Pysanky - The Ukrainian Easter Egg

The Ukrainian Easter Egg, the Pysanka, is recognized world over, as a miniature masterpiece, a perfect little "symbol of the universe", and it all fits into your hand.  The evolution of this little work of genius traces the traditions, beliefs, thoughts and feelings of the common person, representing life itself, through aesthetically pleasing symbols and ornaments. 

Deana Diduch at the Calgary Ukrainian Festival

Pysanky can be found in museums everywhere in the world, and in cultural heritage collections far and wide.  They appear in collections everywhere the Ukrainian diaspora has set roots, and then some.  Hugely disparate aesthetic tastes everywhere appreciate the Ukrainian pysanky as some of the finest examples of Ukrainian traditional art.

The pysanka represents life itself.  A tiny symbol of life - the egg, onto which symbols of joy, travails, faith, beauty and pain are written, over the course of time dries up and becomes a beautiful little tomb.  It's the story of life itself, a universal expression, a symbol of birth, life, death, with the hope of resurrection. 

Deana Diduch was demonstrating this beautiful art at the Calgary Ukrainian  Festival in June 2012.  Formerly from Saskatchewan, this Calgarian cherishes her ancestral heritage, and sees the future in every pysanka she writes.  Breathing life into the designs, she knows that besides appreciating their aesthetic value, they are a little talisman of good fortune.  If you have ever received a gift of a pysanka, you have to recognize the deeply personal sentiment it carries.  The pysanky in her collection are truly masterworks, intricate and layered with symbolism, which make them both deeply traditional and fetchingly contemporary. 

                                                                  Imagine one, or perhaps a handful of these beautiful pysanky displayed in your home.  You could select designs for their symbols, or perhaps select them for the stories they tell.  It would be amazing to have a collection such as Deana's in a color coordinated to your home decor!

You write a pysanka.  Using a traditional writing tool called a kistka, you deposit melted bee's wax through a little funnel, onto a raw egg.  The wax becomes embedded in the egg shell, afterwhich you dip the egg in colored dye.  This "batik" process is repeated over a sequence of lighter to darker color dyes.  With the design perfectly encased in beeswax, one gently melts the wax both to reveal the design and give the egg shell a polished luster.  Over the course of time, the porous eggshell allows the egg contents to dry to dust, leaving a perfectly firm eggshell which can be preserved for tens of years, or more. 

                                                                             If you are in Calgary, you may want to purchase supplies to make Pysanky yourself.  Remember to consult with a truly qualified instructor - there are many who "have done Ukrainian eggs" but have very little deep understanding of the symbols and traditions.  I have seen "experts" allow children to scribble designs on the egg, which misses the perfect opportunity to help little ones recognize symbols in their daily lives.  We are, afterall, the symbolic species. 

I know the women at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Calgary Collection at 404 Meredith Road NE, 403-264-3437, have a gift shop where they sell the pysanka supplies.  Recently I purchased a beginners kit for $12! You can get to Europa Express on Edmonton Trail NE, but then again you can go online to http://www.yevshan.com/ for more.

Learning to do pysanky is a very beautiful thing.  If you are ambitious you can take a class through ACUA,  The Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts, but lately I have heard there are many arts schools that have embedded Pysanka art in their curricula.  Amazingly, someone recently told me that there is an art college in Nova Scotia where hundreds of neophites are learning how to make this "masterpiece in your hand".  Perhaps you might join the trend?

Calgary's 3rd Annual Ukrainian Festival

Well today is the day!  The Ukrainian Festival in Calgary is a spectacular and unexpected treat I hope you get a chance to experience!  With dancers, singers, performances of all kinds, vendors, food, entertainment of a social kind, a zabava and plenty of opportunities to visit and get reacquainted with your Ukrainian community, it's time to get out and celebrate.

In a city where about 80,000 people claim Ukrainian descent, this is a long overdue celebration of our rich heritage! It’s time to say “Vitaemo!” (Welcome!) to all, and show Calgary true Ukrainian hospitality!

