CREES Spring Festival

Alkonost is a figure in Slavic folklore. She has the head of a woman and the body of a bird. Her most important trait is her magical voice, which has the ability to make the listener forget everything. However, no harm comes to them.

Alkonost symbolizes joy and harmony. Her counterpart is a bird-woman chimera called Sirin, who represents temptation, sorrow, and death. Alkonost appears in Slavic folktales

This is the house on chicken legs that belongs to Baba Yaga, an infamous figure in East Slavic folklore. She is both a dangerous witch and a maternal benefactress. In some tales there are three Baba Yagas. She lives in the forest, is venerated by animals, and travels in a mortar and pestle.

Her chicken leg house can rotate on its own. Sometimes it is surrounded by a fence of bones. Baba Yaga appears in Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian fairytales and folklore.

Matryoshka dolls (pronounced ma-tree-OSH-ka), or Russian nesting dolls, are sets of wooden, hand-painted figures that decrease in size and fit inside one another, symbolizing motherhood, family, and fertility. Many people call these dolls Russian nesting dolls or babushka dolls. The word Matryoshka comes from the Russian name Matryona, which means little mother. The Russian word for mother is mat' (мать).

Learn more about matryoshka dolls through a CREES digital culture tour

Pysanky are raw eggs that are decorated using an ancient wax-resistance method. The word pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word pysaty (писати), "to write."

Pysanky are an ancient art, made in Ukraine and other Slavic countries for centuries. Though many people call them Easter eggs, pysanky were made long before Ukraine adopted Christianity. The ancient symbols were then reinterpreted through the lens of Christianity later on. 

Learn more about pysanky through a CREES digital culture tour

Şahmeran is a mythical creature, half-woman and half-snake from Turkish and Iranian folklore. Her name translates to “Ruler of Snakes.” According to a variety of tales, she can cure illness, provide long life and impart wisdom.

Some people hang paintings of Şahmeran on their walls to protect their homes or wear her image on ornaments for good fortune. The story and imagery of Şahmeran are considered a national treasure in Turkey. Since c. 2016, LGBTQ supporters in Turkey and locations in the Middle East have been using Şahmeran as symbol of supporting LGBTQ issues.

The vynok is a wreath in Ukrainian culture traditionally worn by young girls and unmarried women. It is part of Ukrainian national dress. The flowers used were either fresh, wax, or paper. Certain flowers have specific meaning. 

Since the 2014 Euromaidan uprisings, people started wearing vynok as part of a wider revival in Ukrainian culturalism as a symbol of national pride. Wearing a vynok was also a symbol of protest used in demonstrations beginning in the 2004 Orange Revolution and continuing in the 2014 revolution as well as 2022 demonstrations against the Russian invasion.

Bulgarians exchange, so called "Martenitsi" ("Martenitsa" - singular, "Martenitsi" - plural) and tell each other, "Chestita Baba Marta!" (Happy Grandma Marta!). This custom is essentially to wish great health, good luck, and happiness to family and friends. The name "Martenitsa" is taken from the Bulgarian word for March, or, as a legend tells, an angry old lady called Grandma Marta - Baba Marta in Bulgarian ("baba" means grandmother and Marta comes from word "mart", which means March in Bulgarian). 

In Bulgarian folklore Baba Marta is a grumpy old woman who changes her mood very rapidly and it reflects in the changeable March weather. When she is smiling the weather is sunny and warm, but if she gets angry the cold will stay for longer and it may even snow. By wearing the red and white colors of the Martenitsa our predecessors asked Baba Marta for mercy. They hoped that it will make winter pass faster and bring spring. 

The Martenitsa is made of twined red and white threads - woollen, silk, or cotton. The white is a symbol of strength, purity and happiness. The red is associated with health, blood, conception, and fertility. 

The most typical Martenitsa represents two small wool dolls - Pizho and Penda. Pizho is the male doll, usually dominating in white color. Penda is the female doll, usually dominating in red color and distinguished by her skirt. There are many other variations and forms. Out of twined red and white threads are also made bracelets, necklaces, tassels, pompons, balls, squares, human or animal figures. Over the past several decades the tradition has been innovated by attaching all kinds of representations and symbols made of wood, leather, ceramics, metal foil to the thread-made martenitsas. 

When someone gives you a Martenitsa you should wear it either pinned on your clothes, on the hand tied around the wrist, or around your neck from Baba Marta Day (March 1) until you see a stork, or a fruit tree in blossom for the first time in the season. After that you can tie it on a blossoming tree for fertility. It is believed that the Martenitsa bring health, happiness and longevity. Like kind of amulet, Martenitsa was attributed a magic power believed to protect folks from "ill fortune", diseases and an evil eye. 

The custom of wearing Martenitsa is probably one of the most interesting Bulgarian (Pagan) traditions and it is considered to be unique to Bulgaria. According to one of the many legends, this tradition is also related to the founding of the Bulgarian state in 681 AD.

Wycinanki, pronounced “vee-chee-non-kee,” is the Polish folk art of papercutting. Though there are different styles, wycinanki designs feature repetitive motifs and symmetrical and rhythmic compositions. People originally cut colored paper with sheep shears and without the aid of a stencil or pencil drawing. 

Papercutting originated in China in the 4th century, making its way to Europe in the 1600s. It eventually became popular in Easter Europe, and appeared in Polish peasant homes in the mid 19th century. This was a time when people could readily access colorful paper.

The most common designs are spruce trees and flowers or feature animals, particularly birds like chickens and roosters. These designs reflect the themes of renewal and life typical of springtime and the Easter season. Other designs, called gwiazdy, are geometric, including circles, stars, snowflakes, and other shapes.

Learn more about pysanky through a CREES digital culture tour

Pysanky are raw eggs that are decorated using an ancient wax-resistance method. The word pysanky comes from the Ukrainian word pysaty (писати), "to write."

Pysanky are an ancient art, made in Ukraine and other Slavic countries for centuries. Though many people call them Easter eggs, pysanky were made long before Ukraine adopted Christianity. The ancient symbols were then reinterpreted through the lens of Christianity later on. 

Learn more about pysanky through a CREES digital culture tour