Birds are symbolic amulets
Лелеки
This bird is a symbol of love and respect for parents who bless us into the world. It has long been believed that the yard where there is a stork’s nest is a happy one, because it is a sacred bird, and the destruction of its nest will be punished by fire. And the killing of a bird was equated with the killing of a person. Our people have always treated them with special respect. Ukrainians still poetically say: “The stork brings children.” This omen has reached our days: if you see one stork, you will be alone for the whole year, and if you see two, you will be in a pair.
Ластівки
These birds have always been perceived as harbingers of happiness, hope, rebirth, spring, and home warmth. People believed that it was the swallows on their wings that brought good news. They are sung to carols and freckles, because swallows bring with them not only spring, but also a new bright day. Tales, legends and sayings are written about them. And she is also revered as a symbol of the mother.
Зозуля
This bird is mentioned in Ukrainian mythology. She is perceived as a harbinger of good news. In ancient times, people said that the cuckoo is the personification of dead souls that return to earth in the spring. It was to the cuckoo that God entrusted the keys to the nest, where the birds fly away for the winter. The cuckoo is the first to fly there, unlocking the gate to the bird paradise, and the last to return, closing the gate until autumn. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t have the opportunity and time to hatch her own chicks – and that’s why she throws them into other people’s nests. However, the Ukrainian people have never had a bad attitude towards the cuckoo. After all, she brings happiness and wealth, and also knows how to tell fortunes.
Українські обереги – наша духовна спадщина
What our great-grandfathers acquired for us should live on and continue its traditions further. What we call symbols surround us – the threshold of our parents’ house, a towel embroidered by our grandmother, a viburnum bush planted by our father. A little girl adorned with a wreath, a young housewife in a bright scarf, a woman in a beautiful necklace – this is what makes it possible for our traditions to live on through the generations. That is the essence of us Ukrainians – an indomitable people who care about the future, but at the same time do not forget about the past. In this way, together with you, we are writing a kind of code of the nation, which will distinguish us among other peoples and will not allow us to get lost in the maelstrom of millennia.
Therefore, let’s not forget what our ancestors left us. Master the art of drawing, embroidery or weaving. Plant trees, make your own gardens bloom, create harmony around you. Harmony, which will be necessary and useful for our Ukraine.
