On the national scale, in Ukraine the following days are set apart for observance or commemoration:
New Year’s Day - January 1
Christmas Day - January 7
Unification of Ukraine Day - January 22
Women’s Day - March 8
Velykden’ (Easter) - movable
Labor Day - May 1 and 2
Victory Day - May 9
Triytsia (Pentecost) - movable
Constitution Day - June 28
Independence Day - August 24
Except Easter and Triytsia, which mobility is linked to the religious tradition, all the above holidays are celebrated on a fixed day. Christmas Day and Velykden’ (Easter) are celebrated in accord to the Orthodox Old Calendar.
New Year’s Day is one of the most popular holidays in modern Ukraine. In addition to the traditional celebrations the Old New Year’s Day, a folk symbol of tradition and originality, is marked on January 14.
Religious holidays are distinguished by special traditions and peculiar to exclusively Ukraine coloring combining the Christian Orthodox culture and beliefs rooted deep in the antiquity. Thus, maybe the most full of splendor and beauty is the Christmas celebrations in Ukraine. On the eve of the action, that is, on January 6, the families that keep traditions have their festive supper. In harmony with the old custom twelve fasting dishes are served with sweet kutia, boiled wheat, as the major dish. They sit down at the table when the first star rises and greet each other with the saying “Khrystos rozhdayetsia!” (Christ is being born!). After celebrations within family circle, the festivities reach the streets on January 7 and 8; during these days people exchange visits, share the good news and sing Christmas carols, religious folk songs praising the birth of Christ. On the city and village streets, one may watch verteps, dramatized and fancy-dressed performances dedicated to Christ. On January 8 and 9, the annual vertep contest occurs with amateurish and professional teams of actors participating. Traditional also became the festival of authentic Guzul verteps in the Carpathian town of Kolomyia.
Nowadays, the traditional celebrations of Christmas and New Year’s Day in Ukraine increasingly expand through the Western influence: fur-trees are decorated, street trees and shop windows illuminated, as well as fireworks let off.
Another prominent holiday of the religious cycle in Ukraine is Velykden’ (Easter Holiday). Similar to Christmas, in addition to purely Christian motifs the holiday embraces the traditions associated with the ancient tiller’s calendar combining surprisingly well the celebrations of Christ resurrection with motifs of spring nature awakening. On the holiday eve, that is, Saturday, consecrating of paskha, Easter cake, is held; people bring to the church baskets full with Easter food – special cakes traditionally baked at home, dyed and painted Easter eggs, pysankas, and other eatable attributes of the feast. The priests consecrate this food, and the church heads celebrate holiday service with great many people attending the God’s house. The greeting during the Easter days is “Khrystos voskres!” (Christ has arisen!). The white dress and colorful towels make the atmosphere of the holiday especially pure and elevated. Of special attention deserves such an imperative attribute of the holiday as the sacral art of Ukrainian pysanka that keeps on amazing contemporaries with the beauty and refinement of its symbolism.
Triytsia (Pentacost) is believed to be one of the greatest religious holidays next to Christmas and Easter. In accord with tradition, Ukrainians decorate their homes with branches of basswood, grasses and flowers bringing it another name - Green Holidays.
Victory Day is the major national holiday of Ukrainians that serves a reminder about the great feat of arm and immense losses. It is the day to remember those perished and to honor veterans of the WWII.
Among the holidays connected with the historical past of the Ukrainian people of interest is the Unification Day. On January 22, 1919, a significant event of the Ukrainian history took place in Kyiv’s St. Sophia square – the union of the Ukrainian People and the West Ukrainian People Republics into a single Ukrainian unified state. Historians believe that it was on this day that the existence of Ukraine as a state became a historical fact. Despite the fact that at the start of the 20th century the Ukrainian State failed to assert independence in its struggle with enemy forces, the Union of January 22 remains one of the most ponderable symbolic acts for the national consciousness; it is the reason the date is marked by the Ukrainian nation as a national holiday.
The Decree “On Declaration of Independence of Ukraine” adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR on August 24, 1991, became the act expressing the will of Ukrainian people and finally establishing the independent Ukrainian state. The day that commemorated the completion of the centuries-old strife of the Ukrainian people for its freedom became the major national holiday – Independence Day.
In addition to the national holidays, traditional holidays of the national minorities are marked locally. In accord to Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Minorities” “in their activity the organs of local self-government are to take into the account marking of certain holidays and events of the national minorities on the territories of latter’s compact residence. Additional non-working days may be set to celebrate the traditional national religious holidays.”
