Today Ukraine celebrates Vyshyvanka Day. What are some interesting and little-known facts about embroidered clothing?

Today, May 15, Ukraine celebrates Vyshyvanka Day. On this day, thousands and millions of Ukrainians, adults and young, wear Vyshyvankas [embroidered shirts] when they go to school or work, and they say that people are always upbeat and smiling on this day, because many symbols of strength, prosperity, beauty and amulets are encoded in ancient clothing. Ukrainian News Agency will present some interesting and little-known facts about Ukrainian Vyshyvanka.

The holiday does not provide for mandatory events other than wearing Vyshyvanka. Although throughout the history of the event, concerts, processions, competitions, evening parties, and fairs have been held on the initiative of students, schoolchildren, public and cultural figures. The holiday itself invites every conscious citizen to do a completely simple thing - just put on Vyshyvanka and go to work or study in it.

This is what the ornaments of embroidered shirts from different regions look like. Photo: mala.storinka.org

Facts about embroidered shirts:

1. The first embroidered shirts were not just an element of clothing. They had a more mystical meaning. Slavic peoples wore embroidered shirts to protect against evil. The collar, sleeves and hem of the clothing were decorated with ornaments. Even newborns were given embroidered shirts to protect the child from evil spirits.
2. Many of the ornaments used in the decoration of embroidered shirts date back to pagan times. For example, solar signs or the "thunder sign", the "wheel of Jupiter" are associated with the pagan celestial deity Rod.
3. Every girl had to embroider such a shirt for her future husband. And not just like that, but in order to know whether he was faithful to her or not. Embroidering the shirt, the girls whispered an ancient spell. It was believed that if a shirt lost its whiteness after another wash, it meant, as the people say, "a man jumped into buckwheat [cheated on wife - ed.]."
4. Chumaks [Chumachestvo, chumakuvannia - merchant, trade and carriage trade of Ukrainians in the lands of the Great Steppe from the 15th century to the mid-19th century] trusted only one girl to wash their shirt. Others were not allowed to participate in such a sacred rite. Thus, the Chumak confirmed his loyalty to his beloved.
5. One of the most original types of embroidery is considered to be Borshchivska. Such a shirt is richly embroidered with black threads. There is a legend that when the Turks and Tatars destroyed almost all the men in Borshchivka, women from this and neighboring settlements wore such black and white shirts for several generations as a sign of grief and sadness.

Borshchivska embroidery. Photo: wikipedia.org

1. There is also embroidery "white on white". This is an artistic technique in which the relief pattern of the embroidery creates a play of light. At the end, the masters receive a very delicate, unique work.

Reshetylivka embroidery. Photo: golos.com.ua

1. Vyshyvanka was not the everyday clothing of Ukrainians. The list of interesting facts would be incomplete if we did not mention that Ukrainians never wore Vyshyvankas for every day. At a time when there were no modern detergents, washing machines, and it took months to create one shirt, it was very impractical to show off in an embroidered shirt every day. An interesting fact is that shirts for everyday life were called "budenkas" [for every day - ed.]. They were not decorated with anything at all
2. Vyshyvanka Day is celebrated in 60 countries. Flash mobs in Vyshyvankas and marches are popular not only in Ukraine, but also in 60 countries where the Ukrainian diaspora is present.
3. Vyshyvanka is depicted on the twenty-hryvnia banknote. This banknote depicts Ivan Franko in an embroidered shirt. Interesting: the writer was the first among the intelligentsia to promote embroidered clothing in combination with classic jackets, vests, and trench coats.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Vyshyvanka Day, which traditionally involves wearing embroidered shirts, blouses, and dresses, is celebrated in Ukraine every year on the third Thursday of May.

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