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Christmas in Ukraine

Decent Essays

It is difficult to imagine Ukrainian culture without such a paramount celebration as Christmas. For my research, I have interviewed Nadia, native-born Ukrainian, who told me the significance of this celebration in her family, their traditions and her own childhood memories and nostalgia. In Ukraine, Christmas is celebrated in a very special way, preparing to it carefully and keeping old traditions. Ukrainians have developed different rites and ceremonies, fasts and diets, Carrols and divinations to celebrate Christmas. To assist my investigation I have found the history and the ways Ukrainians celebrated Christmas, foods and entertainments they had, cultural features and traditions, showing the unique identity of the nation.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on the seventh of January according to Julian calendar, the day when Jesus Christ was born and in the sky began to shine Bethlehem star, as written in the Bible. Christmas – is the greatest and most essential event in the peasant household calendar of Ukrainians in XIX-XX century. Christian traditions and celebrations are closely related to old customs of pagan origin. Aforetime our ancestors on the day of winter solstice celebrated the birth of the new summer sun, change from the winter to summer (Sapiga 1993).

Christmas, by the church constitution, antecede four-week lent (Pylypivka), from November 27 to January 6. At this time, all the household work has been performed: whitewashed the chamber, decorated it

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