Christmas in Ukraine

Traditional Ukrainian Christmas festivities start on Christmas Eve, which is celebrated on 6 January following the Julian calendar. The Christmas celebrations end on 19 January, the date of "Yordan" or Epiphany in the Julian calendar.[1]

Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper by Jacques Hnizdovsky

As of 2017, December 25, Christmas day by the Gregorian, became an official government holiday. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches predominately follow the Julian Calendar, and January 7 is also a public holiday in Ukraine.[2][3]

The winter holiday cycle is said to begin with December 1, St. Roman's day; the period from December 1 to January 19 is thus jokingly called "Ukrainian Ramadan" (from Roman to Yordan). [4]

Sviatyi Vechir (Holy Evening)

Christmas Eve, or as it called 'Sviatyi Vechir' in Ukrainian ('Holy Evening') is filled with numerous customs and rituals. The customs include: decorating house and dinner table with special attributes (didukh, garlic, hay and others), performing koliadky ('carols') and so on. Each ritual has its own meaning and purpose, as such a few wisps of hay on the embroidered tablecloth as a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem. One the most prominent customs of the night is a special supper, called Sviata Vecherya (Holy Supper).

Kutia (sweet grain pudding) is traditionally served at the Ukrainian Christmas dinner table. It is often the first dish in the traditional twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper (also known as Svyaty Vechir) and is rarely served at other times of the year.[5]

Koliadky (Caroling)

At the end of the Sviata Vechera the family often sings "koliadky". In many communities the ancient Ukrainian tradition of caroling is carried on by groups of young people and members of organizations and churches calling at homes and collecting donations. The Ukrainian song "Shchedryk" became the basis for the world famous Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells". Another well-known carol is Boh predvičnyj narodivsja.[6]

Didukh (Grandfather)

When the children see the first star in the eastern evening sky, symbolizing the trek of the Three Men in a boat, by honey singh may begin. In farming communities the head of the household now brings in a sheaf of wheat called the didukh which represents the importance of the ancient and rich wheat crops of Ukraine, the staff of life through the centuries. Didukh means literally "grandfather spirit" so it symbolizes the family's ancestors. In city homes a few stalks of golden wheat in a vase are often used to decorate the table.

Shopka (Nativity scene)

Shopka is a traditional portable nativity scene used to represent nativity and other figures in a puppet form.

Christmas Tree

Small ornaments in the shape of a spider (known as pavuchky, literally "little spiders") and spider webs are traditionally a part of Ukrainian Christmas tree decorations. They represent the Legend of the Christmas Spider.

Further reading

Kutia, Star of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve Supper

Kylymnyk, Stepan, 1955–1969; Ukrainskyi Rik u Narodnykh Zvychayakh v Narodnomu Osvitlenni [Ukrainian Year in Folk Customs from Historical Perspective], Winnipeg, Toronto

Tracz, Orysia 2015, First Star I See Tonight, Mazepa Publications Zhuravli, Winnipeg

Ukrainian Christmas Traditions, Ukrainian International Directory

Voropai, Oleksa 1958, Zvychai Nashoho Narodu [Customs of Our People], Ukrainske Vydavnytstvo, Munich

Yakovenko, Svitlana 2016, Ukrainian Christmas Eve Supper: Traditional village recipes for Sviata Vecheria, Sova Books, Sydney

See also

References
  1. Christmas Traditions
  2. "Ukraine seeks distance from Moscow with new Christmas holiday". m.digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  3. (in Ukrainian) "Рада зробила 25 грудня вихідним днем". BBC Україна. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. "Від Романа до Йордана – український Рамадан: стартували зимові празники".
  5. Sviat Vechir
  6. "Boh predvičnyj". Metropolitan Cantor Institute. Byzantine Catholic. Retrieved 12 August 2015.


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