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SPIRIT OF FLAME a collection of the works of Lessya Ukrainka, translated by Percival Cundy, foreword by Clarence A. Maiming. Published by Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, Inc. Dedicated to the organized Ukrainian Women of the United States who helped publish this hook. Scarcely any other modern lit erature has had to struggle against greater odds in order to survive and win recognition than has the Ukrainian. L iterature is an expression of life, but when a life is cribbed, cabined, and con fined by centuries of political and cultural oppression and bondage, it takes heroic efforts for a na tion’s literature to persist and break the fetters which have shackled the expession of a peo ple’s spirit through its w riters. The Ukrainians constitue a ho mogeneous nation of over 40 mil lions which for centuries has had no sovereign independent status. Even now when there is a unified Ukraine with a seat in the United Nations, there is comparatively little knowledge abroad of its dis tinctive culture and, especially, of the achievements of the U krain ians in modern literature. N evertheless, Ukrainian litera ture has some names of universal significance although their works are at present practically un known to the American reading public. One of these is the poetess Lessya Ukrainka. W ith every decade, her literary reputation has increased, and to day the poetess is recognized as one of the leading figures of mod ern Ukrainian literature. The Spirit of Flame is the first large- scale attem pt to acquaint the E n glish- speakin g wo rid witih one whose works can not only be read as the flowering of the U krainian genius but as an invaluable con tribution to world literature as well. ian anoestos, like all other peo ples, were pagans who w orship ped the sun as a great life-giving force. Our ancestors greeted spring with various songs- and games, which still remain in our folk-culture in the form of our E aster “hayeevki”. The egg, which stands for rebirth, or new life, is closely associated w ith this Festival of Spring and with the general awakening and rebirth of nature. This spring brings people joy, new hope for a b etter life, new desires, health and wealth. The sun helps the whole world to refresh itself at this tim e and to bloom anew- For this reason peo ple in ancient times depicted all their -hopes, expectations and joys on the egg, as a symbol of that recurrent rebirth. This is more or less the expla nation of the origin of the pysan- ka. Naturally with the advent of Christianity into U kraine the py- sanka took a new significance. From that time, its significance is closely associated with the R es urrection of Christ. The people even originated legends and folk tales about the origin of these py- sanky. In some sections it is believed that the Holy M other was the first ot decorate a pysanka to pre sent to Pontius Pilate, as ransom for the Son of God. In other sec tions the story is told th a t the three M ary’s came to the grave of Christ and brought these E aster eggs to bribe the guards to let them into the Tomb. From that time on, everyone began to color THE UKRAINIAN EASTER EGG AND ITS ORIGIN We gaze with delighted aston ishment at these beautifully deco rated E aster Eggs (pysanky) and marvel at the intricate designs. W here did they come from, what do they mean? The Ukrainian “pysan'ka” has a very ancient history. Proof of this is found in the many archeo logical excavations in Ukraine, where these decorated eggs have been found that date from the Stone Age, thus exploding the common belief that E aster eggs were primarily a product of pre- Christian era. Our early Ukain- In 1952 th e U k rain ian N atio n al W om en’s L eague held an E aster egg contest. T he E aster eggs ab o v e (a rtist M aria H aw rych) received th e first prize.
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