Ukraine Festivals and Holidays

Velykden'. Great Day. Uplifting of the Soul. Velykden' is Ukrainian for Easter. Though it is not the only word for Easter used in the Ukrainian language it is probably the most proper. Literally it means "Great day". Easter is the biggest Christian holiday in Ukraine whose population in its majority is Orthodox Christian. Every religious holiday in Ukraine is marked by the ringing of church bells. But on the Velykden' the bells sound particularly majestically and solemnly. Tintinnabulation announces to the whole world glad news: Christ is risen! Why is there so much rejoicing? Resurrection of Christ proclaims immortality of soul. Christ rises from the dead, and we, those who believe in Him, shall also rise after death to eternal life. Man gets accustomed to the idea of mortality of flesh. Resurrection gives us hope. Resurrection is a victory over death. Resurrection is the Evangel, Bringing of Good News. Church bells all over the land announce Good News of Christ's Resurrection, of Victory of Life Eternal over Death. Many poetic lines have been written about the joyous holiday of Easter. Some remain anonymous, some are sung during the church service; others have been created by notable figures of Ukrainian poetry. All of them sing the glorious event of overcoming death, of rising from the dead to give life. Faith, hope and love have helped the Ukrainian people to persevere and survive the times of great trials and tribulations, famines and wars. The Orthodox Christian Church has helped Ukrainians overcome hardships in the past, it will help them to make Ukraine forever independent and prosperous. Velykden' is always with us. We shall overcome, Oh Lord! There are many traditional beliefs, legends and stories connected with Easter. Not all of them have come down to us from the centuries that have gone by, but those that have, have gone into the heart and blood of Ukrainian people. Some of them have been recorded, collected and published by ethnographers. Following are a couple of them, particularly revealing, poetic and emotionally uplifting. One of the most popular legends which used to be traditionally told by the head of the family at Easter, holds it that at the time when the faithful leave the church during the Easter service to go around it several times and then return to go back in again, Angels of the Lord raise the Saviour from the Sepulchre and the Saints come down from the sacred icons on which they are depicted and all of them "khrystosuyut'sya" , that is, exchange triple kisses as Easter salutation and expression of fraternal love. Another one runs like this: Right after His Resurrection the Saviour put Beelzebub the Satan, head of all the devils, into a deep underground pit, beneath the rock in which His Tomb was, and ordered Beelzebub to gnaw at 12 iron chains into which he was cast, at 12 iron doors and at 12 padlocks on the doors. If Beelzebub bites through all of the doors, all the padlocks and all of the chains before the Velykden', then the end of the world will come. In the twelve months from Easter to Easter the Evil One eats his way through all of it except one last link in the last chain. At the moment when the devil is about to pounce on this last link Velykden's chanting begins "Christ is risen!" and everything, all the chains, doors and padlocks become whole again as it was before the Satan had begun his gnawing effort. So, if people stop chanting "Christ is risen!" on Easter, then the end of the world will come. There are several traditional explanations, "folk etymology," of why Easter is called in Ukrainian "Velykden'." One of them says that at the time when Christ was born the days were long and full of bright sunshine, seven days longer than nowadays. After Christ was crucified the days of sunlight grew much shorter. On Easter, the days grow long again (the word "velyky" in Ukrainian means "great," "long" and "big") and the central gate of the iconostasis (tall partition with tiers of icons in an Orthodox church separating the altar from the nave) stays open for several days, from Easter Sunday till next Sunday. Easter Traditional Customs Some of the traditional customs associated with Easter are no less interesting and edifying than the legends.In many Ukrainian villages there was a tradition to makebonfires on Easter night. Either it was done at the foot of the hill on which the village church stood (in most cases churches used to be built on the tops of hills) or on the top of a hill beyond the village so that the light of the fire could be seen from afar, announcing the glad news to the Universe. Christmas in Ukraine For the Ukrainian people Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year. It is celebrated solemnly, as well as merrily, according to ancient customs that have come down through the ages and are still observed today. Ukrainian Christmas customs are based not only on Christian traditions, but to a great degree on those of the pre-Christian, pagan culture and religion. The Ukrainian society was basically agrarian at that time and