CHAPTER 3. FESTIVALS IN UKRAINE

Each country has its own customs, traditions, holidays, and important days in its history. Talking of holidays in Ukraine we can't but tell about everybody's favourite New Year’s Holiday. People think that at night on New Year’s Eve the old year with all its troubles leaves us forever and the new year with all our hopes and expectations knocks at our doors. People decorate the Christmas tree, have New Year parties and prepare presents for their relatives and friends.

The Ukrainians, like any other people, have their own customs and traditions: many of these are very old, some appear nowadays.

Most of the customs are connected with the religious festivals or with Ukrainian dwelling.

The most popular of the holidays is the New Year Day; it is celebrated on the 1st of January.

On the eve of the holiday children and their parents decorate a New Year’s Tree with shining balls and other Christmas ornaments.

The mothers of the families prepare holiday dinners.

On that day people exchange presents with their relatives and friends: they often go to see them or invite them to their place to see in the New Year together.

They lay festive tables and at 12 o’clock raise their glasses with champagne and say to each other “Happy New Year”.

But the Orthodox Church in Ukraine celebrates New Year on the 14th of January to the old-style Calendar.

In the evening on the 13th of January children go from house to house and sing Christmas carols: they wish all the best to the people who live in these houses.

Of course, the carol-singers are given some reward — sweets, cakes or a little money. The Orthodox Ukrainian people celebrate Christmas on January, 6: the evening before Christmas is called the Holy Evening. On the Holy Evening all the family gets together to have the Christmas Supper.

According to the religious tradition, it is necessary to prepare 12 different dishes because of 12 apostles; no one at the table can eat till the first star appears in the sky. But, unlike in the English-speaking countries, in Ukraine people do not exchange presents on that day. On the Christmas Evening the religious people go to church; some of them spend the whole night there — they pray and listen to Christmas religious songs which glorify Christ’s birthday.

Another religious festival in winter is Twelfth-day or the Jordanian Holiday which is celebrated on memory of Jesus Christ’s christening (on the 19th of January). On the eve of this holiday at their supper people sing songs which are called “the generous songs” — that is why this evening is called “the generous evening”, too. In the morning of the Jordanian Holiday the festival procession goes from a church to a river or to a pond where christening of water takes place. After that the priest consecrates the peoples’ homes and things.

Easter is another great religious festival: usually it is celebrated on one of Sundays in spring.

On that day the religious people go to church and listen to the service; usually they bring with them baskets with food — Easter cakes, butter, cheese and, of course, painted eggs.

The priest in the church consecrates all the food: many people believe that the Easter eggs possess magic power and can protect from evil, thunder or fire and have healing powers.

In the morning after the end of the service, the people greet each other with the words: “Christ has resurrected!” and return home for breakfast. They celebrate Easter as the beginning of spring, too. There are many other interesting customs and traditions in Ukraine, too.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of Ukraine’s top-notch festivals are the religious festivals: the Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on January 7; and Easter, locally called Paskha, when there are midnight services and day-long processions through the streets.

Ukrainians love their numerous holidays and love to “celebrate” those holidays in fashion. It’s not uncommon for Westerners to be taken aback at just how many “days of note” they observe, and the amount of fireworks and revelry that goes along with them.

A known German proverb says: "Festivities have to be celebrated the time they are." An English version of that could be: "Christmas comes but once a year." Every year there are about 10,000 occasions where public festivals are celebrated, so there is always a possibility to have some fun: Whether it's a parish fair, a riflemen's meeting, a religious festivity, a pageant or some sort of jubilee - in Germany about 200 million visitors participate in these events.

Below we will sum an important and popular festival information that is either at the top of the list of big public festivals or which shows the local culture and way of living.

Whether you’re headed for Germany during spring, summer, autumn or winter, there’s always an exciting event taking place. As a country renowned for its multicultural capital, Berlin, yet also famed for its traditional culture, cuisine and classical music, there’s something to suit every interest in Germany. You could book a holiday during Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest, sampling the finest beer and bratwurst in the country, or spend a long weekend in Berlin during the film festival, enjoying some of the world’s best cinema. Whether you’re planning for a specific event, or your holiday coincides with a festival, you’ll find plenty to keep you entertained when holidaying in Germany.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Britannica. Problem. [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.britannica.com/

2. Festivals in Germany. [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.journey-to-germany.com/festivals-in-germany.html

3. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. A S Hornby. Sixth edition. Oxford University Press, 2004.

4. Events in Ukraine. [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.ukraine.com/events/

5. Feasts and Festivals in Ukraine. [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.meest-tour.com.ua/welcome/index.php?Id=451

APPENDIX

Marzipan Pig

Karneval Festival Celebration

Kurpfalz Festival Celebration

Burning Snowman

Beautifully Decorated Easter Eggs

Hexen

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 1006