UKRAINIAN HOLIDAYS, CUSTOMS AND RITUALS

Old traditions are still valued in Ukrainian villages and towns. Most Ukrainian holidays originated from ancient pagan customs, some church holidays appeared later after Christianity was introduced. Since ancient times Ukrainians celebrate holidays to ensure rich crops, to have sound health, to marry happily and just as entertainments.

Ukrainian evening parties (vechornitsy)

In dark autumn evenings when there was no work outside Ukrainian girls often gathered in one of the houses and spent time sewing, embroidering towels and singing. They also told each other legends, fairy tales and stories. Sometimes young men also came, made ropes, repaired harness or just played cards and joked with ladies.

Traditional holiday Catherine’s day in Ukraine

Ukrainian ladies liked Catherine’s day, because it was the time to tell fortunes. Girls took cherry branches, put them into water or under icons. If the branches blossomed by Christmas, this meant that a girl would marry soon. Another Ukrainian custom was “to call fortune”. The girls gathered in one house, cooked special millet porridge with poppy-seed and climbed the gate in turns calling, “Fortune, come to us for dinner”. Sometimes, they went into the forest and also called fortune, and if somebody answered them, this meant that girl’s happiness is close.

Ukrainian customs and fortune telling on Andrew’s day

Andrew’s day is famous for love magic and fortune telling. One of Ukrainian traditions was called hemp sowing (sometimes flax or poppy seeds were taken instead). A girl went to the darkest corner of the yard and sowed a handful of seeds. Then she bowed so that her skirt touched earth, went round the place where she had sown the seeds and said, “Andrew, Andrew, I am sowing the seeds and dragging my skirt, I want to get married, let me know whom I will marry...”

Another Ukrainian village custom was called “To bite Kalita”. Kalita was a large sweet bread covered by honey, which was hung at the ceiling. Participants of the game went to kalita one after another on pokers like horse riders. Then they had to jump and bite a piece of kalita, trying not to laugh and not to let the poker out of their hands. Those who managed to do this, would marry happily next year. Others had their faces covered with soot.

Ukrainian girls also told fortunes using “balabushki” or special tiny beans. The girls had to bring water for the pastry from wells or river in their mouths. The men knew about that, hid on their way and tried to make the girls laugh or frighten them so that they had to bring water several times. The number of “balabushki” corresponded to the number of girls at the party. The girls covered those beans with lard and put them on the floor in a visible place. Then a hungry dog was brought to the house. If a girl’s bean was eaten first, that meant that she would marry the first. If the dog left some beans, those girls would stay single that year.

Remains of pagan traditions are reflected in freedom on Andrew’s night. During this night men and boys could break the rules and make village jokes. Most often they took the gate away and put it in the neighbour’s yard or put wooden logs under houses doors, threw various things into chimneys. It was considered special dexterity when young men managed to put large cart on house roof. Very often they also knocked at the doors and windows and when the host went out, poured water on him. Sometimes Ukrainian young men made masks out of pumpkins and placed a candle inside to frighten girls.

St Nicholas Day in Ukrainian traditions

St Nicholas day was celebrated on the 6th of December. That day Ukrainian hosts expected guests, and the first guest was called “polaznik”. It was considered good luck, if a man came first. That day Ukrainians prepared special performances on religious topics with saints and demons. After the performances St Nicholas (a man wearing Nicholas costume) gave small presents to children. Sometimes special cookies were baked and placed under pillows. The custom to make gifts on Nicholas day is still preserved in Ukraine.

Christmas rituals and customs in Ukraine

Ukrainians have special attitude to Christmas, New Year and Epiphany holidays. Christmas rituals were to protect people from evil, to ensure richness and happiness next year. During holiday period Ukrainians didn’t work and decorated their interior with embroideries, artificial flowers and lacy paper.

