Like the flower buds on the trees, this exchange of greetings has been hankering to burst from every winter-weary Ukrainian, and they’ve been doing so with abandon! Spring is fully here, and while it’s still chilly (some regrets about my hard and fast 31st of March rule), the daffodils are popping up, there is an expanse of still-yellow dandelions on my way to school, the stray dogs are rotating like a sundial to feel the warmth in their coats, the ducks and geese are preening, the children are louder and more energetic in the halls, and the bazaar is erupting with color and flavor. There is much to be thankful for!
Easter in Ukraine is a BIG holiday. Last year, I attended church at 10:30 PM and stood until about 4:30 AM, when the congregation went outside for the blessing by the priest. He flings holy water from a brush onto their faces and Easter baskets, all the while calling out the greeting, Xristos Vaskres! Last year, ignorant of the tradition, I didn’t bring a basket. Now, being a seasoned pro, I was ready. Almost.
Feeling that I’d already put in my share of standing and not understanding time, I decided to go with friends at 3:30 AM, armed with not a basket, but a bucket. The traditional Ukrainian Easter basket is a beautiful affair: a woven basket lined with a hand-stitched Easter towel and filled with colored eggs, Easter cheesecake, Easter bread (decorated with frosting and sprinkles), salt, usually some meats, and is illuminated by a tall beeswax candle. I wish I had brought my camera to church, because the line of baskets stretched all along the church, and the faces looking down at them were humbly beautiful in the candles’ soft glow.
Here's a pic of some bread, eggs, and a candle:
This is the best product of a Google Images search, showing sausage, cheese (the square with the cross on it), eggs, flour (I guess instead of bread?), salt, etc.
And an example of an embroidered towel:
My “basket” was less traditional. I searched my house for a basket, but could only come up with a purple sparkly bucket. Inspiration stemmed from there. This was one of the buckets I filled with snow when my water was out for two of the winter’s coldest weeks, and I remembered how joyfully I danced when my water returned. I decided to use this bucket as a container for things for which I am grateful and a reminder of their blessed value in my life.
I lined it with a tea towel given to me by one of the departing volunteers from my oblast, who had a huge influence on my adjustment here. I started with a loaf of Paska bread that I received from a woman who makes and sells buns in the bazaar and who is forever looking out for me and giving to me. Then came my address book, filled with names of people I will know for always and with spaces for more. Next was my journal, which has long been a treasured object. Finally, I put in a small mirror in appreciation and gratitude of beauty as a way of seeing the world.
My bucket didn’t look “right” amongst the others, but it felt right to be bringing these objects, these treasures, to church for a blessing. This life gives us so many simple things from which we are enriched and given the opportunity to return to others.
Blessings to you as you fill your own blessings bucket.
Here's my bucket!
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