Once upon a time, Ukrainians called January studen, i.e. a very cold month. There were three important holidays during this period: Christmas, Epiphany, and Old New Year (St Vasyl Day). How did Ukrainians celebrate these holidays and what exactly did they cook for the feast? Christmas When the Christmas fast ended (on the evening of January 5), Ukrainians started to prepare for a more delicious feast rich in many favorite dishes. Among must-have traditional recipes were kutia cooked from wheat with the addition of honey, raisins, and poppy seeds....
When did Ukrainians celebrate New Year in ancient times?
Today we are accustomed to starting preparations for New Year holidays in late November or early December. This makes sense because New Year is celebrated on January 1st and Christmas on December 25th or January 7th (whether Catholic or Orthodox ). Yet, can you believe that Ukrainian ancestors celebrated these holidays on completely different days and even in different months? Ancient times For the remote ancestors of modern Ukrainians, the New Year always was a spring holiday, which was associated with the rebirth of nature after winter sleep. The...
How well do you know Ukrainian New Year and Christmas traditions?
1/10 In the old days, in winter, Ukrainians hung * on the central beam of a house 1- iron rooster 2- wooden hare 3- clay horse 4- straw spider 2/10 In the XIX century, on the eve of Christmas, the goodman (master of a household) invited * to the house to eat kutia (sweet grain pudding) 1- Saint Mykolai (Nicholas) 2- frost, gray wolf, dark storms and evil winds 3- district governor, spravnyk (head of police), and police officer 4- cow, sheep, and dog 3/10 By tradition, on...