Home is where the Heart is

In my walkabouts around the Crowsnest Pass , I have noted some interesting houses here and there of different ages and styles. When I study someone’s house, I think to myself: “I wonder who the owner or mistress of this house is and what their character or habits are? Because after all, our houses often reflect who we are. We invest in them not only our money, but also our soul, our strength, and from this the house becomes “alive”. Nowadays, with real estate prices rising many people cannot always afford to buy their own home. Many rent houses and in that rented house they too try to create their own little world, one that will make them feel comfortable and safe.

As a result of military actions against my country, Ukraine, many people have lost their homes which has brought a great deal of pain and tragedy. I have met some of these people and talked to them. They showed me photos of their destroyed houses, in which there was everything that was dear to them: old photo albums, memorable souvenirs, even a favorite tea set. Despite that these people have lost they thanked God that they remained alive.

In Ukraine, since ancient times, people built their houses and passed them on from generation to generation. The house was a symbol of well-being and a place for family gatherings. Their domicile was considered a place of power, where the roots of generations of the family were closely intertwined. Various ceremonies like weddings or funerals, were often held there. After construction it was customary to consecrate the house so that it would have peace and prosperity within it. Usually a priest was invited who read prayers and sprinkled the walls and corners of the house with holy water. It was believed that one should not build a house on the site of a dried-up river or where there used to be a road. It was also undesirable to locate your house in places where there used to be a barn or stable or somewhere where there had been frequent quarrels or where people got sick.

People took the choice of a place to build their home very seriously and often asked elders for advice.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, traditional housing in Ukraine was called a hata (cottage) and often had a thatched or reed roof. The use of straw, unlike reeds, was considered a sign of the wealth of the owners. Often the walls of the cottage were decorated with brightly painted patterns. Sometimes they built adobe houses of bricks made from a mixture of sand, clay and straw. In different regions the houses in Ukraine had their own uniqueness and distinct features. Different materials and technologies were used to build. Cottages with a wooden frame were especially popular and were finished with a clay mixture and whitewashed (painted white) inside and out.  In the northern regions, houses were often made of logs. Stone houses, if they were to be found, were built mainly in the south of Ukraine.

Externally, the house reflected the tastes of the family that lived in it and the uniqueness of the region where the house was located. It was customary to plant flowers near the houses which were traditionally mallow, marigolds, sunflowers and poppies. The flowers decorated around the home in the summer, inspiring creativity and revealed an aesthetic taste.

The interior decoration of the home also had its own characteristic national features. Each cottage had a stove, and a bench by the wall. The bench itself was quite long, it replaced the chairs we are now used to. Then, in the corner, there was a table and this “corner” could rightfully be called a “sacred” place. Here, honored guests and newlyweds were seated, shelves with towels embroidered with an ornament were placed, and icons were hung on top. 

Also various amulets were placed in houses and doors, windows, and chimneys were decorated with familiar symbols. There was often a small cross painted above the top of the front door. It was believed that the cross protected the house from various natural elements and evil forces, as well as from people with bad thoughts.

Compacted earth, usually covered with clay, served as a floor. Clay was usually available and provided warmth. In more prosperous houses there could be wooden floors, but this was quite rare. In the winter, people often kept livestock and this tended to affect the condition of the floor. A mandatory item in each home was a wooden chest, a place where festive and everyday clothes were kept.

My grandmother had just such a chest and when I came to visit her she would take out a beautiful scarf out from that old chest and lovingly tie it around my head to protect me from the scorching sun. I remember my grandmother’s stove well, one that was very large and took up almost a quarter of the room. On Grandma’s stove she often cooked food like her most delicious borscht. Grandma also dried fruits on it like: apples, plums and pears and on holidays she always baked sweet pies in the oven. Traditionally, for the region she lived in, pies were baked with a sweet filling of poppy seeds and boiled beans. I can remember waking up with joy there, listening to the crackling of burning logs in the stove and watching my beloved grandmother cooking food. A feeling of warm childhood happiness.

On top of the stove, my grandmother spread several blankets on occasion so that we, her grandchildren, could lie on them. When the stove was in operation, the blankets heated up and retained heat for a long time. When we came to visit her for the winter holidays, we would climb onto the stove and warm ourselves on the blankets and tell each other favourite different stories. My grandmother also had a place on the stove where an old kerosene lamp stood on a very small embroidered tablecloth. It gave the house an authentic look. In her yard she planted many flowers, usually near the fence. On top of the fence she would dry clay jugs. In the past, jugs were often hung on fences as a decorative element but also to dry clay dishes. In the first case, the jugs were painted with different patterns in the form of flowers or geometric shapes.

It was common practice that fences could be found in the yard of every house, as barriers between the yard and the garden or vegetable garden. Usually they are low and made of wooden boards. In the old days, willow was often used for fencing, its branches were intertwined and a beautiful, durable fence was obtained. On holidays, it could be decorated with towels with embroidery, amulets, flowers and other decor.

In my family, there is an interesting story associated with the house. My grandmother, on my mother’s side, got married quite early and as a young family lived with her husband’s parents in their old house. After some time my grandmother’s husband went off to war and was killed. The parents loved their daughter-in-law very much and asked her to stay in their house to somehow ease the loss of their son. My grandmother took care of her husband’s parents until their deaths and after some time, she was remarried to my grandfather and they had four children, two boys and two girls. Over time, the house fell into disrepair and a new house was built.

At the juncture of newer generations, new interior items began to appear, and the exterior of the house also changed, giving way to modern design. But many Ukrainians still have and use some of the old attributes from their ancestors. I believe that each ancestral item contains some of the energy of its owners. Ukrainian cottages are often sung about in songs, woven into poems and sometimes depicted on the canvases of great artists as a real work of art. A white cottage with a yellow thatched roof, with walls painted with patterns - this image of family comfort and warmth, human labor and spirituality will always be kept in the memory of our people. Despite the new spirit of the times, the home remains one of the important attributes of our life, determining its image and quality. But the most important thing is that joy, comfort and warmth fills our home, otherwise they are just walls without a soul.