Advent & Christmas Wheat in Ukraine

 

Time Magazine has named Ukrainian  president Volodymyr Zelensky and "the spirit of Ukraine" as its 2022 Person of the Year and it's hard to imagine a better choice because of his courage and resolve in the midst of Russian aggression. It is sad, just the same, that a politician who was a minor figure on the world stage was thrust into this role by the threat to Ukrainian sovereignty. For all his bravery and that of the Ukrainian people, the country may take decades to recover from this unjust war and the crimes against innocent citizens. 

I come back to a piece of art in our home, and in my study, which is a remarkable needlework created by the aged Ukrainian-Canadian mother of a member of one congregation. This remarkable piece, which is nearly forty years old, is still vibrant in its colours. This is a three-barred Eastern Slavic cross with floral motifs surrounding it. I wish I had paid closer attention to the explanation of the symbolism at the time but I seem to recall that the golden parts are stalks of wheat -- how is that for tentative and vague!

I posted an image of this lovely piece when we first heard of the theft and export blockade of the Ukrainian wheat crop by the Russians during the summer.Ukraine is described as the "bread basket of the world", a claim which has also been made for Western Canada where many Ukrainians emigrated.   

Apparently, just before Christmas in Ukrainian farming communities the head of the household brings in a sheaf of grain called the didukh which represents the importance of the ancient and rich wheat crops of Ukraine, the staff of life through the centuries. Didukh means literally "grandfather spirit" so it symbolizes the family's ancestors. In Ukrainian city homes the didukh may be purchased, and is often three footed made of woven grain and dried grasses and flowers.

I hope that Ukraine will see an end to war in 2023, that ancient customs will be restored and that Volodymyr Zelensky will be able to return to governing a country in the process of rebuilding.