As we celebrate Easter this Sunday, Ukrainians protect themselves in traditions that underline their national identitythreatened by the Russian invasion, while her thoughts are also with her defenders on the front.
Thousands of festively dressed residents of Lviv, in embroidered shirts and other traditional clothing, filled the streets on Sunday after celebrating a festive breakfast. Several Easter celebrations took place in its open-air Sheptitsky Museum of Architecture.
“By participating in the festivities and wearing these clothes, we maintain the traditions of our parents and grandparents,” he says. Irina37, while her young daughter participates in a traditional dance.
Although this type of celebration was prohibited during Soviet times, the previous generations in his family defied the prohibition and dressed in their best clothes, also inherited from their grandparents, he explains to the agency. EFE.
According to Irina, these celebrations are especially important now that Ukrainian fighters “They are defending our history, our very opportunity to be Ukrainian” against the Russian threat.
“Moments like these reinforce our unity,” he emphasizes.
Defending your attacked identity
The Ukrainians consider that the invasion is not limited to territorial gains, but rather threatens your very identityand a large number of experts point to clear signs that Russia is perpetrating genocide or ethnocide in Ukraine.
While thousands of Ukrainian children who were deported by Russia or remain under occupation have little or no access to Ukrainian language and history classes, Easter celebrations are a form of reinforce the identity of those who live in territories controlled by Ukraine.
It also provides the opportunity for many adults in the center and east, displaced by the war, to rediscover these traditions, says Mariana Oleksishin, 25.
In those parts of Ukraine, which remained under Soviet rule longer than Lviv, wearing traditional Ukrainian costumes and the very sense of belonging to a separate nation were repressed or marginalized.
Rediscovery of these traditions helps them feel part of a community again, Oleksishin says.
“More and more people think that these clothes are romantic and elegant, and they feel beautiful when they wear them,” she emphasizes.
Celebrating together with soldiers
Although no air alarms sounded in Lviv, Fighting continued along the front linewhile cities like Kharkiv were attacked on Sunday with Russian missiles and drones.
“First of all, we think of those who They are celebrating this Easter in the trenchesmissing in action, remain captive or recovering from serious injuries,” a priest told residents who came to a downtown church to have their Easter baskets sprinkled with “holy water” as tradition dictates.
Thousands of paskas, a traditional Easter bread, and Pisankas, decorated eggs, have been sent to the front to help soldiers feel at least some of the festive and supportive atmosphere.
Members of the 80th Lviv Brigade have also sent the Pisankas they made at the front to be displayed in the city’s St. Peter and St. Paul Garrison Church.
Each one is named after individual units and weapons they use to repel the enemy.
“First of all, it is a reminder of the price, of the extremely hard efforts, that make it possible for Ukrainians to celebrate Easter in 2024,” the brigade stressed in a statement.
Another objective is to help raise money to buy a quad or a stroller to evacuate the seriously wounded from the battlefieldwhere vehicles are lost almost every day due to enemy fire.
“The most important thing is to save lives on the front lines, where every minute is precious,” said the brigade chaplain, Ivan Galio.
“The very meaning of Easter is the victory of life over death. We continue fighting for the same thing. We fight for the good of those who wait for us at home every day,” another brigade, the 3rd Assault, also stressed in its Easter message.
(With information from EFE)
