FESTIVALS IN UKRAINE

SENA ORMAN
 Holidays have a very important place in the long history of Ukraine.
Let's take a closer look at these holidays, which are part of their culture.

The holidays I will talk about;

1.Christmas (Різдво)
2. Old (Orthodox) New Year
(Старий Новий рік)
3. Baptısm Of Jesus Chrıst
(Хрещення)
4.Easter(Великдень (Пасха)
5.Kupala Night (Свіато
Купала)
 1.Christmas (Різдво)
Christmas Ukrainians celebrate on January the 6 (Christmas
Eve) and 7th (Christmas day). According to ancient traditions
it is not allowed to eat until the first star appears in the sky –
the symbol of the birth of Jesus Christ. On Christmas Eve the
whole family gathers together at the table which is generously
covered with 12 meatless dishes symbolizing the number of
apostles. The main course is called “kutya” – the buckwheat
porridge, nuts, honey and poppy seeds. There is always a
place for an empty plate for the dead ancestors of the family
who also will come for dinner.
 In the corner of the room instead of traditional Christmas tree in the
ancient times the haystack named ‘Didukh’ was standing – the keeper
spirit of family.

People sing carols, visit church on

Christmas day and spend this day with
their family members.
After Christmas Day 12-day-holiday
season “Svyatky” started. Till 19th of
January it was forbidden to work, people
enjoyed winter, made carnivals and fairies.
Magical time when all your wishes can
come true!
2. Old (Orthodox) New
Year (Старий Новий рік)
New Year is also celebrated twice in Ukraine: the first time is on the night of
January 1, and the second one is during the night of 13 to 14 January. The reason
lies again in the change of chronology in 1918; therefore, this holiday is usually
celebrated in countries where the Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian
calendar.

Another name has been preserved from the previous centuries, – Generous Eve
(Shchedriy Vechir). It arose from the fact that it was customary to set a "generous
table": with an abundance of all kinds of dishes, since locals believed that the
prosperity of the hosts for the entire coming year depended on the quantity of
prepared food.
 If it is customary to sing Christmas carols for, then for Generous
Eve - to perform songs of generosity, or shchedrivkas,

and to also scatter grain in the houses of

one's hosts. It is believed that this grain
cannot be swept before sunset. In
gratitude, according to tradition, the
hosts give these singers fruit or other
sweets or money. It is better when men
enter the house first on this day, since
Ukrainians believe that this brings well-
being.
3.Baptısm Of Jesus Chrıst
(Хрещення)

The baptism of Jesus is the event of the

baptism of the prophet Jesus in the Jordan
River by John the Baptist.The day of Jesus
Christ`s baptism is also important for
Ukrainians. They celebrate it on January 19.
On this day, it is customary to bless the water
and swim in an ice hole in a river or in another
body of water
 Locals have faith that on this day
it is impossible to fall ill from
such bathing, because the water
acquires redemptive power and
protects a person.

Such water does not spoil and can

stay fresh for a year, or even longer.
After the priest sanctifies the water
in the ice hole, those who wish to
do so, immerse themselves three
times and say a prayer.
 4.Easter(Великдень)
(Пасха)
In April or May Ukrainians celebrate Orthodox Easter. The Monday after the holiday,
Easter Sunday, is a public holiday in the country. It is customary for people to go to church
on the morning of Easter Sunday and have their Easter basket blessed. It commonly
includes traditional baked paska, a cylindrical baked pastry, topped with white icing and
decorated with colored sprinkles, as well as decorated eggs, which are called here
'krashanka’ (крашанка).
Interestingly, 'krashanka' are sometimes confused with
another type of Easter egg, 'pysanka’(писанка), but the
latter are characterized by the fact that they do not have just
plain paint on them, but various patterns are applied to
them.
Писанка Крашанка
pysanka krashanka
 On this day Ukrainians play an Easter
game, which consists of tapping hard-
boiled eggs three times. The aim of each
player is to break the egg of another, but
to preserve his own undamaged. The
symbolism underlying the game is the
emergence of a new life.

Tradition permits the baking of a paska twice

during Holy Week: on Pure Thursday and on
Saturday. It is necessary to have the Easter basket
blessed on an empty stomach, because you need to
eat blessed food early on Easter Sunday morning. It
is important for those who keep the forty-day period
of fast before the holiday.
 5.Kupala Night (Свіато
Купала)
Ever since pre-Christian times, the custom has been preserved to celebrate
Ivan Kupala on the night of July 7.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the

holiday fell on the summer solstice, so
our ancestors praised Kupala, who was
the god of the Summer Sun. People
believed that on this night all evil spirits
came to life, so mass festivities held
around the fire were held to ward them
off.
 The tradition to jump over the fire on this day still remains. Locals had faith that
through such a rite the soul would be purified. Unmarried girls also made wreaths and
threw them into the water.

In this way they were guessing who

would be their fiancé: it should have
been the young man fishing out the
wreath. At night, everyone went looking
for the mythical fern flower. Ancestors
believed that it appeared only on this
night and could bestow success, wealth
and health, and pretty much everything
else.