Hello from Ukraine. We like winter holidays very much and we wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 We want to tell you about Ukrainian winter holidays.

Our favourite holiday is New Year. You can hardly find a person who doesn’t hope that the Old Year with all its troubles will leave forever and the New Year will bring health, prosperity and happiness. We decorate New Year tree with toys and sweets. We have New Year parties, prepare presents for our relatives and friends, and send greeting cards to them.  Every year we have a traditional New Year party at school with Father Frost (Santa Claus) and Snow Maiden (Snegurochka). We have many different funny competitions; we got presents and prizes for the best costumes and masks.

   On the 7th of January we celebrate Christmas. It’s a very special holiday.

We have “Holy Supper” on Christmas Eve. All the members of the family should be at home. It is forbidden to quarrel during this day. No one starts eating till the firsts star in the sky. We usually eat 12 dishes. Usually we eat borshch, beans, fish, potato, varenyky, holoobtsee, stewed fruits, pyrohy. We like varenyky with cherries, with mushrooms and with cabbage. They are very tasty. And we like pyrohy. Christmas is a very tasty holiday.

The most important part of “Holy Supper” is kutia. All the family eats kutia together.

Kutia is a dish made of wheat or barley grain and poppy seeds that is eaten with a honey.  It is one of the oldest of the 12 traditional dishes and is served to begin the Christmas. Kutia is usually used to foretell a family happiness and wealth. On Christmas Eve, children often took kutia to their godparents. 

Kutia.

ü    2 glasses of wheat or barley grain;

ü    1 glass of poppy seeds;

ü    a half glass of sugar;

ü    a half glass of honey;  

ü    a half glass of chopped walnuts, almonds, hazel nuts, peanuts

ü    raisins.

1.     Boil wheat or barley grain for 3- 4 hours.

2.   Scald the poppy seeds and simmer for 3- 5 minutes.

3.   Mix honey and sugar with hot water.

4.   Before serving, add honey and poppy seeds to boiled wheat.

5.   You can also add chopped walnuts, almonds, hazel nuts, peanuts and raisins.

The most interesting part of the Christmas is caroling. It expresses respect to the master of the house and his children.  Young people get together; dress as angels, kings, Satan, Death and animals. They go from house to house singing about the birth of Christ, greeting everyone with holiday. In western regions of our country, caroling is accompanied by the puppet theatre – vertep. There are many very interesting Christmas traditions.

We learn Christmas carols (koliadky) at school and then we sing them to our relatives. Our Christmas carols are traditional and they are very old. We know many Christmas carols and we like to sing them.  

Usually we stay at home during our winter holidays, because winter holidays are family holidays or visit our relatives and our grandparents in other towns.

There is another funny winter holiday. December 19 is St. Nicholas Day.  St. Nicholas brings presents for children. Good and obedient children find their presents under their pillows in the morning. If a child was naughty for the most time of the last year, he or she could find a stick to be beat.

There is a folk Ukrainian song:

Children who, who love Dear St. Nicholas

Children who, who obey St. Nicholas –

They’re the ones that won’t be missed,

And their wishes will be blessed

By St. Nicholas.

Look upon our happy, smiling faces,

Come delight us with you blissful graces.

Don’t forget to bring some treats,

Presents, peanuts and some sweets

Dear St. Nicholas.

Form 7V. Oksana and Anna