had developed an appropriate pagan culture, elements of which have survived to this day. Christianity was introduced into Ukraine in 988 A.D. The flourishing pagan religion and traditions associated with it were too deeply rooted in the people to allow the Church to eradicate them completely. Therefore, the Church adopted a policy of tolerance toward most of the ancient customs and accepted many as part of the Christian holidays. In this way, the ancient pagan Feasts of Winter Solstice, Feasts of Fertility became part of Christian Christmas customs. This is perhaps why Ukrainian Christmas customs are quite unique and deeply symbolic. Ukrainian Christmas festivities begin on Christmas Eve (Gregorian calendar - Dec.24; Julian calensar - Jan.6.) and end on the Feast of the Epiphany. The Christmas Eve Supper or Sviata Vecheria (Holy Supper) brings the family together to partake in special foods and begin the holiday with many customs and traditions, which reach back to antiquity. The rituals of the Christmas Eve are dedicated to God, to the welfare of the family, and to the remembrance of the ancestors. With the appearance of the first star which is believed to be the Star of Bethlehem, which symbolizes the trek of the Three Wise Men, the family gathers to begin supper. The table is covered with two tablecloths, one for the ancestors of the family, the second for the living members. In pagan times ancestors were considered to be benevolent spirits, who, when properly respected, brought good fortune to the living family members. Under the table, as well as under the tablecloths some hay is spread to remember that Christ was born in a manger. The table always has one extra place-setting for the deceased family members, whose souls, according to belief, come on Christmas Eve and partake of the food. A kolach (Christmas bread) is placed in the center of the table. This bread is braided into a ring, and three such rings are placed one on top of the other, with a candle in the center of the top one. The three rings symbolize the Trinity and the circular form represents Eternity. A didukh (meaning grandfather) is a sheaf of wheat stalks or made of mixed grain stalks. It is placed under the icons in the house. In Ukraine, this is a very important Christmas tradition, because the stalks of grain symbolize all the ancestors of the family, and it is believed that their spirits reside in it during the holidays. After the didukh is positioned in the place of honor, the father or head of the household places a bowl of kutia (boiled wheat mixed with poppy seeds and honey) next to it. Kutia is the most important food of the entire Christmas Eve Supper, and is also called God's Food. A jug of uzvar (stewed fruits, which should contain twelve different fruits) and is called God's Drink, is also served. After all the preparations have been completed, the father offers each member of the family a piece of bread dipped in honey, which had been previously blessed in church. He then leads the family in prayer. A prayer is said and the father says the traditional Christmas greeting, "Khristos rodyvsya!" (Christ is born!), which is answered by the family with "Slavite Yoho!" (Let Us Glorify Him!) In some families the Old Slavic form "Khristos razhdayetsya" is used. The family sits down to a twelve-course meatless Christmas Eve Supper. There are twelve courses in the Supper, because according to the Christian tradition each course is dedicated to one of Christ's Apostles. According to the ancient pagan belief, each course stood was for every full moon during the course of the year. The courses are meatless because there is a period of fasting required by the Church until Christmas Day. However, for the pagans the meatless dishes were a form of bloodless sacrifice to the gods. The first course is always kutia. It is the main dish of the whole supper. Then comes borshch (beet soup) with vushka (boiled dumplings filled with chopped mushrooms and onions). This is followed by a variety of fish - baked, broiled, fried, cold in aspic, fish balls, marinated herring and so on. Then come varenyky (boiled dumplings filled with cabbage, potatoes, buckwheat grains, or prunes. There are also holubtsi (stuffed cabbage), and the supper ends with uzvar. At the end of Sviata Vechera the family often sings Kolyadky, Ukrainian Christmas Carols. In many communities the old Ukrainian tradition of carolling is carried on by groups of young people and members of organizations and churches calling at homes and collecting donations. The favorite Ukrainian carol is Boh predvichny (God Eternal) which has a very beautiful melody and Iyrics. Some Ukrainian carols are unusual because they mention Ukraine while others are ancient pagan songs of a thousand years ago which have been converted into Christian carols. Christmas is a joyous day which opens for Ukrainian families with attendance at Church. Ukrainian Churches offer services starting before midnight on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning. Christmas supper, without Lenten restrictions, does not have