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Interview with Vladyslava Osmak, Curator, Museum of One Street
By Ihor Osypchuk, "Fakty" (Facts) newspaper
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, December 23, 2003
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Fir tree ornaments and other New Year items which were used in the XX
century can be seen at the exhibition "Mint Candies of Childhood" which
opened last Friday, on St. Nickolas day, [December 19] in the Museum
of One Street located on Andriyivskiy uzviz. Visitors can learn how people
decorated Christmas trees one hundred years ago. The most widely used
decorations then were real apples, golden" nuts, spice-cakes, and
candies.
The first local ornaments were homemade and often were plaster casts of
the same vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms.
The most valuable items of the exhibition are New Year decorations made
in Kyiv at the beginning of the XX century, says the historical researcher
of the Museum of One Street Vladyslava Osmak. At that time manufactured
Christmas ornaments were very rare in the Russian empire, and those who
wanted to add to the traditional Christmas decorations of apples, pears,
nuts and candies, had to make the ornaments themselves.
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Mint Sweets of Childhood
Exhibition Poster
(Click on images to enlarge them)
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Interestingly, in Kyiv at the time there was a local tradition of organizing
a New Year's celebration for children. This event had a name "Living Tree".
Instead of traditional Christmas tree, they built a pyramid, and children
climbed onto its steps with branches in their hands. They were singing
songs, reciting poems to other children. In the process of getting ready for
the
exhibition, we found at the collectors gathering the scenario with the texts
of songs and poems of how the "'living tree" festivity was supposed to be
held, including a popular children"s song "The small fir tree was born in
the forest".
- What is the price of rarities of the last century?
There are very few collectors of Christmas decorations in Ukraine,
that's why prices are not high - little demand. The collector of everything
connected with Ukrainian history, the American Morgan Williams says that
at the "flee market" one can buy very cheaply whole boxes of old New Year
decorations. His collection consists of hundreds of items. Part of them
can be seen at our exhibition. Mr. Williams also loaned us the rarest
Christmas postcards published by Ukrainian Diaspora in Czechoslovakia,
Germany, France in 1920-30. By the way, in the West they publish different
catalogues of Christmas ornaments in which they tell the history of each
piece and the approximate value.
- Are there any items at your exhibition with interesting history?
One elderly lady brought us the piece that she got for the New Year of
1942 when she was displaced to Tashkent. She also had a Santa Claus
brought from Germany at the end of 1944. There were pieces of German
newspapers stuck to the bottom of the boots.
By the way, Germany is the birthplace of the most popular Christmas
decoration - glass balls. The first balls appeared there in the middle
of the XIX century. German craftsmen designed ornaments made of
imprinted thick paper. Similar decorations were produced locally as well,
but their quality was, unfortunately, much lower. German pieces are
refined and beautiful. But value of each piece is defined not only because
of its artistic value.
Ornaments for fur trees produced in the USSR in the 1930-40's are
very unimpressive: they are flowers, stars, baskets, made of metal strings.
But there are very few of them left, that's why they are very valuable.
- Which of your exhibits, do you think, is most unusual?
I think, it's the balls that were made of burnt electrical bulbs in the
first years after the war [WWII]. All the metal pieces were taken off and
the top part was cut off. As a result there was a ball with the cut top.
Then they colored it, and painted plants or animals.
Also, very amazing are the exhibits from the period of Soviet-Chinese
friendship. Besides popular raincoats, thermoses, towels, the Chinese
started supplying New Year decorations and even postcards. From the
first sight they look like normal glass Grandpa Frosts, Snowmaids, but the
faces are typical Chinese. The most impressive are the decorations with the
image of pioneers [member of young people's organization]: boys with red
ties are dressed in the uniform of the period of the "cultural revolution".
The tradition to celebrate the New Year together with Grandpa Frost and
Snowmaid was finally established in the USSR in the period of Stalinism
-the second half of 1930s. By the way, nowhere abroad there is a character
of Snowmaid (granddaughter of Grandpa Frost). Snowmaid appeared together
with the well known opera by Rimskiy-Korsakov with the same name. But
the image became really popular in the Soviet times.
As for the tradition of decorating the branches of a fir tree for the New
Year, lighting it with candles, the giving of presents, it has existed since
pagan times. The tradition was then borrowed by the Christian culture. Also,
the idea to start the New Year beginning on January 1 was taken from the
Romans.
The interview with Vladyslava Osmak, Curator, Museum of One Street
by Ihor Osypchuk, "Fakty" (Facts) newspaper, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday,
December 23, 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 in 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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