The third Thursday in May is the World Vyshyvanka Day

Embroidery is a combination of ornaments that encode hundreds of amulets and symbols designed to protect us from evil forces. The interweaving of colored threads conceals the original code of the Ukrainian ethnos, the basis of our worldview and the centuries-old aesthetics of our people.

The reverence for cultural heritage is especially acute in times of defending the right to one’s own identity. Today, the embroidered shirt is a sign of unbreakable love for the motherland, a symbol of hope and unbreakable proof that Ukrainian art is alive and worth fighting for.

Embroidered clothing is a constant feature of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, including the Crimean Tatars. But, of course, their embroidery differs from most of the typical embroidery of mainland Ukraine. Contrasts are important here (which can also be seen in folk outerwear). They often use floral ornaments in delicate colors, choosing each flower carefully. The name of this ornament is ornek. The intertwining of different cultures on the Crimean peninsula has formed a unique reflection of embroidery, which has taken an honorable place in the traditions of Ukraine as a whole.

The Crimean Tatar people, like no other, know what it means to protect their art, to preserve it thousands of kilometers from home, to glorify the voices of their ancestors both in 1944 and 80 years later. The elegant bukme, tatar ishleme, telli, and suzane captured the authenticity of Crimean Tatar floral ornaments: delicate in color and steadfast in strength.

Today Ukrainian embroidery is a brand whose beauty is shared by the whole world. By wearing an embroidered shirt, anyone anywhere in the world can join in the celebration of unity, love for their homeland, and pride in being themselves, bringing the voices of their ancestors to their fellow citizens and the rest of humanity.