A CELEBRATION of Ukrainian culture was held in Coventry on Friday night.
The event at St Mary’s Guild Hall was organised by The Organisation of Ukrainian Women and was so popular all the tickets had sold out a week before.
The cultural programme included Ukrainian folk songs, storytelling about Ukrainian traditions and culture and traditional Ukrainian and Cossack dancing.
As well as the concert, the Organisation of Ukrainian Women displayed embroidery made by the group’s members – blouses, dresses, shirts, traditional towels called rushnyck, table cloths, pillow cases, bench covers and embroidered pictures. The exhibition also included traditional Ukrainian ceramics, wooden carved crafts, pysankas (Easter eggs decorated by beewax and dyes), musical instruments, traditional Ukrainian costumes and other Ukrainian arts.
The embroidered blouse or shirt – called vyshyvanka – was the traditional Ukrainian clothing and in modern times it takes a very special place in all Ukrainian hearts as to wear embroidered clothes has become a means of expressing patriotism.
Every embroidered blouse and a shirt and their patterns were unique. In years gone by, Ukrainians believed copying someone’s pattern for embroidery was bad luck as every symbol was meant to be a talisman for the person the shirt or blouse was embroidered for.
All shirts were embroidered by women only.
Every colour, every line and object on embroidery was coded for good fortune for her family, her loved one and herself. The young girl had to embroider a wedding shirt for her future husband in hope his attitude towards her will be as clean as the shirt on his body. Mothers embroidered clothes for their children, even newborns, as symbols of protection in the future. There was a time when wearing embroidered shirt was forbidden by the Soviet regime and Stalin. Sadly, many Ukrainians were killed or imprisoned for that.
Nowadays, vyshyvanka is a part of Ukrainian history, identity and pride which is why they feel it is so important for the community to preserve it for the next generations of Ukrainians in Coventry.
Iryna King, the head of the Organisation of Ukrainian Women in Coventry, said: “Ukraine is a nation with rich vibrant culture, its own traditions, good family values, peaceful attitude and respect to other cultures and traditions.
“It was a big honour for us that the representatives from Coventry City Council, Lady Godiva, the members of Sikh Union, the British Organisation of People of Asian Origin (BOPA), The Polish Centre in Leamington Spa, the members of Lions International club and the representatives from other communities and organisations in Coventry could share that historical moment with us.”
The Organisation of Ukrainian Women in Coventry was formed in 1948 when the first Ukrainians settled in Great Britain after the Second World War. It is a branch of the Association of Ukrainian Women in Great Britain.
Last year Ukrainian women celebrated its 75th anniversary in Coventry.
The organisation has women spanning four generations of Ukrainians in the city. Their youngest member is 20, the eldest lady is 99.
As well as caring for their members, the group preserves and develops Ukrainian customs and traditions and passes them on to the next generations of Ukrainians in Coventry.
After the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, the group’s priority is to support and help Ukraine, Ukrainian people, and support displaced Ukrainians in Coventry.
