Easter bells

April 14, 2020

Humanity believed that for centuries epidemics and pandemics were stopped by church bells. In the large territories around the sources of the outbreak of deadly ailments, where the bells sounded, people got healing, the ailments receded ... Who is the church bell sounding for? The sounds of the bells healed the souls of the living and those who departed for a Better World. In anticipation of the Easter Bells, we hope that with the great energy efforts of mankind, the pandemic will be stopped and decline… The Easter bells will clean the environment and heal our souls…

Probably, during the long Easter Lent, we had the opportunity to reflect on the eternal and the earthly, to reconcile our actions with the life of Jesus Christ, his earthly way, teaching and upbringing. Through fasting and prayer, believers improve their souls. Fasting is a spiritual purification, the way to true love. We are all Christians, but we forget the commandments, do not think about them, or worse, do not know them at all. In the Gospel of John (John 15: 9) we read, "abide in my love," says Christ, "and you will abide in my love, when ye keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love...». In the love that St. Augustine himself was abiding. “When you are silent, you are silent for love. When you speak, speak out of love. When you forgive – forgive for love. When you correct someone, correct for the love. In your heart always have the root of love. Only good deeds will grow from that root." It seems that these very words are teaching us – scientific and teaching staff!

How to learn to love and nurture future generations in love? In times of war, human suffering, loss, humiliation, thousands of people in our country. To melt the ice in the soul of a teenager, a young man, to return to the origins, to the sources, to the true faith of ancestors… Only in great love for one's neighbor, in compassion and mercy, in understanding and support, beginning with yourself... “May the roots of love always be at your heart!”, – St. Augustine appeals to us. In every commandment of God there is love for man. “Love is long-suffering, love is gentle, it does not envy, love does not bend, does not puff, does not look for his own, does not rush to anger, does not conceive evil; does not rejoice when one commits an offense, rejoices in the truth; takes everything down, believes everything, hopes everything will endure. Love never crosses” (1 Cor. 13: 4-8).

All Christian perfection is in keeping the commandments of God. He who keeps the commandments of God will be a good father or mother, son or daughter; he will value and protect his own life and that of his fellow men; he will cherish purity of heart; will honor others' property and good name, avoid sins (breaking these Commandments). To know little, one must keep the commandments of God and live according to them. God's commandments are so perfect that nothing can be taken away or added. With them we can guide and raise our children. It would be good to take the motto today: "Return to the Commandments of God!"

I ask the Lord for a son,
I ask the Lord for my brother,
Because their fate is a kind of pock-marked,
they need God's power.
Let the word warm them more,
The life cloud will break.
Let it be less punishment,
Let there be more hope.
I lift my eyes to God...
And like a voice in silence
wishes to sincerely comfort me,
For there is someone for whom to pray.

(Vadym Khryshchenko "I ask the Lord")

In Ukraine, the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ is associated with the awakening from hibernation, the renewal of nature, the restoration of all humanity. The resurrection of Christ is closely linked to repentance – the rebirth of man. New life and rebirth. The rebirth of Mary of Egypt is a harlot who surprised the angels themselves!

The week we are in is a week of reflection, a week of ascetic spiritual and spiritual work for each of us. This is a time when we think of the defenders of the Fatherland, of our army, of our volunteers, of our lineage, of our forefathers, of the earth that gave us the power and energy to live and create, of the universe… The egg is like the universe:

"Shell like the sky,
film is like clouds,
protein is like water,
the yolk is like the earth,
and the humidity in the middle of the egg is
as sin in the world."

There is everything in an egg that miraculously turns into a work of art – Easter eggs! The egg is a new life and rebirth. Ukrainians believed that as long as the Easter eggs would be painted and colored, the world itself would last.

 

Rolled Easter egg from the mountain to the valley,
It just rolled to our guest room.
And after it the Easter is carrying a white Easter cake,
Rings the bells, scatters joy and grace.

(Roman Zavadovych)

Easter eggs (krashanky and pysanky) are symbols of spring, sun, nature's return to life and victory over death. They symbolize the Risen Christ. It is said that when Jesus Christ and St. Peter went to different places, in one city the Pharisees threw them stones and clumps of earth. But as soon as he touched the stone of the body of Jesus, he immediately turned into a Easter egg, and as a breast involved – turned into a paste. St. Peter collected all that and then gave it to the people who welcomed them. Since then, it has become a custom to paint Easter eggs and make colorful eggs and share them with believers.