The organizing committee has done such a fabulous job of accomodating the needs of all those involved - make sure you let them know they are appreciated.  Well, I hope to see you Saturday and Sunday at Acadia Recreation Complex - 240-90 Avenue SE.  or check www. calgaryukrainianfestival.ca

Oi, zabava, zabava azh do rannia, Oi, zabava, zabava tseeloo neech!

A Century of Faith 1912-2012 Ukrainian Catholic Church Celebrates

The Calgary Ukrainian community, whether newer immgrants, or those of pioneer stock have a wonderful way to celebrate our common heritage this weekend.  In the early years of our Calgary Ukrianian Community, there was a unified community, striving for identity, support and blessings on their work in the new homeland, Canada.  So, if you read the blog from yesterday about the Bridgeland Churches, you will hear how the original Ukrainian church in Calgary was built by joint efforts of all faithful - up in the Tuxedo area.  The church structure still stands, and celebrates it 100th birthday too this year.  More important though is the visit of an important guest to Calgary - this weekend.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church of Calgary is celebrating a Century of Faith on the June 2-3, 2012 weekend with a special Patriarchal Visit.  There will be a Pontifical Liturgy celebrated by His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Ukraine, and a Banquet and Reception- surely a worthy celebration of the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Ukrainian Bishop to Canada - Bishop Budka.  His arrival to Canada was greeted with the building of many churches, and Calgary's Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (at 704-6th Street NE) will celebrate their 100th year of Faith and Prayer.  For more information contact www.abvmcalgary.com or call 403-230-7013.

Ukrainian Churches in Bridgeland

Did you know in the early years of Calgary's growth, there was a huge influx of people to Calgary from the Ukrainian immigration group - the railway made it possible for people to come here for the important jobs involved in creating our National Park - Banff.  Logging, construction, and other physical jobs were opportunities for people who didn't have the language, yet needed employment.  So, many people moved to the Calgary area, and settled on the homesteads in the area.  Their "downtown"  was Bridgeland, but their first church was built way up the hill in Tuxedo.  Read a great blog about the two Ukrainian churches in Bridgeland that contains a lot of valuable historical information - stuff that not too many people take the time to know. 

http://churchesinbridgeland.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/hello-world/

Ukrainian Food - Buckwheat, Yum!

Ukrainians in Calgary adore eating rice filled cabbage rolls and potato pyrogies, but little did you know that, though they are so widely considered a staple among the traditional Ukrainian foods, they are in fact historically a delicacy.  Did you ever consider why the rice cabbage rolls are typically made very small in Western Ukrainian culinary tradition?  I always wondered about those little pinky sized holubtsi - but I loved the tiny ones the best.

Did you ever consider that rice doesn't grow in Ukraine?  Where would one get rice on the Ukrainian steppe land, especially way back in history?  Well, surely you can see that rice was an imported food product from the orient.  So,......what did Ukrainians put into their cabbage rolls before they imported rice? 

Then there is the question of pyrogies.  You know, the meal we all crave, potato pyrogies, that are so widely loved on the Canadian prairies.   Again, why are they so small, so delicately made? 

So, do you know that potatoes are also an imported crop - originally from South America? Way back after Columbus, some potatoes ended up in Ireland, then across Europe, and became a staple part of the diet in Ukraine too. 

So, rice and potatoes?  What did Ukrainians use before then?  One thing for certain, buckwheat!!

I adore buckwheat, whether boiled, baked, ground into flour for crepes, in cabbage rolls,.... buckwheat is such a perfect food.  While many people think it is a cereal grain, it is actually related to rhubarb and sorrel. It is a suitable grain substitute for people who have gluten issues, better for people who have blood sugar and isulin issues, the insoluble fiber helps protect you from gallstones, and buckwheat contains so many trace minerals that it is better for anemia too.  It is a wonder food, at least in my eyes. 

Much loved all over the Slavic world, there is even a song about it - Dance my Buckwheat Pancakes, which says hop! my little hrechaniki, quick, stay white, not like the ones that ended up staying on the stove!! Seems like the delicate buckwheat pancakes require a quick flip!  

So where do you get buckwheat in Calgary?  You can buy the regular stuff from almost any market, but the "good stuff" is something you get from a Ukrainian store, eh!  Try getting to Ukrainian Gifts Europa Express at 202-403 9 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 0V9 or call
(403) 277-2180 (.