TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN HOLIDAYS YOU HAVE TO SEE IN SPRING

2018-12-04 12:32:51

Spring has always been a good season to plan your visit to Ukraine. Why not combine a touristic trip with a cultural experience and assist some of the most famous traditional Ukrainian holidays.

EASTER

When: flexible (one of Sundays in the end of April - beginning of May)

The most loved one of traditional Ukrainian holidays is Easter. The holiday that marks the end of the Great Fast and celebrates the Christ rebirth, so the date changes every year. Same as other big religious holidays Easter traditionally celebrates with families and often unites all family members from all over the country in one place. Again, the way of celebration in Orthodox tradition differs a lot from the Catholic one.

The main attributes of Ukrainian Easter are «paska» (traditional decorated cake) and «pysanka» or «krashanka» (painted eggs). On the Easter day people wake up at night, take their decorated Easter baskets filled with Paska, painted eggs, often meat, salt, and other delights, come to the churches and wait for the end of Easter ministering. By the end of it, the priest goes out of the church to sanctify all the baskets. People bring them home together with the holy fire on the candles and start the traditional morning meal that obligatory includes a content of the basket.

When all the family comes together, everybody chooses the egg and makes a «fight» to discover who is the strongest. Family members one by one hit the painted eggs of each other and the one who gets the undamaged egg becomes a winner. In addition, there is no place for standard «hi» but a special «Chrystos voskres» (the Christ reborn) instead.

Top cultural activities:

  • learn how to bake a paska and decorate it;
  • paint your pysanka;
  • wake up early morning to assist people going to the churches;
  • try to win the "egg battle".

Additional activities:

ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE MOUNTAIN VALLEYS

When: flexible (first half of May)

This is, probably, the most unusual event in this list of traditional Ukrainian holidays. Moreover, it's happening just in one particular region - Carpathians. Even though it's very old, the tradition of the celebration keeps being well followed. The holiday is associated with the start of a summer cattle grazing season and always falls on the Saint Juriy day (May) since he's always been a patron of shepherds. For locals, sheep symbolize wealth and happiness, so it's not a surprise that this holiday is a big even for all the region. All people gather next to the cattle. The process of the celebration includes prayers, songs, and music. All this is aimed to bring lots of luck, wealth, and health to the shepherds. However, the authentic way of celebration can be only experienced in the places of holiday's origin and should be seen with your own eyes.

Top cultural activities:

  • assist the celebration in the mountains;
  • participate in the process of cheese making;
  • learn at least one traditional dance or song;
  • take a photo with a sheep.

Additional activities:

VYSHYVANKA DAY

When: 3rd Thursday of May

You might probably see a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt called vyshyvanka. It’s the clothes that Ukrainians are proud of so it would be surprising if there were no special day to dedicate to it. International Vyshyvanka Day is held every year on the 3rd Thursday of May. The way of celebration is simple - just take and wear your vyshyvanka. People all over the world participate in it and come to work and schools wearing their colorful shirts. If you have a chance to be in Ukraine on this day, you will have a chance to see thousands of people dressed in traditional clothes that come from different regions of Ukraine and, for sure, get you a vyshyvanka and wear it to feel a part of this movement.

Top cultural activities:

  • get a vyshyvanka and wear it all day;
  • ask people stories about their shirts and discover different regional traditions;
  • follow the tradition and wear your vyshyvanka every year after to support the celebration.

Additional activities:

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