shape the minds, hearts and sensibilities of a new generation! I started by telling them when my blonde, blue eyed ancestors came to Canada, and why. A little lesson on the map opens opportunities to so much discussion, about Europe, about neighbors, about the land and its chernozem fertility, the people and the culture, and of course, the economic opportunities or deficits.

Then to tell them about Ukraine's ancestral forests and steppes, rivers and Black sea, the bees, the honey, the beeswax - using every gift nature provides. Followed by terms like "non-text features" - the symbols that convey meaning over time, space, and language. Then expressing the belief that every person's culture has beauty, and reminding the children they have yet to discover their ancestral tree - perhaps a tidbid about geneology. After all, every generous contribution to Canada and her future actually shapes and molds what will come!

There are a large variety of videos online to explain the process of pysanka writing, but I found the children really wanted the basic traditional designs first. But to begin the learning, I teach. The raw egg is life, a seed bearing a life in a shell that breathes. Inscribing onto the shell creates a talisman of good wishes for the future. Their first pysanka will be the traditional 8 pointed star rosette, or sun-god with its rays of yellow, orange and red, blue/green rain drops, decorated with the red curled horns of plenty (plenty of food, prosperity and wealth), all on the black background of eternity. Precious, the pysanka will live, fulfill its mandate in the world, and eventually dry to dust, its shell will return to the earth that brought it life.

Father Paul     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzVicHadJfc

Gentleman - brief comment about the sun god  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6NFtX8XNUY

How to make a Beginner Pysanka (short and concise   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YqkKrbkqf8

A volunteer who generously shares the gifts of their time, treasure and above all their unique talents, is always a welcome guest it seems. Note to self - tell them about the Pysanka in Vegreville, Alberta and remind them that one in 5 Albertans has some Ukrainian ancestry! Maybe they are Ukrainian too!
http://www.vegrevillechamber.com/pysankastory.htm

For more online material about pysanka writing, follow the links at http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/high/Sue-Pysanky.htm