Odessa Hot News

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A Ukrainian traditional woman's costume was not complete without

corali (corals). Corals were necklaces, made from red coral. Those,

who could afford it, put a huge golden coin in the middle of it,

called ducat. It was a sort of insurance and a saving for a rainy day

- if you were low on luck, you could save the ducat to buy food,

medicine, coal and so on. These necklaces are made from wood, so they

are kind of fake. :-))) I saw those made from real coral, they cost

from 5 euros and up, but I don't have a photo.

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Here you see Ukrainian pottery, and in the background, there are

plahtas. Plahtas is a head wear for married women. While everyone

wore vyshyvaky, not everyone could wear a plahta. Young girls wore

wreaths on their heads. When a woman married, or became of a mature

age, but unmarried, she wore a plahta: a head band, over which a

scarf/shawl was put. It was considered indecent for a married woman

to show her hair. The black plahta, you wore such for funerals or if

you were like a thousand years old. If you were 999, you wore a

plahta with a lot of flowers, instead of white, like here, to make it

easier to wash. Black colour was considered bad luck back then, as I

told you already.

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Ukrainian folk group in Ukrainian costumes. You see that the women

wear headbands, and they attached flowers to them. Traditionally,

they should have put plahtas (bit head scarves) on, to cover their

hair, not flowers. But, of course, it does not matter nowadays, so they wear what

they want. They all wear corali (necklaces) around their necks.

The man who plays the accordion is dressed in a

traditional costume only on top (vyshyvanka, red poyas (silk belt).

Then he wears normal trousers and shoes. It shows that Ukrainian

traditional costume is very versatile and you can wear it even now

every day, like everyday clothing, or at least some parts of them.

 

[JC2922]

Ukrainian folk group in Ukrainian costumes. You see that the women

wear headbands, and they attached flowers to them. Traditionally,

they should have put plahtas (bit head scarves) on, to cover their

hair, not flowers. But, of course, it does not matter nowadays, so they wear what

they want. They all wear corali (necklaces) around their necks.

The man who plays the accordion is dressed in a

traditional costume only on top (vyshyvanka, red poyas (silk belt).

Then he wears normal trousers and shoes. It shows that Ukrainian

traditional costume is very versatile and you can wear it even now

every day, like everyday clothing, or at least some parts of them.

 

Thanks Altiva! :)JC2922.

[altiva]

hi people,

February 21 is an International tourist guide day.

It's a great opportunity for you to send greetings and nice wishes

to your guides, thanking them for their efforts. They'll appreciate

your thanks and will try even harder to make your stay in their

countries even better.

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Ukraine, Independence day:

 

Ukrainian national costume:

 

Inside of a Ukrainian house:

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Ukraine, Easter.

There is Cossack Mamai on the wall, in the corner:

 

Ukrainian embroidery:

 

Ukrainian students:

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Holiday table, Ukraine:

 

Friends:

 

Greek statue, Ukraine:

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Ukrainian family:

 

Ukrainian house:

 

Ukrainian embroidery:

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Ukrainian head scarf:

 

Ukrainian national costume:

 

More photos here:

http://odessainterpreters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=11

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Church of a thousand towels.

Traditionally, Ukrainian loves to decorate their clothes, houses,

utensils. Even the simplest things, like their every day shirts, have

embroidery on them, their houses are hand painted, as well as their

spoons, plates and so on.

A very important thing they used every day was ryshnyk - a towel.

There were kitchen towels, bath towels, and towels, used for clothing

and decoration.

So, it's no wonder that there is a Museum of Ukrainian towels. The

museum is in an old church, built in 1651. And the church is situated

in a Ukrainian town, called Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky. The town is first

mentioned in old manuscripts in 907. It has four rivers, flowing

around it: Dnieper, Trubizh, Karan, Alta. Also, it's known as a town

of museum, because it houses 30 museums.

You can get there if you are taking a Dnieper river cruise, or if you

are travelling to Kyiv.

What:

A Church of a Thousand Towels.

Where:

Museum of National Architecture and Everyday Life of Dnieper region

Pereyaslah-Khmelnistky

Ukraine

When: every day, from 10 to 17.

Here is a museum of Ukrainian towels, interior.

