What I like....

I’m in love, I’m so in love. I wish I knew if this exhibition and attended it.

Sgarda (with g like in dog) is either red or metal string with multiple crosses usually of somewhat roundish shape, and with two disks called chepragy to secure it. Chepragy are usually bigger that the crosses, and are in shape of a wheel with eight, six, or four rungs (the latter is actually a cross), or concentric circles. The difference in sizes and such attention to the essentially utilitarian details is not hard to explain - before Christianity,  disks instead of crosses were  used in this kind of protection jewellery, being a solar symbol. 

The waters of the Jordan are sanctified, and together with them all the waters of creation, the very nature of water…

There are two rites for blessing holy water: the Great Blessing of Waters which is held on the Feast of Theophany, and the Lesser Blessing of Waters which is conducted according to need during the rest of the year. [x]

Map of Ukraine, circa 1712-1716, by renowned German cartographer Johann Homann.

From Latin: “Ukraine, or the Land of Cossacks, with neighbouring provinces of Wallachia, Moldavia, and Little Tartary” (Little Tartary is the name used for Crimean Khanate by English-speaking writers in 18th-19th century)

Waiting for Blessing Paska, by Mykola Kornylovych Pymonenko

Ukrainian folklore: Witches

Most Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians. According to the calendar of this branch of Christianity, this year, 2015, Easter (or, in Ukrainian, Пасха - Paskha) is celebrated on the 12th of April.

A traditional Ukrainian Easter food includes a paska - a ritual sweet bread of cylindric shape, which is, along with eggs, sausage, and other foods, is blessed in a church. There are different theories on why does it look that way and what is the symbolism of it - from the white representing Holy Spirit to the whole dish being a phallic symbol. On this it will be written later, and now let’s talk about how to make it.

For approximately three medium-sized paskas you will need:

Wheat flour - 1kg

Milk - 1.5 cup

6-7 eggs

Butter or thick sour cream - 300 g

Sugar - 2 cups

Yeast - 50 g

Salt - 2/3 tsp

Raisins - 1 cup

Some vanilla flavouring and optional nuts.

Dissolve salt and yeast in warm milk. Add half of the flour, mix thoroughly to avoid lumps, cover with a towel and put in a warm place. When the dough expands twice in size, add egg yolks mixed with 1 cup of sugar and vanilla, then soft butter, and mix it all together. Add the whites whipped with the remaining sugar and the other half of the flour.

Add some flour if needed - the dough must be soft, but not sticky. Knead the dough, let it grow twice in size, add the raisins, and knead again.

Take the molds in which you will bake the paskas - ideally, they have to be tall and round. Cover the bottom of the mold with parchment paper, cover the sides in oil. Fill 1/3 of the mold with dough, leave it for a while until it takes ¾ of the mold, and bake (mind to push the raisins inside, otherwise they will get charred) in the oven heated to 180-190 degrees Celsius until cooked. To check it, use a wooden stick - if it is dry after you have pierced the bred with it, it is cooked.

Oh, this is a good question, and not an    easy to answer one. For one, what we know is strongly merged with Christian beliefs (which is by no means bad, and yet becomes a problem when you are trying to distinguish actually pagan Slavic opinion on the matter). Then, Slavic tribes were fairly different and lived on a vast territory, thus their mythology differed somewhat, too.

So, my answer is going to rely heavily on folklore. 

First, there was Peklo, which might or might not have appeared under Christian influence, but is certainly not a modern invention - a place for especially harmful people - murderers, thieves, those who by their nature should be separated from the others. Second, there also was an opinion that Vyriy (Iriy) was actually pretty large, and included houses of the people who deserved living among gods after they died. Finally, there was a realm of the dead and let’s say, the undead, often mentioned in fairy tales. To get there, you should cross a Kalynovy (snowball tree) bridge, which was difficult for an ordinary living berson. But then, minding the way people would become various nature spirits, such as Mavkas, Rusalkas, Poterchas, Bolotnitsas, etc., one might conclude that this world is actually situated here, in the world of the living.

Ukrainian folklore: Lady Midday, or Rusalka of the field