Pysanky for Peace
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Blog Post #53
Sarah Bachinger, a 4th generation Ukrainian-American whose great-grandparents settled in New York State in the early 1900’s, founded the Pysanky For Peace project. “It’s a vision I have had for quite some time, and came to be in a time when it is most needed to preserve, protect and share the uniqueness of Ukrainian culture, sovereignty, tradition, art and sense of community.”
Ukrainian legend says that the fate of the world depends on pysanky. If the number of pysanky created each year is low the chains of evil are loosened and evil is free to wander the earth causing havoc and destruction. If the number of pysanky has increased, the chains are tightened and good will triumph over evil.
”We aim to create and collect 100,000 pysanky for the purpose of raising funds to help the ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, and to bring awareness and share this important cultural tradition of the Ukrainian People.”
“When I write my pysanky, each line is a thought, a hope, a wish, an acknowledgment, a good intention, a focused thought, a call to ancestors, a prayer for peace, a condolence to lost kin I will never know, a dream of prosperity, a sense of pride for my heritage and a line of defiance towards those aggressors who claim my heritage is theirs and doesn’t exist on its own. I will continue to write my pysanky…until the peace and rebirth that comes with the renewal of spring returns to Ukraine — for spring is not simply a season, it is a renewal of all that was lost, growing again but with stronger roots.”
Visit the Pysanky for Peace website:
To find out more about Sarah, the Pysanky for Peace project, and read the press coverage it has generated since the project starting.
To find out how you can contribute pysanky to help Sarah reach her “100,000 pysanky goal.” Or how you can host a benefit pysanky-making party to create community and foster cultural understanding.
To see all the pysanky donated. Sarah, a professional photographer, has dedicated a gallery page of the donated pysanka so each one can be seen and appreciated.
(The two below will be in the Pysanky for Peace gallery.)
Peace Affirming Prayer
Peace fills my mind and flows through all my thoughts.
Peace fills my heart and flows through all my love.
Peace fills my soul and goodwill flows to all.
Peace fills my being and permeates all my activities.
Peace within. Peace without. Peace everywhere.
Peace in my mind. Peace in my heart. Peace in my soul.
Peace in me. Peace in my home. Peace in my country. Peace in my world.
Peace everywhere.
Amen.
Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.
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