Дослідницько-проектна робота
на тему:
«Зимові народні традиції в Україні.»
“Winter
Folk Traditions in Ukraine.”
Contents
I. Introduction
II. New Year – January
1
III. Christmas in Ukraine
3.1. The History of Christmas
3.2. Sviata Vechera or “Holy
Supper”
3.3. January 7, the Day of Christmas
3.4. The History of Vertep Drama
IV. Malanka – Ukrainian New Year’s
Eve
4.1. Merry-making Celebration
V. Feast of Epiphany
VI. The End of Winter Festivals
6.1. Stritennia
6.2. Masliana
VII. Conclusions
VIII. References
I. Introduction
A beautiful time of the year,
With carols and tinsel
And lots of good cheer,
With sharing
and caring
And hearts drawing near —
Christmas...
A beautiful time
of the year.
In the coldest time of the year when the nature
seems to die
totally, the hope which never gives up creates the most fantastic and wonderful
stories of the new life that is going to uprise instead. This has happened to many
generations of the humans.
And it worked. It inspired. Times changed but the human imagination never stopped refreshing
time-worn plots. The
main character of all beliefs, myths and religions has always been the Sun, the one which gives life.
Aren't we pagans
in that sense? What do we really celebrate singing Christmas carols — "koliadky": the
birth of Jesus or that of Bozhych, born by Koliada, the god of sun.
Christ's story is the poetry of Ukrainian Christmas
but the
celebration itself with its symbolic actions and sayings through which the most
ancient pagan beliefs could be traced is the algorythm of this greatest holiday of the
year. Christmas is
our connection with the Universe, history of the mankind and our inner, spiritual life.
They
say: as many days we have as many holidays we observe. There is no holiday without its particular traditions. New
Year and Christmas are coming and bringing traditions with them. They are both mysterious and meaningful, Christian and heathen at the same time. Though
a great number of January traditions have already
been forgotten, most of them were marked
with deep poetic outlook, high morality and wisdom. One of them was very popular among our ancestors. In some time it was banned.
But recently it has returned from oblivion.
II. New Year – January 1
New Year's Day is one the most
favourite holidays in Ukraine
Many businesses
close from December 31 to January 8 (until after Orthodox
Christmas). The best gifts for the New Year are: Champagne Ukraine
III. Christmas in Ukraine
This period from the 7th till 19th of January is the Saint Christmas
week, when people have fun, wear fancy dresses and walk from one home to another singing Christmas songs and all
masters should give them sweets.
At the night of January 7
(according to the Orthodox calendar) Christmas is marked. On Christmas holidays
people try to be better, purer; it is the
time when Christian values take peculiar meaning, it is time for good
deeds.
3.1. The History of Christmas
Christmas, the feast of Christ's
birth was at first celebrated in the East on January 6, together with the
feast of Epiphany. Later, in the mid-4'h century, it was
established by the Roman Catholic church as a separate feast and was celebrated on the 25th of
December according to the Julian calendar.
WHY DO UKRAINIANS CELEBRATE Christmas on January 7 rather than
December 25? Many people wonder why the Ukrainian date is thirteen
days later, and only a few people are aware that it is related to a change from
the calendar which was in use two thousand years ago.
Tradition plays
a great part in the lives of people of Ukrainian origin, and it is for this
reason that they have continued to
celebrate Christmas on the old date that would have been
observed by all Christians.
The Roman calendar that had been in
use since the eighth century B.C. originally
started the year on March 1 and had 10 months as the names of the months
themselves indicate, September (7), October (8), November (9) and December (10). Eventually two months were
added, Januarius and Februarius, and the year was started on January.
However, it was only 355 days long so it had over ten days error and the
seasons and the calendar over the years continued to lose their correct
relationship.
With the introduction of the
Christianity into Ukraine
A characteristic
feature of Christmas is caroling, which expresses respect for the master of the house and is sometimes accompanied by a puppet theatre
("Vertep"), a person dressed as a goat and a handmade
star.
