З Різдвом Христовим!
Hello my dear reader. I am sure you have noticed that the phrase above is not in English (or even in the Latin alphabet), and I am confident that you, being an intelligent little bean, have worked out that it is, in fact, Ukrainian and means “Merry Christmas!”. Your deduction skills are impressive, and S. Homes should consider giving you an internship.
Have you ever wished that Christmas happened more than once a year? This lovely festive dream has been a reality in Ukraine for the last several years. Both Catholic and Orthodox Christmases are celebrated, so the 25th of December and the 7th of January are national holidays. This is due to Ukraine having a diverse population and a majority identifying as either Orthodox Christian or Byzantine Rite Catholic, with the two denominations celebrating on different days.
Two Christmases – double the fun. You, my curious reader, are probably wondering whether there are any traditions associated with this festive time. And if you assumed that there are, you would be very right. So, let’s begin our journey of discovering the magical land of Ukrainian festivities.
*Cue the sound of frosty wind and snowfall. *
Put on your warmest coat, mittens, and boots because the winter is cold. Snow covers every tree and house in sight, glittering in the sunlight, the air is crisp, and every breath you take makes little clouds of steam.
We walk down the perfectly white and fluffy path, snow crunching under your valenky (woollen boots). This is when you see a group of children, and one of whom is carrying a star on a big wooden stick. You might wonder what they are doing, but your answer comes quickly. They knock on the door, and as it opens, they start singing колядки [kaliadky] – Ukrainian Christmas carols. The songs are joyful and merry, sung during Christmas eve as they celebrate the birth of Christ. A couple days later, the children would be singing different songs called щедрiвки (shedrivky) – similar to carols but focussing this time on wishing happiness to the family and a good harvest next year. One of them you already know, maybe not the words, but the tune: “Shedrick”, also known as “the Carol of the Bells”, telling the story of a swallow talking to a farmer about his flock. (Give it a listen, I might be biased but I think the Ukrainian version is superior). Once the children have sung their koliadka, they will be given a small reward, usually money or sweets.
We shall continue our way. It’s getting colder and, if we don’t hurry, we will be late for dinner. A traditional Christmas meal includes a lot of Ukrainian dishes, so it is a feast you don’t want to miss.
The table is covered in tablecloths, the best handstitched ones – only for special occasions. In the centre of that beautiful table, you will find bread that has three rings of braids on it (Kolach) – to symbolise the Holy Trinity. Other dishes on the table are Kutia (a sweet porridge made with honey and dried fruits) and several bowls of vareniky. The latter is my personal favourite; boiled dumplings that come with many different fillings – savoury and sweet. From potatoes to cabbage to meat, vareniky certainly have variety, but the clear winner are always the ones filled with sour cherries and sugar. A traditional Christmas drink is called uzvar and it’s made by stewing twelve different fruits.
Christmas is amazing, no doubt, but other holidays will feel left out if we don’t visit them as well. New Year and New Year’s Eve are important days in the celebratory calendar. I do not wish to bore you with another history lesson, but it is necessary for context, so I’ll make it short and sweet. Picture Ukraine before the Soviet Union – agricultural, people living in villages, religion at the forefront. Then, the Soviet Union came – and suddenly religion is prohibited, people lose their farms to the collective, anything remotely Ukrainian (language and traditions) is banned. This means that Christmas was not in favour of the soviet government, as it was both religious and western, so they needed a holiday to replace it.
New Year was a perfect switch – it was a significant date in late December. As with any holiday, traditions had to be formed. So they were, and they persevered. Decorating Christmas trees, waiting for the clock to strike midnight to commence gift-giving, with Ded Moroz (essentially Santa Claus) bringing them to children. You can see the clear influence, but it’s honestly more of a knock-off if you ask me.
On a more cheerful note, I want to wish you, my dear reader, a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the festive food (like panettone for breakfast) and going out to see the beautiful lights that make London sparkle this time of year, wear warm coats and hats (because I don’t want you to get a cold over the holidays) and until next year!
З Різдвом Христовим та з Новим роком!
[Z Rizdvom Hristovym ta z Novym Rokom !]
P.S. As promised, this one was happy and heavily focused of food 🙂