as many traditions connected with it as Sviata Vechera. The old tradition in Ukraine of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day, December 19th, has generally been replaced by the Christmas date. Malanka or Shchedryj vechir on January 13th according to the Julian calendar is celebrated as Ukrainian New Year's Eve in many cities. On this, the last night of the year, New Year's carols called Shchedrivky are sung. One of the most famous of these is the popular"Shchedryk" by Leontovich which is known in English as "The Carol of the Bells." While Christmas is a religious event, Malanka is a secular, merry-making celebration. In some communities Ukrainian professional and businessmens' clubs or youth organizations sponsor a dress up Malanka Banquet and Ball. The traditional Christmas customs of Ukraine add color and significance to the winter festival of Christmas, and Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th is usually a peaceful and quiet event. This celebration reminds us of the baby in a Bethlehem manger whose 1,975th birthday we celebrate. But whether Christmas is celebrated on December 25th or on January 7th the message is the same: "Peace on Earth! Good will towards men!". Carols While many of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve customs are of a solemn nature, the custom of caroling is joyful and merry. Ukrainian Christmas songs or carols have their origins in antiquity, as do many other traditions practiced at Christmas time. There are two main groups of Christmas songs in Ukraine: the koliadky, whose name is probably derived from the Latin "calendae" meaning the first day of the month and which are sung on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; the second group of Christmas songs is called shchedrivky, which is a derivation from the word meaning generous. The latter are sung during the Feast of the Epiphany. Both koliadky and shchedrivky have pagan elements in them, but many have been Christianized. For example, one pagan carol tells of a landowner who is awakened by a swallow and told to make preparations, because three guests are coming to his house: the sun, the moon and the rain. In the Christianized version the three guests become Jesus Christ, St. Nicholas and St. George. The very popular Ukrainian carol in the United states, "Carol of the Bells", in its originality is a shchedrivka and tells of a swallow (herald of Spring) that has come to a landowner's house and asks him to come out and see how rich he is, how many calves he has, and so on. The themes of Ukrainian Christmas songs vary. Many, of course, deal with the birth of Christ and that occasion's joyful celebrations, and many of them have apocryphal elements. Another group of carols contain purely pagan mythological elements. Still another group deals with Ukrainian history of the 9-12 centuries, mostly with the heroic episodes in the lives of some of the princes that were favorite among the people. One of the largest groups of carols are glorification songs - glorifying the landowner, the farmer, his wife, his sons, his daughters, every member of the family. These songs glorify their work as well as their personal traits. Caroling required extensive preparation. Each group had a leader. One member dressed as a goat. Another as a bag carrier, the collector of all the gifts people would give them. Yet another carried a six-pointed star attached to a long stick with a light in its center, which symbolized the Star of Bethlehem. In some places the people even had musical instruments, such as the violin, tsymbaly (dulcimer), or the trembita (a wooden pipe about 8-10 feet long, used in the Carpathian mountains by the Hutsuls). Caroling was not a simple singing of Christmas songs; it was more of a folk opera. The carolers first had to ask for permission to sing. If the answer was yes, they entered the house and sang carols for each member of the family, even for the smallest child. Sometimes they even performed slow ritualistic dances. They also had to present a short humorous skit involving the goat. The custom of the goat accompanying the carolers has its origin in the pagan times when the goat represented the god of fertility. The skit showed the goat dying and then being brought back to life. This also symbolized the death of Winter and the birth of Spring. The caroling always ended with short well-wishing poems, appropriately selected for each home. Koliadky and shchedrivky are the oldest groups of Ukrainian folk songs. They are sung by Ukrainians at Christmas time throughout the world. Vertep (Christmas Puppet Theater) Vertep, the Ukrainian Christmas puppet theater had its beginnings in the XVII century. According to scholars, the theater was probably founded by students of the Kyivan Academy, who also wrote the plays performed there. This theater became very popular and with time its special plays were performed by wandering mistrals, teachers, deacons and traveling theater groups. The puppet theater consisted of a miniature two-storied structure, which served as a stage for the action. The