3.2. Sviata Vechera or “Holy Supper”
SVIATA VECHERA OR "HOLY SUPPER" is the central tradition of the beautiful Christmas Eve
celebrations in Ukrainian homes. The dinner table sometimes has a few wisps of hay on the embroidered table cloth as
a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem
Christmas
comes in Ukraine
In the old times Ukrainians
didn't set a Christmas tree. Instead of it
they had a sheaf of wheat called "Didukh" which represents the
importance of the ancient and rich wheat crops of Ukraine
At the
table the host pretended to hide from his children
behind plates with pies. He would ask his children: "Do you see me, kids." The answer supposed to be "Not".
Then the father stated: "As you don't see me now, let you have so much bread in this year that you don't see each
other behind it".
When the children see the
first Star in the eastern evening sky,
which symbolizes the trek of the Three Wise Men, the Sviata Vechera may
begin. Then the prayer is said and the father says the traditional Christmas greeting, "Khristos
rodyvsya!" (Christ is born!) which is answered by the family with
"Slavite Yoho!" (Let Us Glorify Him!). In some families the Old
Slavic form "Khristos razhdayetsya!" is used.
The dinner had to start with tasting "kutia" — the dish which
symbolized health and wealth. Then went other twelve fat-free dishes. It's traditional in Ukraine
AT THE END OF THE SVIATA VECHERA the family often sings
Kolyadky, Ukrainian Christmas Carols. In many
communities the old Ukrainian tradition of caroling is carried on by groups of
young people.
The
favourite Ukrainian carol is "Boh predvichny" (God Eternal) which has a very beautiful melody and lyrics.
Some Ukrainian carols are unusual
because they mention Ukraine
The dinner
continued overnight. Soon after midnight a group of young men and children started moving from house to
house singing Christmas carols and greeting
all people with the good news. They
wore masks, dressed as christian or pagan
characters and carried the symbol of the holiday - the star. They were
cheerfully invited inside and treated with pies and some money.
3.3. January 7, the Day of Christmas
In Ukraine
Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January as the birthday
of Christ. All churches have Christmas Eve services that usually begin before
midnight and end on early Christmas morning.
On that day people stay at home and spend the time with their families, round the holiday tables. In the country we can
see children and youth dressed into
funny clothes, with weirdly decorated
faces knocking at the doors of their friends and neighbours singing
Christmas carols called "Kolyadky",
asking for charity. They greet people with the birth of Christ and get their treatment — candies and biscuits, nuts and some money.
It's a bright holiday, a day
of caring when people's hearts are drawing near.
January 7, the
day of Christmas, was full of joy. There was a custom of visiting close and
distant relatives. Children were sent to bring Christmas
meal to their godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who treated them
heartly in their turn with the most delicious food they had prepared.
Public life was also very
active during those days, especially in
towns. Scenes from the Bible about Jesus Christ's birth were staged in churches, schools and theatres. Charity fairs made the poorest feel happy. The "good
news" again filled the hearts and eyes shone with kindness,
friendliness and love.
In modern times many symbols lost their primary
life-important meaning. Even in the villages people don't "call the wolves
and the winds" for the dinner. But some of them have still survived. It
doesn't matter whether you are a believer or not, but there is something in
cooking twelve lenten dishes in the atmosphere of peace and love. And anyone
will welcome children singing carols and thus blessing the house with the
spirit of Christmas
3.4. The History of Vertep Drama
On
Christmas Day literate people, clergy and schoolboys got together and went from house to house with a famous puppet-show called vertep. Its
appearance goes back to 1600-1620. So in the XVIII century
it was a widely spread tradition all over Ukraine
Here is a
detailed description of vertep by Mykola Markevych. It is a two-storey house
made of thin boards and cardboard. The upper floor has a balustrade behind
which a play takes place. On the ground floor there is a throne of tsar Irod. Puppets are moved by leaders.
Clergy, pupils and singers talk instead of them.
