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10 WWW. UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ВЕРЕСЕНЬ 2013 A Perfect Baba by Olia Rudyk She held the hard - boiled egg with tende r- ness. I watched the excitement twinkling in this three - year - old’s eyes as she placed the egg o n a spoon and then slowly and carefully lowered it into the cup containing blue dye. We waited. “Now, B a- ba?” “No, not yet, Melania,” I instructed. “Now, B a- ba?” “Just a few more minutes. Be patient.” She barely contained the eagerness that overwhelmed her. “Now, Melania!” Once again, with great caution she lifted the spoon out of the container. The pale blue egg appeared and Melania announced, “I did it! I made a krashanka !” “You sure did! And next year I will teach you how to make a pysanka !” Ahhh... the pure and simple joy of being a grandparent! * * * I was born on 7th Street in New York City. Every time I think of it, my heart skips a beat. Not only was I born in the capital of the world, but also in the center of cultural life of the Ukrainian diasp o- ra dur ing the 1950s. To think of the hardships Ukrainian immigrants endured after World War II can be upsetting, yet it is what bonded them toget h- er in Manhattan and led them to create the comm u- nity that still exists today. Eventually my parents bought a home north of the city, but my Baba Maria refused to leave her Lower East Side apartment. She was forced to leave her home in Ukraine because of the German inv a- sion in 1942 and would not allow herself to be u p- rooted once again. So as a young girl, I would visit my Baba by taking the subway to Astor Place. She would stand waiting for my train to pull in and we would walk back to her apartment. Along the route, she greeted the familiar faces sitting on stoops, and her own face beamed with joy because of her gran d- daughter's visit. My Baba shared with me stories about her childhood, the war and her plight en route to the United States. She taught me to make varenyky and potato pancakes. I watched her weathered hands knead dough and bake the most amazing pasky . I lea rned the significance of all the food items that were placed in an Easter basket, and she passed on her knowledge of pysanky to me. She had a green thumb, growing beautiful flowering plants in her windows overlooking 7th Street. My Baba was pe r- fect. The wo men of UNWLA Branch 30, named in honor of Lidia Krushelnycky, are as perfect as was my Baba. They care about sharing the herit - age, customs and culture of Ukrainian life with A young student receiving a guiding hand from Nadia Liteplo, UNWLA Branch 30 President, during an Easter Egg workshop. younger generations, just as my Baba Maria shared with me and I am now sharing with my gran d- daughter, Melania. Not everyone in our branch is a Baba, but as women, they are concerned about Americans of Ukrainian de scent understanding and appreciating the beautiful traditions of our ancestral Ukraine. For this reason alone they are perfect. On April 14, 2013, members of Branch 30 held an Easter Bazaar at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church Hall in Yonkers, NY. Fo llowing this successful event, Branch President Nadia Litep lo conducted a pysanka workshop in the church hall with the assistance of Iryna Hoshovsky, Nadia Spiak, Marika Zenecky, and Marika Maka renko. Nadia Liteplo not only shared her skill and technique, but also the history and symbolism re p- resented in each and every pysanka . What is so striking about a Ukrainian Easter egg is how much pressure it can take in spite of its fragility. Dipped and dyed, drawn on, covered in wax, held up to a flame, covered in layers of color and gloss, a Ukrai n- ian Easter egg will never cease to amaze. Anyone, from any walk of life, from any other religion, race, and country will always pause and ooh and aah at the sight of such an exquisite creation. The pysanka is not only an ornamental work of art but also an in - tegral part of Ukrainian culture and tradition. Ukrain ian Easter is not complete without a pysanka . An enthusiastic group of 14 participants of all ages learned the process of this beautiful art form. All the participants were grateful for the i n- formative, enjoyable and productive few hours spent making their very own Ukrainian Easter eggs. They left confident in their newly acquired skill and motivated to make additional pysanky at home. Nadia Liteplo, a proud Baba of three, co m- mented: “I had a feeling of satisfaction... happy that I was able to pass on our tradition of writing py - sanky .”
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