The history of Vyshyvanka Day

The Vyshyvanka holiday is not as old as it may seem. In 2006, Lesia Voroniuk, a student of the Faculty of History, Political Science, and International Relations at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, proposed a campaign for World Vyshyvanka Day. She was inspired by another student who often wore an embroidered shirt to class. Lesia's idea was to have the whole group come to class on a certain day wearing embroidered shirts. In a few years, the flash mob spread first to the entire university, and later to the entire city and country.

In the culture of almost any nation, some things vividly reflect its special national tradition. The embroidered shirt is a vivid example and confirmation of this. The history of embroidery goes back to time immemorial. According to the famous ancient Greek historian, geographer, and traveler Herodotus, the clothes of the Scythians who lived in our lands in the period of the VIII century BC - IV century AD were decorated with elements of vyshyvanka. The famous Arab traveler of the tenth century also mentions in his stories about Ruses who wore embroidered clothes. In the course of modern research, for example, silver plaques with figures of men were found in the Cherkasy region, dating back to the sixth century, and their study showed the identity of the elements of clothing and embroidery ornamentation of Ukrainian folk costumes of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Interesting facts about Ukrainian embroidery

The national clothes of Ukraine can be very interesting too! Here are some facts about embroidery that you might not know:

1. Vyshyvanka is much older than it might seem. The earliest embroidered shirts found date back to the 6th century AD.

2. Blackshirts used to be worn only by men. Today, white versions are the most popular, but many fashionistas in the country love colored embroidered shirts.

3. Initially, the embroidery was not an everyday garment. In ancient times, the embroidered ornament protected against evil spirits and had a symbolic meaning. Ivan Franko was the first to make wearing such a shirt commonplace.

4. In most cases, embroidery takes several weeks or months to complete. However, some embroidered shirts can take three or more years to complete!

5. Patterns vary from country to country, and many people know this. There are over a hundred types of patterns.

The embroidered shirt is a traditional Ukrainian garment and at the same time a national symbol.