Vertep drama
consists of two parts: Christmas drama and joined to
it satirical intermedy. The first part which is often called "holy"
is more or less stable and the second one
changes depending on local traditions, historical period and abilities of
"actors". These two parts are different in language as well. The
"holy" part is written in bookish style with abundance of church
words. The language of "folk" part is similar to the modern
Ukrainian language. The
"holy" part tells us about the birth of Jesus Christ,
shepherds who came to worship him, Irod's anger
and his desire to put Jesus to death. This part finishes with Irod's
death. It is naturally that the death of such a villain makes people overwhelmed with joy.
The second part is the
creation of people themselves. It reflects Ukrainian people's everyday life of
the period when vertep was created. All actors have national costumes on. The
invariable hero is a Cossack. He brings with
him both the negative attitude to the Poles and Jews, clergy and military men and bright emotional
colours expressed in jokes, folk
songs and dances. Other active participants are Russian generals and
officers, a doctor, a beggar, a devil, young
people, women and men. We meet different
participants at each period of history.
It is known that
verteps are also popular nowadays but in up-to-date interpretation.
IV. Malanka – Ukrainian New Year’s
Eve
MALANKA OR SHCHEDRY
VECHIR on January 13 according to the Julian calendar is
celebrated as Ukrainian New Year's Eve in
many cities. At this, the last, night of the year New Year's carols called Shchedrivky are
sung. One of the most famous of these is the popular "Shchedryk" by Leontovich which is known in English as
'The Carol of the Bells." While
Christmas is a religious event, Malanka is a merry-making celebration.
Malanka is a
Ukrainian folk holiday celebrated on January 13, which
is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar. Malanka commemorates
the feast day of St Melania. On this night in Ukraine
While
Christmas is an entirely religious occasion, Ukrainian New Year's Eve has
maintained more of its pre-Christian secular, pagan beliefs, in particular,
those pertaining to the supernatural and
animalistic. New Year's Eve perhaps derives its name Malanka from the
following folk tale collected by the
Ukrainian ethnologist Osyp Fedkovych (1834-1888):
"Once upon a time there was The Creator Praboh, who had four sons and one daughter.
His daughter is our mother Earth, who was named Lada. The first son, who fought with his father God and his
brothers and sisters, was the chief of hell, the Devil. (Yar-Yarylo) St
George was the second son and the third was Rai who was later identified as St John 8 in his hand. He rode around
the earth on white horses. The daughter Lada (Earth) had two children, a son
who was the Moon (Knias Misiats') and a
daughter Spring-May who was later called Mylanka because she was loving (myla)
to the whole world. It was she who
covered the world with flowers and greenery every May. Because the Evil One did harm to everyone,
he was defiant enough to desire to take Malanka (Mylanka) to his
underground kingdom. He finally stole her at a time when her brother, the Moon,
was hunting. But she was eventually freed
by him and under the name of Basil they were married. While she was absent from the world, there was no spring. Spring finally came when she,
Malanka, returned to Mother Earth."
So the celebration of Malanka
symbolises the beginning of spring being released from captivity and on her
arrival bringing the flowers and greenery to life again.
4.1. Merry-making Celebration
Malanka is a carnival that follows
the religious part of the mid-winter holiday season. Malanka is what is called a yearly cycle ritual. What adapts best to
the western setting is the costuming part of Malanka — cross-dressing,
dressing up as animals, ghosts, sort of the Ukrainian equivalent of Halloween
stuff, only done in the period after Christmas. What was done at Malanka was
dressing up as the spirits of dead vegetation, as various witches, goblins etc.
In addition to the masquerading, plays are performed at Malanka, including a
Punch-and-Judy slapstick version of puppet theatre (as opposed to the more
serious vertep, which usually has a religious theme) and there are various
games and fortune-telling. One of the games, where a palianytsia (a semi-sweet
bread shaped like a huge donut) is tied to the rafters and people stand on a
stool or jump and try to bite a piece off of it might be useful in a western
setting.
V. Feast of Epiphany
Epiphany
(Ukrainian: "Bohoiavlennia"): a religious
feast on January 19 popularly called "Vodokhryshchi" (Blessing of
Water) or "Yordan" (the Jordan River ),
which completes the winter (Christmas-New Year) festivities cycle.