actors were puppets made of wood. Each puppet had a wire attached to one leg and in this way the puppeteer was able to control the doll's movement, moving it back and forth via the vertical and horizontal grooves cut out in the two floors of the structure. The play itself had two separate acts that were thematically unconnected. The first, which took place in the upper floor of the miniature theater, had a religious theme and was didactic in character. The play presented a shepherd and the Three Kings who came to visit the newborn Jesus. The shepherds sang songs and rejoiced in His birth. there was also a scene with the weeping Rachel, whose children were killed by the order of King Herod. In this scene Rachel cursed the King and as he died, the devil came to take his body and soul down to hell. The entire second act of the play took place on the lower floor of the theater. It consisted of short, humorous scenes, designed to amuse the viewer. Although the various short scenes of the second act did not constitute a tightly knit story, the action in them did revolve around one personage who was not given a specific name, but was just called "Kozak Zaporozhets". In Ukrainian folklore, there are many legends about Kozak Mamai, who was a great warrior, defender of freedom and honor. He always appeared at a very critical moment in a battle to save the day. Probably the role of Kozak in the puppet theater was based on Kozak Mamai, this semi-legendary folk hero. In the puppet theater play the Kozak doll was always made larger than the others. He wore the traditional dress of the Kozaky, had a bandura (Ukrainian folk string instrument), and smoked a pipe. In a very long monologue, the Kozak puppet spoke of the glorious historical past of Ukraine. The short scenes of the second act also dealt with a variety of negative characteristics of man, i.e., cowardice, greed, etc. The scenes changed rapidly and in them people lied, cheated, tricked one another, argued, fought - all for the purpose of bringing out the comic elements in such behavior. The Kozak, however, was beyond all that. although he may have pretended to be fooled, he did so only to get a hearty laugh from the audience. He conquered all who wished him ill, even the devil. The viewers saw the heroic past of Ukraine in the person of Kozak. For them he was the eternal defender of Ukraine's freedom. Both acts of the play were accompanied by music - a choir, duets, solos and instrumental ensembles made up of violins, cymbals, a flute and a drum. The Kozak played the bandura and sang old epic songs. He and the other characters in the play also danced. During the Christmas holidays, students went from, from town to town, village to village, house to house with the Vertep and gave performances. Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas, one of the most popular saints honored by the Greek and the Latin churches was actually a real person who lived in the 4th century in Myra, Asia Minor, which is presently Demre in Turkey. Traditionally, he has been honored on December 6 by the Latin Church and on December 19 according to the churches, such as the Ukrainian, which follow the Julian Calendar. In his youth Nicholas entered a monastery and later became an abbot and then a bishop. After suffering persecution and imprisonment, he was freed by a new emperor, Constantine. He died in 352 and his relics were preserved in Myra for seven centuries until some Italian merchants sent an expedition of three ships and 62 men to Myra and, through a ruse, carried off his remains. They were deposited in the church in Bari, Italy on the Adriatic Sea on May 9, 1087 where they have remained to this day. Many traditions relating to Saint Nicholas as the special guardian of maidens, children, scholars, merchants and sailors, have come down to our day. There is a legend that connects St. Nicholas with the tradition of giving presents secretly. There was a nobleman in Patana with three daughters but he was too poor to provide them with a dowry for marriage. He was almost on the point of abandoning them to a sinful life when Nicholas heard of his problem. That night he took a purse of gold and threw it in an open window. The nobleman used it for a dowry the next day as he did a second purse he found the next night. Curious about his benefactor, the third night he watched and caught Nicholas in the act but he was told not to reveal the Saint's identity or generosity. Ever since, St. Nicholas has been identified with the tradition of gift giving. His three purses of gold eventually became the three golden balls symbol of pawnbrokers. St. Nicholas is the most popular saint in the Ukrainian church after St. Vladimir, as is shown by the fact that there have been more churches named after St. Nicholas than after any other saint. Some scholars believe that it was through the great popularity that the Saint enjoyed in Kievan Rus-Ukraine in medieval times that his popularity spread to western Europe, and particularly to Belgium and Holland.

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