 

 

More photos here:

http://odessainterpreters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=11

[altiva]

It is a long, pre-Christian tradition in Ukraine to make dolls,

called motanky (from the verb "motaty", which means "to wind"). They

are called thus, because of the way they are made - by winding pieces

of cloth into a human form. Some say that they represent an old pagan

goddess of love Lada, others say that it's a pagan goddess of

motherhood and family Mokosh. But historians say that these dolls are

even older than Ukrainian paganism. It's supposed to me a mother

figure, a foundress of the whole tribe, a female ancestor. In

Ukraine, women made such dolls for their daughters. When the

daughters married away, they took the dolls with them to their new

family.

Motanky are a talisman, which protects your house and family. If you

have a motanka in your house, you will be lucky, healthy, prosperous.

Motanky have no faces. They are either blank or they have an embroidered cross on

their heads. This way, when evil comes to your house, it has no way

to enter, not through eyes, or ears or mouth.

It's a great thing to buy, for yourself or your friends as a present.

When you buy that doll, you name it, but never tell anyone what it's

called. So, you will be doubly protected.

There are designers who make motanky, dressed in beautiful clothes,

with rich embroidery. Such dolls are expensive, but there are simpler

versions out there for you to buy.

 

 

 

 

More photos:

http://odessainterpreters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=12

[altiva]

Forgot!

There is a story about these dolls.

Once, there was a husband and wife. The wife became very ill, and

dying. She asked her husband to open her little private box which she

kept in the house. In the box, there were two motanky-dolls and 25

thousands in cash.

"What is this?" asked the husband.

"When I got married, mum told me: if ever you are mad at your

husband, say nothing but go and make a doll".

The husband was overcame with emotions. His wife was angry at him

only twice during their long married life! And he gave her such hard

time often! He sobbed. Then he pulled himself together and asked:

"But what are these 25 thousands?"

"Ah, this is the money I received, selling dolls, which I made during

our marriage".

[altiva]

Today is the birthday of Volodymyr Ivasiuk - Ukrainian composer, song

writer, poet. He was born March 4 1949. Graduated from a medical university.

In 1971, he went to Moscow with two of his friends with the song he

wrote. The song was called "Red ruta" ("Red rue"; rue is an evergreen

shrub). Normally, rue blossom is yellow, but Ukrainian legend says

that if you find a red blossom rue, you will be happy in love all

your life. The song won the first prize, and became the most popular

Ukrainian song. In 2012 people created a live chain to celebrate

united Ukraine, and they sang "Red ruta" song.

Next year, 1972, another song of Ivasuik won the competition. He then

joined Lviv conservatory and studied to become a composer. One month

after his 30-ies birthday, Ivasuik went out of his home and had not

been seen again. Later, his body was found hang in a little forest,

badly disguised as a suicide. Ivasuik was hanged by Russian KGB for

simply writing songs in Ukrainian language, which became overly

popular. The Russian occupational regime didn't like that.

That was his only crime.

1971, a song competition in Moscow:

 

A 2011 version:

http://youtu.be/qp-BWZdC3hQ

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Odessa Opera House, all times and seasons.

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Please, below.

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Kyiv is a capital of Ukraine.

Kyiv was founded in 5-6 century A.D.

Kyiv is the largest city in Ukraine, and the seventh most largest in

Europe. Kyiv is lager than Paris.

After ancient Ukrainians were christened (988), writers of chronics

started comparing Kyiv to Rome. It's situated on seven

hills, like Rome. It has a river flowing through it, like Rome. But,

the name came mostly from the huge amount of churches and cathedrals,

built there. There is the legend that St Andrew came to Ukrainian

lands. He travelled up the river Dnieper. When he saw the seven

hills, he came out from the boat, and told his disciples: "See this

place? A grand and famous city will be built here". St Andrew

claimed the hills and prayed to God, so later on his prophecy became

true. Kyiv was, and still is, a very important place to come on

religious pilgrimage.

Many cities in Ukraine has a "favourite" tree. Kyiv's tree is chestnut.

They are many chestnut trees in Kyiv. They blossom in spring

with white and pink blossoms. The unofficial anthem of Kyiv is called "Kyiv's

waltz". It says: "Again, blossoms the chestnut trees. The Dnieper

waves move. Dear youth, you are my happiness." When there is a radio

announcement, or any broadcast from Kyiv, they start playing that

song.

Yet another song goes: "How not to love you, my Kyiv". So, look at

these photos, and tell us how not to.

 

 

 

This is Andriyiv (Andrew) descent, a very steep street, where people sell their art and souvenirs.

 

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Today, google posted a new logo on their search engine, which looked

like this:

It is to commemorate the birthday of Volodymyr Dahno - one of the

most prominent cartoon makers in Ukraine.

His most celebrated cartoons is a series called "How cossacks..."

