Lviv unveils Ukraine’s largest trident made of ancient Christmas symbol – didukh

On December 23, the largest trident made of the ancient Ukrainian symbols of Christmas – didukhs – was mounted on the square in front of Taras Shevchenko's monument in Lviv. It stands at a towering height of over 7 meters.

The Lviv City Council reported that.

"Last year, the Trident stood in Kyiv, and this year, Lviv residents and guests of our city will have the opportunity to admire the record holder," Yevhen Boyko, the manager of the executive committee of the Lviv City Council, said.

The record-holder trident will stand on the square in front of the monument to Shevchenko until December 26.

"I thank our guys from the 80th brigade [80th Separate Airborne Assault Galician Brigade – ed.] who made this trident with their hands. Tomorrow, our city will hold a ceremony to carry and install the didukh, and it holds special symbolism that the military-installed this trident the day before Christmas. I wish everyone peace from the newborn Jesus Christ and the strength that he brought into the world to overcome evil," Yevhen Boyko said.

It's worth mentioning that last year, the trident was included in the Book of Records of Ukraine. It comprises around 340 didukhs, handcrafted by injured members of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Galician Brigade under the careful supervision of a 96-year-old resident of Lviv, Pelaheia Zhyvko. Remarkably, this woman survived five wars, deportation, and imprisonment. Despite facing intimidation and harassment from the Soviet authorities, she consistently weaves a didukh every Christmas.

"For me, this trident is the most important thing in my life and the life of our Ukraine. It went through Kazakhstan and Siberia – I made it everywhere. Although I was persecuted, letters were written against me, and they called me a Banderite [a name for the members of the OUN-B, a faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – ed.], but I am proud of it. I thank our military, with whom we wove this trident together. And God grant that we will wait for our victory together, " the craftswoman emphasized.

^{Photo: Lviv City Council}

"The didukhs were woven from rye, oats and wheat. It was a kind of art therapy for the wounded defenders," Andrii Boychuk, a serviceman of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Galician Brigade, a participant of the "Unconquered Games", and co-author of the trident, explained.

"This is a symbol of our unity, our traditions, which we do not forget and protect. And we want to show our strength and will, which the enemy will never defeat. This trident is a symbol of our soldiers who protect Ukrainian lands, a symbol of a paratrooper who stands in a hot spot until his last breath," Andrii Boychuk, added.

^{Photo: Lviv City Council}

The charitable organization "MHP-Hromady" ["MHP" is a company in the field of food and agrotechnology – ed.], which provided grain crops for weaving, helped to create the trident made of didukhs.

It is worth mentioning that last year, a trident measuring 7.41 meters tall and made of didukhs was officially recognized in the National Register of Records of Ukraine at the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life.

This year's project has been updated. The action was joined by paratroopers of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Galician brigade, who are undergoing rehabilitation after being wounded.

The authors of the didukhs trident are 90-year-old craftswoman Pelaheia Zhyvko, a veteran of combat operations in Kosovo, Iraq and the Russian-Ukrainian war Yaroslav Kuchma, and Olena Zhyvko, a veteran and head of the veteran organization "Association of Volunteers".

The trident was made of three varieties of grain: rye, wheat and oats.