Holidays and Traditions in Ukraine
Every nation and every country has its own traditions and holidays. In Great Britain, America and in Ukraine traditions play very important role in the life of people. We have many holidays in Ukraine. Ukraine recognizes eight national holidays. They are: January 1 – New Year’s Day, January 7 – Christmas, Match 8 – International Women’s Day, April – Easter, Holy Trinity Day; May 1 and 2 – Day of International Solidarity of Workers / Labour Day, May 9 – Victory Day, June 28 – Constitution Day, August 24 – Independence Day. Ukrainians love their numerous holidays. They also celebrate such holidays in Ukraine as: International Child Protection Day on June 1, The Day of Knowledge on September 1, Pokrova Day on October 14, Ukrainian Army Day on December 6, Armed Forces Day on February 23 and many others. The first holiday of the Year is the New Year’s Day. It is everybody”s favourite holiday. It is merry to decorate the New Year Tree, to dance near it and to receive presents. The main folk heroes of this holiday are Father Frost (Did Moroz) and his grand-daughter "Sniguron'ka" (The Snow Girl). Then in a week there is Christmas. In Ukraine it is an old and popular holiday. In the morning boys go from house to house, from flat to flat, sing traditional holiday songs and wish good luck to the people they visit. They usually are dressed in folksy or carnival type costumes. Such activity is called "Kolyaduvannya" and "Schedruvannya". The songs are called "kolyadky" and "schedrivky". The people give them sweets, cakes and money. The 8-th of March is the Women's Day. We give presents to our mothers, grandmothers, teachers, sisters and girl-friends and wish happiness and good luck to them. We celebrate May Day on the 1-st of May. It became an International Day of Solidarity for workers of all countries. It is also the holiday of spring. We have Victory Day on the 9-th of May. It is a great holiday. We say, "Thank you very much" to old people who took part in the Great Patriotic War and defended our Motherland against the fascists. War veterans gather together remembering those who perished. Every city has "The Eternal Fire" at which people gather on this holiday. In spring we have one more traditional holiday. It is Easter. Usually people bake cakes and paint and colour eggs for the holiday. On that day the religious people go to church and listen to the service. They usually bring with them baskets with food – Easter cakes, butter, cheese and, of course, painted eggs. The traditional greeting on this day is: "Khrystos Voskres!" (Christ has risen!) and the answer is: "Voyistynu Voskres!" (He has risen indeed!) Ukrainians celebrate Constitution Day on June, 28. On this day in 1996 the Constitution of Independent Ukraine was adopted. Fireworks and various concerts and musical events are common throughout the country. The 24-th of August is Ukrainian National holiday – Independence Day. Ukraine has many holidays honouring important events in its history. And, of course, one of the greatest holidays is Independence Day. It is celebrated on August 24. The Act of Independence of Ukraine was proclaimed on this day in 1991 and a new country appeared on the map of the world. On this day, Ukrainians celebrate the birthday of Ukraine as a sovereign country. There is a military parade with orchestras and national blue-and-yellow flags in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Many people in different cities, towns and villages take part in marches and various festivities. People bring flowers to the monuments honouring Taras Shevchenko, the greatest national poet and painter, and also a patriot of this country. Everybody is welcome to attend or join in the music festivals and concerts held on this day. In the evening, the Ukrainian sky blazes with the beauty of massive fireworks displays. Independence Day is the holiday which unites all Ukrainians. The 1st of September is a holiday for everybody who studies. The Day of Knowledge is the first day when the students come to school after long summer vacations and new schooling year begins. It is also called the First Bell. It symbolizes the beginning of school. In Ukraine we celebrate this holiday on the first of September. The students of school gather in the school yard and have a grand meeting. We congratulate each other and our teachers with the beginning of the school year.
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