Beginning
There are things that are born not from one pair of hands — but from a thousand.
In June 2007, on the island of Khortytsia — the heart of Cossack Ukraine, the place where the Ukrainian soul was formed — the first stitch of the Rushnik of National Unity was embroidered. Not by chance. Khortytsia has always been a place where the earth remembers everything.
1340 Embroiderers
The action brought together embroiderers not only from all regions of Ukraine, but also from the diaspora in Moldova, Poland, the USA and Canada. People of different nationalities and faiths.
The youngest was eight years old. The oldest — eighty-four. In total — over 1,340 creators. 48 collective embroidery sessions. Over 55,000 kilometers traveled by the cloth.
No rushnik in the world has a story like this.
Symbolism
Along the entire perimeter of the cloth runs a protective infinity pattern — a symbol of the eternal movement of life.
At the center — the Tree of Life with 27 flowers, each representing a region of Ukraine. No two alike. Just like people. A golden trident in a wreath holds the entire composition like a heart — quietly, but unwaveringly.
The red color dominates — because it is the color of greatness, triumph, and a blessing for flourishing.
Today
The idea of creating the rushnik was born by Tamara Vasylivna Stepanenko — a person who devoted over 40 years to preserving the art of embroidery. Mykola Stepanenko became the executive director of the action.
No political force or branch of government financed this project. It was born from a people's initiative — on the principles of collective work. Just as Ukraine was built.
Today the Rushnik of National Unity lives on — in every GADZHAMAN piece with hand embroidery, in every coupon that carries within it the memory of the land and the hands that loved it.
Because a rushnik is not fabric. It is a vow.