Easter egg is a true pride of our people, painted with a miniature egg ornament is considered a unique creation of Ukrainian folk art. The most commonly used pictures on Easter eggs are: triangle – symbol of three-dimensionality: Water – Earth – Air or Man – Woman – Baby; rhombus – fertility, female origin: square – a sign of infinity, a symbol of spirituality, Heaven, Cosmos; dots – starry stars; dots in rhombus – sown field, grains; pine branch – a symbol of youth, eternal life, the rebirth of nature; flowers – the faces of unborn children; tree – family, heredity of generations; star – t he soul of man; the sun is eternity, life, prosperity.

The main ornaments used by Easter egg painters in Ukraine (Volyn, eastern Polissya):

In each locality of Ukraine there was a distinctive ornament and color. In the Carpathian region eggs were painted in yellow, red and black, in Chernihiv – in red, black and white, in Poltava – in yellow, light green, white. 

At Easter, at straw
against the sun, children
were just playing the Easter eggs…

(Taras Shevchenko)

Krashanky are boiled chicken (sometimes goose) eggs in different colors. The main colorful colors: red – symbolizes the joy of life; yellow – represents the moon and stars, as well as the harvest; blue is health; green – the annual resurrection of nature; black with white – respect for the spirits. Dots are the easiest easter eggs. The lighted candle is slightly tilted over the egg and wax is added. When the wax spots have frozen, the egg is immersed in the paint. As soon as the paint dries, the egg is heated, the melted wax is wiped – bright spots remain on the colored egg. You can also use the technique of drawing – to apply multicolored dots with a brush.

In the Hutsul region they say that the Virgin Mary was painting Easter eggs and presented them to Pilate so that he might have mercy on her Son. Taking the egg in hand, the Mother of God wept and poured tears in her work, and spots appeared from her tears. So the so called spotted eggs (krapanky) appeared.

Hand-drawn eggs (malyovanky) are eggs drawn with watercolor or acrylic paints, or specialty egg paints and varnishes. The real masters adhere to the old technique: they boil eggs for 8 minutes in hot water. One is taken out, wiped dry and placed in a glass. Brush the top of the egg with a brush – the paint dries quickly on the hot egg. Egg turn over and color the other part.

For scratched eggs (drypanky), it is better to take eggs of brown color. The shell of such eggs is stronger than the white ones. Based on this somewhat humorous name, such Easter eggs are made by scratching the pattern on the painted surface of a cooked egg with a sharp object. This work is very delicate, requires focus and skill. It can take several days to scrape a complex image. One careless movement – and the work loses its perfection.

Biserky or biserivky are made in different ways. The raw egg is blown out, dried and rubbed with a wax candle. Then they light a candle, pick up a glass bead by the needle, and hold for a second or two over the flame, then quickly applying it to the egg. The heated beads are securely glued to the wax. Such biserky are also called voskivky (waxed eggs). Otherwise, the beads are threaded, which is then laid out in a pattern and glued to the egg.

 

Usually, beads were performed in monasteries, decorating Easter eggs with even small icons, so beads are often called monastery eggs.

Embroidered egg (vyshyvanka) is a little-known, unusual, but very interesting, albeit a difficult way to decorate an Easter egg – to embroider it. Just like people embroider towels or wipes with a regular needle and regular threads. But egg shell is a fragile material, so any inaccurate movement of the hand causes irreparable damage to the product.

In the village of Dobrohostiv, Drohobych district, Lviv region, an original commemorative sign of the Ukrainian Easter egg was installed.

The largest Easter egg museum is located in Kolomyia

The largest monument to Ukrainian Pysanka, 20 meters high, is located in Canada

Souvenir eggs were always given in Ukraine. Made by children's hands, they have acquired the protective properties. Therefore, many families have kept these gifts for years. There were also world famous jewelry masters, which amazes many today as well. Thus, among the works of the famous jeweler Carl Faberge there are valuable Easter eggs-souvenirs, made for the Russian imperial family (XIX – beginning of XX century).

The tradition of Easter eggs in Ukraine has been known for a long time. Today, it returns to our homes and our lives. Famous Easter eggs painters have always lived in our land. At times, one Easter egg painter would prepare these masterpieces for the whole village on Clean Thursday before Easter. This is one of many Ukrainian traditions that the Resurrection of Christ brings to us.

З Воскресінням Христовим, рідний університете! Нехай подвижницька праця кожного, хто переступає твій поріг від ректора до студента примножує нашу славу, здобуту за більш як 120 чудових років! Нехай пошанованим буде кожен ветеран, хто з гордістю згадує роки своєї праці! Нехай кожен студент, пишаючись, скаже: «Я навчався в одному з найкращих вишів світу!

Tamara Kovalchuk,
associate professor of the department of m+anagement and educational technologies,
faculty for humanities and pedagogics

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