Holidays in Ukraine

Very often we look forward to holidays to enjoy ourselves. As you know, the word "holidays" comes from the words "holy day". The point is that all the holidays were first religious festivals, but nowadays many of them have nothing to do with religion. Each country has holidays honoring important events in its history. Many historical events are of great importance for all peoples and countries throughout the world.

As we live in Ukraine, we have our own customs and traditions, holidays and festivals. The long-term dream of Ukrainian people came true on December 1, 1991. More than 90% of the Ukrainian people voted for the independence of their country, Ukraine. It was proclaimed on the 24^th of August, 1991 and Ukraine became a sovereign state. There are a lot of concerts and dances in the streets of Kyiv and other cities. This holiday commemorates freedom of the Ukrainian people.

On the 28^th of June the citizens of Ukraine celebrate Constitution Day. The adoption of the Constitution was the victory of democracy, the sign of Ukrainian people’s will to live in a state where the rule of law dominates. National and local authorities hold various meetings and seminars devoted to constitutional issues, discuss further strategies of Ukraine’s successful development.

The New Year Holiday. The most common type of celebration is a New Year party, either a family party or one arranged by a group of people. This usually begins at 9 o’clock p.m. and goes on till the early hours of the morning. But the main thing is that the New Year is the holiday of expectations. The children decorate a New Year tree with toys and colored lights. When the clock strikes 12, everybody drinks champagne or juice and says: "(A) Happy New Year!" to one another.

Ukrainian people celebrate church holidays as well. These are days set aside by the church for celebrating various events from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.

An important holiday in the Ukrainian churches is Christmas Day. It is observed on the 7th of January. Most people follow the tradition of going to church and having a tasty Holy Supper. But in Ukraine people do not exchange presents on this holiday as it is in the case of Great Britain and many other countries.

The most important holiday is Easter (Resurrection of Christ). It is a time of giving and receiving presents which traditionally took the form of an Easter egg. The Easter egg is the most popular emblem of the religious holiday.

Other church holidays include Christ’s presentation at the Temple, Annunciation, Christ's entrance into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), Ascension(40 days after Easter), Pentecostor Sunday of the Trinity, Transfiguration, Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Elevation of the Cross, and Presentation of the Virgin Mary at the Templeand many others.

Children and young people like to celebrate holidays that bring a lot of smiles, fun and joy. Fool’s Day (April Fool’s Day) is one of them. The name comes from the custom of playing practical jokes on people. Those who fall into the trap set for them are then greeted with jeering laughter and shouts of "April Fool!" or "April Fool, April Fool, send your mother back to school". At school serious work is practically forgotten as the children try to pin notices on one another’s backs. The notices say things like "Kick me", or "I’m a Fool". Teachers have to be particularly careful or they too might find themselves walking around with a silly sign on their backs. On this day of national good humor, the television service joins in the fun and makes everyone smile and look happy.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 2130