How to spend the Day of Ukrainian embroidery according to all the rules

Every third Thursday of May, Ukrainians annually celebrate the International Day of Ukrainian embroidery. In 2022, the holiday falls on May 19. On this day, everyone, not only in Ukraine, but also abroad, wear an embroidered shirt to study or work. This is how people show their involvement and respect for Ukrainian culture. Embroidered clothing of Ukrainians is not just a national outfit, but also a powerful amulet.



Clothing with embroidery elements was worn by Scythians who lived on the territory of modern Ukraine before our era. Embroidery was made of linen, hemp, silk or cotton. Each ornament depicted the features of the area in which the Ukrainians lived. Embroidery was decorated with outer clothes, hats, men's shirts and women's dresses. And the motifs of ornaments were passed down from generation to generation.

The existence of embroidery in the times of Kievan Rus is confirmed by frescoes on the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. Italian traveler Julbert de Lannoy twice visited the former territory of the Kingdom of Hungary. Here he saw that the headdresses and mittens of Rusyns were decorated with embroidery. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the embroidered shirt separated from the national costume and began to be worn in combination with European clothes.



Nikita Khrushchev loved to wear Ukrainian embroidery in public, since then the embroidery has acquired the features of business clothes. During the years of independence of Ukraine, embroidery became popular again. She became most famous after the Orange Revolution in 2004 and Euromaidan in 2013. Ukrainians proudly wear embroidery to rallies, concerts, solemn events and weddings.

Foreign designers dedicated their shows to Ukrainian embroidery. In 2005, Jean-Paul Gaultier presented the “Ukrainian collection” of embroidery from different Ukrainian cities: Lviv, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Kiev and others. Ukrainian designer Vita Kim popularized embroidery in Hollywood. Her dresses with Ukrainian embroidery became the most popular summer clothes in 2015 according to The Wall Street Journal. Also Ukrainian embroidery in their outfits used: Gin Galliano, Gucci, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana.

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To celebrate the Day of Ukrainian embroidered shirt offered students in 2006, when one of the classmates came to pairs in embroidery. At the time, it was a small student event where dozens of people gathered. Now the holiday is celebrated around the world by Ukrainians, public figures with Ukrainian roots and those who like clothes with meaning.



Every embroidery, according to Ukrainian masters, should be embroidered manually. So the shirt turns into a talisman, a symbol of love and care of relatives, a symbol of respect for the traditions of their people. On the embroidered shirt you can see an abstract drawing, animals and plants. Motifs of ancient times are displayed on the embroidery in the form of a square, a diamond, a crossed cross, a circle. These patterns are considered sacred and symbolize the sun.



The diamond symbolizes fertility, the square symbolizes balance, luck and harmony, the spiral is the symbol of change, and crosses have always been a symbol of protection from dark forces. It has always been believed that men should wear a shirt with geometric patterns, and women - with the image of plants and flowers.

Each embroidery girl puts meaning into the embroidered shirt, enchants it and thus protects the person to whom the product is intended. Previously, every girl before marriage was obliged to embroidery her future husband embroidery. Interestingly, in this way, the girls not only showed their skills to their beloved, but also tested him for loyalty. If after the first washing the shirt lost its whiteness, it was believed that the groom was not faithful to the bride. The groom trusted to wash the embroidery only his beloved.



Editorial advice Vyshyvanka should always be washed manually. It cannot be soaked, boiled or twisted. Delicate fabric with embroidery should be washed with soap solution or soap, rinse the shirt well after washing. It is necessary to iron the embroidery with a barely warm iron through gauze, so as not to damage the thin fabric or embroidery.

To preserve the embroidery, the shirt is soaked in salt water. The embroidered shirt can be washed in the washing machine in the “hand wash” mode at 30-40 degrees. It is better to put embroidery in a bag for delicate things and wash the thing separately from the rest of the clothes. You can dry the embroidery by placing it on a terry towel in a straightened form. Do you celebrate the Day of Ukrainian embroidery?