Its
Christian content is permeated with old agricultural rituals of
diverse origins. The Eve of Epiphany is called "the second Holy Eve"
or "Hungry Kutia"; it is also
called "Shchedryi Vechir" (Generous Eve) but with "kutia"
still as the main traditional dish.
The principal ceremony of
Epiphany traditionally consisted of the
solemn outdoor blessing of water, usually at a river or at a well, where a cross was erected out of blocks of ice (nowadays water is usually blessed inside the
church). A procession was led to the place
of ceremony. After the blessing of the
water, everyone present drank the water and also took
some home to be kept there for a whole year.
On the
second day of Epiphany (Day of St John the Baptist) the head of the household traditionally fed his cattle with bread, salt, and hay, which had been in the
house since Christmas Eve, "to last them till the new
bread".
Following
the feast of Epiphany, parish priests visit the parishioners' homes and bless them with the new holy water.
VI. The End of Winter Festivals
6.1. Stritennia
15 February is said to be the only day when winter meets spring. This is why it was called Stritennia.
Water was blessed in church.
Everybody poured it into a special bottle and it
was kept at home the whole year. This water
was used as a remedy for many illnesses, especially for the evil eye. People
sprinkled the cattle and poultry with this water.
Many years ago it was the
day when candles were blessed in
church. They were called gromnychni. People lit them during thunderstorms to send thunder away and to escape from lightning. Such candles were also given
to those about to die.
Before the holiday, women baked biscuits in the shape of different birds. Children took them into the
garden. They threw the biscuits up and
invited birds to come back home from warm countries.
6.2. Masliana
The last
week before Great Lent is one of the merriest in the year. It is called Masliana week, or Syrnyi week. This
holiday is connected with seeing off
winter and greeting spring.
The main meal of the feast
is varenyky that are served with butter or
sour cream. Each day of the week has its own name: Zustrichnyi, Shyrokyi etc. Besides, each day is connected with different traditions. Sometimes they
are rather funny. Especially
interesting is Syropusna Nedilia (Cheesefare Sunday).
Different regions of our
country have their own traditions and rites.
In some regions people cook varenyky, in other
regions nalisnyky or mlyntsi are made. They can be stuffed with meat, cottage cheese, or have a fruit filling.
The last day of Masliana is Proschena Nedilia (Forgiveness Sunday) when all the people ask forgiveness
of one another, and thus Great Lent begins.
Masliana
is the time when peasants forecast the weather,
especially during Syropusna Nedilia (Cheesefare Sunday). They say that the
weather on Easter Sunday will be the
same as it is on Cheesefare Sunday. If the sun rises early in the morning on Cheesefare Sunday, the
spring will be early too.
VII. Conclusions
New year... Christmas... Something
about it inspires story-telling and reading. Perhaps it's the time of
the year. In our country, where so many of our holiday traditions have originated, New Year and Christmas fall
during the cold, dark winter. Even in our warm
homes we cherish cozy images of families and friends gathered hearthside for evenings of comfortable
conversation and story-telling.
Christmas time is always thrilling all over the world.
Maybe our forefathers made up this holiday
just in the middle of frosty and snowy, sometimes severe winter to enjoy the
life, to dream about something, to
be with friends around the table, to
tell different stories with only one purpose — to encourage everyone, to fill the life with new sense, to bring hope and love so that to live
successfully to the spring... Who
knows? But this holiday has never been
missed from our lives in spite of changing the governments, the disastrous wars and difficult situations. We are always looking forward to it
because it contains some magical
force, some promise and hope. May we
all, in our individual everydayness, be happy, lucky, hopeful and loved.
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
VIII. References
1.
Baranovs’kyi O. Christmas Traditions
in Ukraine
2.
Kryshtalyuk A. Christmas in Ukraine
3.
Mykhailenko T. Christmas Everywhere.
Газета “English” /
Шкільний світ. – 2001, #48.
4.
Mykhailenko T. Christmas Traditions of Ukraine
5.
Parasich L. The Ethnic World of Ukraine
6.
Tulupova S. Ukrainian Festivals.
Газета “English”/
Шкільний світ. – 2005, #47.
7.
The Internet Resources.
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