Blog: Christmas in Ukraine
Every country has their own festive traditions. Iryna, who is on our Higher ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) course, shares with us how people in Ukraine celebrate the Christmas season.
Father Christmas in Ukraine, known as Sviatyi Mykolai, starts “business” on the 19th December, well before his western counterpart, leaving his gifts for children under their pillows (prepare a very big pillow!). This is only the beginning of the winter holidays as much awaited New Year celebrations include a dressing up party for children and adults and a Christmas tree with more gifts underneath.
Christmas, which is a strictly religious event, is still to come – on the 6th January. Christmas Eve dinner with your family and traditional 12 dishes on the table is a must! From that night on children go from house to house for several days singing traditional carols. Every carol should end by wishing many blessings for the entire household and the carol singers are generously rewarded with money and sweets. Altogether winter holidays are very profitable for Ukrainian children!