He tells us how cossacks played football, made kulish (porridge),

freed their fiancees, bought salt, became Olympians, helped the

musketeers, celebrated a wedding, met aliens, played hockey.

All of the cartoons have no speech. You understand what happens by

gestures and music. All the cartoons make fun of cultural

stereotypes.

Most interesting, that Dahno made his cartoons during the Russian

occupation of Ukraine. So, all the records are written in Russian (if

you did not do so, you could go to jail or you could get killed). But

all the signs, writings, labels in the cartoons are written in

Ukrainian language. It's hard to appreciate now, but back then it was

a sign of a huge bravery.

I wanted to post these cartoons here for a long time.

I think now is the day.

I decided to post "How cossack played football", mostly because of

Euro 2012.

Remember, you don't need to know Ukrainian language to understand

them.

Football - if you are an American, it's soccer.

A short summary:

Three cossacks, which are the main protagonists of the all stories,

returned from London. They saw a football game there. They saw a

queen giving out a golden cup as a prize. They were impressed and

decided to play football, too. At first, cossacks trained and it did

not end well, mostly because they refused to give up their guns.

Then, the cossack travel through Europe and play with German knights

(Teutonic knights), with French musketeers and finally, in London,

against London gentlemen.

When cossack play against the Teutonic knights, the knights use

Teutonic military tactics, called wedge (Panzerkeil) and swine

(Schweinkof).

Here is the video:

[altiva]

Today is March 8, International Women's Day.

It's a holiday in Ukraine.

This day, men buy women flowers and presents and say how wonderful

the women are.

Wishing all the women all over the world a lot of health and

happiness.

Ukrainian love:

[altiva]

Today, March 9, is a birthday of Taras Shevchenko, a prominent Ukrainian writer, poet, painter. It's 199 years since he was born.

Taras Shevchenko is like Shakespeare for English, or Molière for French.

Taras was born into a peasant family, in 1814. Which means that he was born a serf, a slave to his lord and land owner. He had a very hard childhood. His family was poor. His mother died, his father remarried and then died, too. He worked since he was 10. He learned how to read and write from a local cantor. When Taras was 14, he became a page to his lord. He liked painting, and, at night, copied the paintings which were hang in the lord's dining room, for which he was severely beaten. Then his owner had an idea to educate Taras as a painter. He took Taras to Lithuania and St Petersburg, where Taras attended the universities. A skilled serf cost more money, you see. In St Petersburg, people noticed a bright Ukrainian painter and decided to set him free. The owner of Shevchenko asked for 2500 roubles!

Back then, a grown up man cost 250 roubles! At last, they managed to collect the money. Shevchenko was free! But not for long. He started writing poems and ballads in Ukrainian language.

If you were Ukrainian in 19 century and wrote Ukrainian verses, it was like committing a suicide. Sooner or later, Russians came and got you for good. A publisher friend read Shevchenko's poems and published them. In one of the poems, Shevchenko compared the Russian tzar's wife to a baked champignon. The poem was published. The Russian tzar read it and was furious.

Shevhenko was forced to serve as a soldier in a Russian army for 25 years, as a punishment. He was also forbidden to write or paint. He served in a Russian fortress Orenburg for ten years. Then, the tzar died and the new tzar pardoned him. So, he returned to Ukraine. Shevhenko died when he was 47. Thousands of people came to say "good bye". He was buried near Kaniv, because he dreamed about living near this Ukrainian city all his life, in "quietude and happiness".

When you travel by Dnieper river, you will see a huge monument to Taras Shevchenko near Kaniv.

 

[altiva]

Today is a start of Maslenytsya in Ukraine.

It's the last week before the great Easter fast, when people are not

supposed to eat dairy, fish and meat. Many Ukrainian restaurants will have

a fast menu added to accommodate people who are fasting.

Maslenytsya means "buttery". You are supposed to stuff yourself with

pancakes this week. And they are supposed to be fried on real butter.

Ukrainians love butter and add it to many dishes. Vareniky

(dumplings) must "swim" in butter, for example.

Here is a Ukrainian woman, making butter at home. You can buy real

home made butter on farmer's markets.

Ukrainian pancakes are called nalysnyky.

It's pancakes, stuffed with rice, meat, buckwheat, berries, cheese

(the cheese ones are sweet, they add sugar and raisins to them).

These are the ones with cheese. You eat them with sour cream.

 

Besides pancakes, people eat different sausages, salo (lard), meat,

paltry.

[altiva]

Nalysnyky with raspberries.