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By Vira Koulyova, "Khreshchatyk" newspaper
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec 30, 2003
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The opening night of the new exhibition at the Museum of One Street greeted
the guests with darkness except for the candles that gave some light to the
Christmas tree, Christmas wreaths, Santas (Grandpa Frost), and other Christmas decorations. First, I thought it was a trick from Vlada
Osmak, archivist at the museum, who likes to create a special environment.
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(Click on images to enlarge them)
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But on seeing Vlada's surprised eyes and the concern of the people
from the TV stations (two hours later they were supposed to have the
news on TV and were wondering how to shoot in the relative darkness), I
understood: the atmosphere was not created, but was a problem with the
electricity. At last everything was resolved. The electric bulbs lit up,
Christmas melodies played. The special exhibition of Christmas ornaments
opened [December 19] and will be on display through Sunday, January 11,
2004.
An exciting holiday atmosphere was felt everywhere. There were wreaths
hanging on the walls decorated with ornaments, a Christmas tree was in
the corner guarded by Grandpas Frosts of many different sizes,
handmade decorations in the shapes of rabbits, foxes, wolves, and
swans were shown in display cases. Once these items decorated green
Christmas [New Year] trees in the houses of Kyivites, bringing joy to
children and adults.
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Vlada Osmak, Organizer of the Exhibition
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The oldest [Christmas, New Year] ornaments on display "were created"
during the time of 1910-1930. They were handmade. Nuts covered with
aluminum paper. Houses covered with shiny paper, as if covered with
snow. Mushrooms painted with beetroot juice. Swans with shiny wings,
someone's fantasy. Red apples, yellow pears, different girls ( in fancy fur
coats, in village outfits, with baskets, and without baskets.)
All of them made of cotton wool soaked with sticky potato flour (to
keep shape ) when there were not enough ornaments on sale.
Before New Year the family would get together in the evenings and make
ornaments. The branches of Christmas tree were also decorated with real
apples, sweets, tangerines, chocolates. Though seldom did they last
until the end of the holidays. I remember when it was time to take the New
Year tree down, there were a lot of chocolate wrappings left on it.
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Among the items there is a pair of pink ballroom shoes. Some noble lady
was waltzing in them at the ball. Maybe, in the fairytale Cinderella
lost similar ones.
Strings of beaded necklaces circled the New Year [Christmas] tree.
And those decorations that were made of thick paper! Flat and three
dimensional imprinted rabbits, bears, dogs, birds, clocks, and musical
instruments. They were designed in Germany in the so called Dresden
style. A bird made in this style also "flew" to Andriyivskiy uzviz. It
is a very rare piece. The body was made separately and the wings were
attached to the body.
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By the way, it was in Germany where they started the industrial
production of New Year ornaments. Glass balls were blown by the
craftsmen from the town of Lausha in 1848. Later, in 1920, craftsmen
from Czechoslovakia joined them, and from there they started making
geometrical designs, fancy spiders, etc.
In the Soviet Union the tradition of celebrating New Year's was at first
considered to be petty bourgeois. Decorating fir trees was only allowed
starting in 1937, after Postyshev published an article in 1935, "Let's
organize a nice New Year tree for the children" in the newspaper "Pravda"
(Truth). The first official state New Year's tree was put up in the Kremlin
palace. At the same time Grandpa Frost and Snowmaid appeared.
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Ukrainian glass ornaments appeared after World War II. Red stars,
pioneers [young people], horns, the sickle & hammer, children with rosy
cheeks on sledges, even glass banduras were made. Later there appeared
space rockets, sputniks, cosmonauts. All these items had the Soviet
symbol on them. From Europe and the USA we got small artificial fir
trees, strings of electric lights, cones shining with silver and gold.
Though their shape was more simple. One can notice that if one compares
them with samples of the last century.
At the exhibition I learned about Morgan Williams, businessman-agrarian
from the US. I was very surprised to find out that more than seventy
percent of the items are from the collection of the American. This man
started collecting toys [decorations] in 1994 when he first started
working in Ukraine.
There was also a rare display of New Year's postcards from 1930-1950.
There was an interesting poster from the recent past, 1983: "Soviet
people greet the new happy year." And on the bottom of the poster
it said "People's mass festival, celebrate unanimously together."
[New Year poster uses the
words from propaganda posters.]
The name of the exhibition is "Mint Sweets of Childhood". There was
really a breath of something childlike, unique. Nostalgia. The smell of the
fir tree branches, the many-colored icy sugar candies, the long and thick
chocolates. And the eager anticipation of a magical moment, a miracle.
[For seventy years under Communists people in Soviet Ukraine were not allowed
to use the name Christmas tree, instead a decorated tree had to be called
a New Year's tree.]
The news article by Vira Koulyova, published by the "Khreshchatyk"
newspaper Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Dec 30, 2003, was translated
into English by the www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
in Kyiv. FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
The "Museum of One Street" is located in Kyiv at the bottom of the old,
historic winding cobblestone street Andriyivskiy uzviz. The address is:
Museum of One Street, Creative Society "Master"
Andriyivsky Uzviz, 2-B, Kyiv 04071, Ukraine
Dmitriy Shlionskiy, Director; Research Assistant, Vlada Osmak
380 44 416 0398, e-mail: vladyslava@ua.fm.
For additional information about this unique, outstanding small museum
click on: http://www.artukraine.com/sites_museums/street_1.htm.
NOTE: Part of the private collection of Christmas decorations, used in
Ukraine over the past 100 years, of Morgan Williams, collected in
Ukraine by Mr. Williams over a number of years, was used at this
exhibition. Mr. Williams is a Senior Advisor to the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
(USUF) and the publisher and editor of the "UKRAINE REPORT 2004,"
the ArtUkraine.com news and information website and the
ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS). He can
be reached at e-mail address: morganw@patriot.net
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