PARSIPPANY, N.J. – The Home Office of the Ukrainian National Association, which includes not only UNA staff but also the staffs of its two newspapers, Svoboda and The Ukrainian Weekly, on May 19 marked the worldwide Vyshyvanka Day – a day when Ukrainians around the globe proudly wear their embroidered shirts wherever they might be as a symbol of Ukrainian unity.
According to the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, the celebration of Vyshyvanka Day was initiated by students of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. The idea of the action is to wear a vyshyvanka on the third Thursday in May – to the office, to school or anywhere you happen to be. The students wanted to return the vyshyvanka to modern Ukrainian life as a “talisman, a symbol and an integral part of Ukrainian culture,” explained Oleksandr Tkachuk, a co-founder of the action, who noted that in 2015 the day was celebrated in 38 countries.
“We have walked through a difficult road from misunderstanding, a skeptical attitude – both to the action and to the vyshyvanka itself – to a time when …a little student action has turned into a great global celebration,” said Lesya Voroniuk, initiator of what is now known as Global Vyshyvanka Day, speaking at a press conference in Kyiv back in April.
This year marked the 10th annual Vyshyvanka Day. Posts of individuals, families, groups, employees, members of Parliament and government officials dressed in embroidered attire were abundant on Facebook.