Vyshyvanka Day in Canada
How Canada celebrated Ukrainian holiday.
Every third Thursday of May Ukrainians celebrate Vyshyvanka Day. Vyshyvanka is a traditional Ukrainian clothing, mainly a shirt originally decorated with hand embroidery.
This day is celebrated since 2006. At that time Lesya Voronok, a student of the political science department of the Chernivtsi National University, suggested her classmates and students coming one day in vyshyvankas. This action became so popular that became nationwide. Almost immediately, the Ukrainian diaspora around the world joined, as well as those who sympathize with Ukraine and love the culture.
Centuries Ukrainians believed that a shirt with an embroidered pattern was a talisman against all evil that could happen in life, so they tried to encrypt happiness, fate, life and will in the ornament. Almost every Ukrainian family has an embroidered shirt with different patterns, and each region of the country is characterized by its own ornament and design.
The holiday does not have any religious or political status. Its very idea is to preserve Ukrainian values.
In Belarus, the vyshyvanka is no less popular than in Ukraine. During the protests against the elections in 2020, the vyshyvanka became a symbol of resistance of the entire Belarusian people and all those who care about the country. People around the world would publish photos in vyshyvankas, buy them and performed in parliaments.
For more than a year now, the vyshyvanka has become such a symbol for Ukrainians. After the attack of the Russian Federation, people all over the world started wearing badges with the Ukrainian flag, someone wore a vyshyvanka.
"Wishing all Ukrainians in Ontario and around the world a happy #VyshyvankaDay. This is a day to celebrate Ukrainian heritage and culture," tweeted premier of Ontario Doug Ford.
At tough moments like in Ukraine or Belarus, national symbols become significant. They remind of the people's spirit strength, of fortitude and courage and it also shows what makes a nation different from any other, demonstrating its independence and uniqueness to the world.