Festive dinner before Christmas was called Svyatvechir or Holy Evening. That day the host put fresh hay and a pot of kutya (wheat kasha with poppy-seeds and nuts sweetened by honey) under icons. Earth floor was covered by straw and adults threw nuts into the straw. Children looked after nuts and cackled as if they were broody hens. Next day before the dawn the straw was taken outside and fire was made near the gate on the road, adults and children jumped over the fire.

For the Holy Evening a host brought wheat or oats sheaf into the house and put it into the corner under icons. In a few days he threshed it and used later its seeds to begin spring sowing.

Dinner table was also covered by hay and then by table cloth. Garlic was placed in the corners in order to protect the house from evil. Sometimes an ax was put under the table and the Ukrainian family placed their feet on it “to make them strong”. The Christmas dinner consisted of 12 dishes in order to ensure prosperity next year. That’s why even poor Ukrainian peasants did their best to celebrate Christmas. The dinner began with kutya. Ukrainians believed that souls of ancestors also took place in Christmas meal and said nice words about them during the dinner. Afterwards, they left food on the table for the ancestors and didn’t wash the plates. For the night all the family placed their spoons into the pot with kutya, so that the ancestors could eat it. It was also a custom of fortune-telling, and if somebody’s spoon was turned in the morning, this meant that its owner would die next year.

Pure sky on the Holy Evening betokened rich crops. Icicles under roof meant crops of corn and hoar frost in the garden meant fruit crops. Ukrainians also believed that cattle can talk on the Holy evening and fed horses and cows with bread. It was also customary to exchange ritual food with relatives: kutya, fish, pies etc. This symbolized relations between two families, their love and generosity. Children who brought food also got gifts: small pies, nuts, apples, candies.

A special Christmas ritual was called kolyadovat. Groups of men and boys with musical instruments went from house to house, sang special Christmas songs, wished good health and prosperity to the hosts and got money, food, candies etc. Later they brought money and food to the church. While singing they held a star decorated with foil with candle inside. Another element of the ritual was the goat. One man put on a ship skin and a mask of goat and performed a ritual “goat dance” with death and revival which symbolized time turnover and New Year.

Another tradition was to sow seeds in the houses for Christmas saying words, “I am sowing, sowing... Merry Christmas...” It symbolized protection from evil forces.

Epiphany Holiday in Ukraine

Ukrainian Christmas rituals ended on Epiphany holiday. The evening before the holiday was called Generous Evening. That evening Ukrainians had fast and cooked kutya. They also went to the church and hallowed water. Later they began meals with this water and the host sprinkled it on the family, house and wells. Another ritual dish for Epiphany was called podpalok – a honey cookie. After dinner the host went into cattle-shed, sprinkled holy water there, drew crosses and ate podpalok to get saved from evil spirits.

The apogee of Epiphany happened when the priest put his cross into the water and made it holy. Traditionally it took place on the river coasts or near lakes. Ukrainians cut a cross in the ice, put wooden cross vertically and poured beet drink upon it so that it turned red, decorated it with flowers and pine branches. Epiphany water was considered to be universal medicine from all the diseases. Bottles filled with it stood in each Ukrainian village house.

After Epiphany holiday weddings season started and lasted till the Great Fast. It was time for rest and entertainment. Youth gathered for the evening parties, went to visit each other. To make summer closer large bread was baked and then carried around the house.

Pancake week in Ukrainian traditions

Before the Great Fast, which lasted seven weeks before Easter, much attention was paid to meat and milk dishes. Ukrainians rode on sledge went to visit each other, cooked varenyki and treated each other with vodka. If women met an unmarried boy, they fastened a piece of wood to his arm or leg and he had to pay ransom to get rid of it. Men treated girls with vodka, beer, sweets. The girls embroidered kerchiefs and gave them to men they liked to show their feelings. Very often mutual gifts meant future weddings.

