"The vyshyvanka is not only a special element of festive national clothing but also an important part of Ukrainian culture," says Inna Gordienko, head of communications at the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Estonia. "It symbolizes both Ukraine and Ukrainians."

And she's certainly not the only one who feels that way.

On Sunday (May 19), hundreds of Ukrainians dressed in vysyhyvankas of all different colors and styles, gathered at the Estonian Open Air Museum on the outskirts of Tallinn to celebrate "Vyshyvanka Day."

It's a tradition that began in 2006 with the aim of both celebrating and preserving one of the most recognizable symbols of Ukrainian culture. Ever since then, on the third Thursday in May, Ukrainians dress up in their embroidered national costumes to demonstrate their pride in who they are and where they come from.

"If I see a person in a vyshyvanka, I can be sure that they are also Ukrainian," says Nastia from Kyiv, who, along with her cousin Yuliia is serving traditional Ukrainian food at today's event, including potato pancakes (deruny) and, of course, borsch.

"So, I would say the vyshyvanka is one of the most important parts of our national identity because that is the way that we can identify our own culture," she adds.

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But while the vyshyvanka is clearly one of Ukraine's most unifying symbols, as I soon discover, every Ukrainian I meet also has a personal story to tell about their national costume.

"Like my grandmother told me – every woman in Ukraine should have a vyshyvanka," says Anastasia from Zaporizhzhia. "So, I have two!"

The one Anastasia is wearing today is adorned with a series of hand-stitched "Soloveiko" songbirds. It's the national bird of Ukraine ("nightingale" in English) and a symbol of music and happiness. "I really like these birds, so I have them here," she says.

For Yana from Mykolaiv, the colors are just as important as the patterns. The blue embroidery on her vyshyvanka stands for "protection," she tells me. "The decorations symbolize nature," her friend Yuliia from Kharkiv chips in, adding that the design on Yana's one is typical of Sumy Oblast. "Nature, from Sumy Oblast," she says. "Simple as that."

Another Yuliia, who comes from Truskavets in Lviv Oblast, even created her own vyshyvanka, decorating it in her own bespoke pattern using a selection of small, colored beads. "I made this vyshyvanka ten years ago," she tells me. "I like doing handicrafts, but embroidery has been my passion from childhood."

"Once a year I can wear it precisely for this special day. It's [a way to] remember your roots, your traditions and where you are from," Yuliia says.

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For all the people I've spoken to today, there's no doubt that those roots run deep. Whichever part of Ukraine they come from, and no matter what their personal story may be, wearing a vyshyvanka is an important way of binding them all together.

"[The vyshyvanka] is a statement to the world that Ukrainians are a free people," Inna Gordienko, told me. "It has always embodied a symbol of the steadfastness of the Ukrainian spirit."

And that spirit continues to flourish, even here in Estonia.

As I make my way to the exit, I'm stopped by Lisa, a high-school student and aspiring journalist from Boryspil, near Kyiv. She heard me speaking English and wants to ask a few questions for an assignment she's working on. The topic is what foreigners think about Ukrainian culture.

Lisa also tells me the vyshyvanka she's wearing today is from Vinnytsia Oblast - the part of Ukraine where her grandmother and other relatives still live. The embroidered birds and flowers on the sleeves symbolize that Ukrainians are "one with nature," she explains.

"And this is what's special, because now the modern vyshyvankas usually have flowers and things, but in the past they had everything, every kind of color, and every part meant something."

Although fashions have changed, Lisa assures me that younger Ukrainians are every bit as proud of their national costume as their parents and grandparents were before them. Each year, on the third Thursday of May, she starts seeing all her friends posting photos on social media of themselves wearing their vyshyvankas.

"This is so cool because they are young now – they are fifteen or sixteen – but soon they're going to be older, they're going to be adults and create the modern Ukraine," Lisa says.

"And I think that really matters. I'm so proud that there are young people who love vyshyvankas."

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The Vysyhyvanka Day event was organized by the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in Estonia together with the Estonian Open Air Museum. The event was supported by the Integration Foundation and the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

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