May 8, 2020 by in Art & Fashion, Culture, Rituals, Ukraine
Crafts as Cure
In Ukraine, there is an old tradition of embroidering a rushnyk, a hand towel, during dark periods of one’s life. It matters less what’s embroidered than the process of doing so. Once the rushnyk is done, it’s tied to a tree branch and allowed to decay. This way, people say, one’s worries and dark thoughts become scattered.
I don’t know if my great-grandmother Asya followed this tradition consciously–at any rate, she was far too practical to hang perfectly good fabric in the garden, but she wove her own cloth and embroidered. Even the most ubiquitous items in the house like newspaper holders and bread bags were embellished. Her most beautiful embroideries, however, weren’t meant to be seen. They were her undergarments.
John in Ukraine Diary Day 22: Dreams and Poems: It may just be my own affinity for prose poems, but the whole second half (I mean everything under the picture) feels as much a poem as the three stanzas… September 16, 2024 at 2:24pm