Easter celebration in Ukraine

Easter holidays in Ukraine were rich in numerous rituals and traditions dating back to pagan times. Such elements included cookies baking, eggs dying, spring games and dances, purifying rituals. Even now, if you walk the streets of Kiev, Ukrainian towns or villages one day before Easter, you will see numerous people carrying baskets with something inside covered by embroidered towels (rushnyks).

Ukrainians got ready for the Easter a week before it: they cooked eggs and colored them, cooked sausages, baked cookies and special paska (sweet Easter bread). Easter dishes hallowed in the church were considered to be strong magical and medical items. Hallowed poppy-flowers were taken to cattle-shed to protect it from witches, hallowed lard was used to cure cows, and hallowed bread was a medicine for sore throat.

Thursday before the Easter was called “Pure Thursday”. That day Ukrainian people cleaned horses and pigs and washed themselves. In the evening women brought lit candles from the church and burnt crosses on the door and ceiling.

In the night before Sunday fires were burnt near the church or on the hills. Each village family had to give wooden logs for the fires. Young men were responsible for the fires, so that they burnt the whole night through.

For the Easter Ukrainians wore their best clothes, went outside and greeted each other, “Christ has arisen” and replied “Truly arisen!”, gave each other dyed eggs. It was popular game for children to take eggs and check whose egg was stronger by beating them one against another. A child whose egg was stronger, took the rival’s egg.

Young men played in “Tower game”. Four men stood on the shoulders of five strong men, then three men climbed higher, then too and then one. Multilevel tower didn’t stand, but moved and danced. During the last day of Easter holidays Ukrainian peasants took each other by hands and went round the church singing ritual songs.

Certain Easter rituals were connected with souls of ancestors. One week after the Easter Ukrainians go to the cemetery, bring eggs and other foods there, have dinner on the tombs. These days they also give food to poor people. Another Ukrainian ritual was to throw egg shells into rivers to inform underground people that Easter came.

Ukrainian Trinity holiday

The end of spring and the beginning of summer were marked by Trinity rituals in Ukraine. Ukrainians took the branches of maple-trees, linden-trees, pussy-willows, acacia, birch, oak-trees, nut trees and put them on the roof, on the gate, near the windows and behind the icons. They covered floor in the houses with fragrant grass: mint, lovage and aspen branches. The most popular grass was sweet flag, which was also called Tatar grass. Ukrainians had legends, that sweet flag grew in places where tatar invasions happened. Even today on Trinity holiday you can see numerous elderly ladies selling bundles of grass in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities.

Ivana Kupala holiday in Ukrainian traditions

Ivana Kupala night is a mysterious summer holiday which originated from pagan rituals. It takes place on the night between 6 and 7 July. The evening before the holiday, young men put wooden branches upon lake or river shores in order to make a fire. When first star rose, old men had to burn the fire using one of the primitive methods of getting it. Kupala fires were famous for purifying force. Ukrainians believed that as they jumped over the fire, they got rid of illnesses, evil and barrenness. Ukrainian men and girls also jumped over the fire holding each other hands, if they wanted to get married.

Another ritual was the decoration of a pussy-willow or birchen tree with flowers, paper stripes and candles. Girls put on their heads flower wreaths and danced around the Kupala tree singing special songs on love, marriage and summer. Afterwards, the tree was broken into small parts and each girl took a branch, carried it to the kitchen-garden and planted near cucumbers to have rich crops. Sometimes people also put them under roof for prosperity or threw into the water to have rains.

The girls also told fortunes by Kupala wreaths. They threw them into the water and observed how they behaved. If a wreath moved fast, that meant that a girl would marry soon.

A lot of customs were connected with fern which according to the legend, flowered only a few seconds in midnight on Kupala night. A brave person who managed to find fern flower, got treasures, learned mysteries and could make any wish.

On Kupala night people sang Ukrainian songs till early morning, made jokes and had fun till the dawn. (c) While preparing this article on Ukrainian customs we used information from Podil web-site.

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