Holidays

l to rt, top to bottom: Green bus behind the tree got stuck.  Big snow mover
was brought in to pull bus.  Snow mover got stuck.  Blue semi-truck
brought in to pull out road-grader.  Three hours and 15-man crew later,
all were still stuck . . . winter in Ukraine! 

Winter here is long, cold and grey. I think that because of, not in spite of the severe weather, Ukraine has an abundance of winter holidays. At home we begin looking forward to Christmas the end of November as soon as Thanksgiving is over and with the first day of December the countdown begins in earnest. Here in Ukraine it is not just the anticipation, but the actual celebration which begins early in December and continues through the middle of January. Though Father Frost is the traditional symbol of Christmas giving, Ukraine does celebrate St. Nicolas Day on December 19th, and in deference to Catholic and protestant segments of society Christmas day is celebrated on both December 25th and also January 7th. January 1st is the official New Year and is the very biggest holiday of the year, but the traditional New Year's day arrives on January 14th, at the end of the celebration of the traditional Christmas week. 

Epiphany is a holiday between Christmas and Easter that commemorates Jesus Christ being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  On this day faithful Ukrainians gather, waiting in long lines outside of the church for the priest to appear and sprinkle them with water. It is like a mass baptism.  The water has been blessed and cleanses those who are sprinkled, so even though temperatures are below zero outside, liberal sprinkling is welcomed and requested.  Sometimes a hole in the shape of a cross is cut in the ice of a lake or river.  The priest blesses the water, then faithful followers desiring purification, jump through the ice into the holy water.

January 22nd is Unity Day, January 23rd is Men's Day, and January 25th and is Student's Day.

How appropriate that the day set aside to express gratitude to the men of this country, Men’s Day, was originally identified as the Day of the Defender.  This area of the world has continually been the scene of military conflict.  Here, everyone is required to give military service and family has lost someone in a war they remember.  Parades and fireworks celebrate sacrifices that were made, uniforms and medals are worn with pride.

Pancake week is the last week before Lent. This holiday week was celebrated in pre-Christian times to commemorate the meeting of winter’s end and the beginning of spring. We have been told two explanations why the week is characterized by serving Blini, or Ukrainian pancakes. The Blini week is a pre-Lent holiday and incorporates the pancake as a symbol of devotion to the ritual abstinence from dairy and meat products. They symbolize the sun—being warm, round, and golden—and are considered an appropriate warning to the lingering cold weather. Blini are given to friends and family all through the week and are topped with caviar, mushrooms, jam, sour cream, and of course, lots of butter.

In the photo above right you see the caviar-filled blini we were offered by Brat Valentine. They were a culinery experience. Another day during Blini week we were invited to dinner with a part-member family and they blini with many different fillings. They were vkusna! (very tasty) You notice that the Yeolka (decorated tree) and Father Frost are still part of the decor into the middle of February. We felt right at home!!

Women’s Day, next to New Years’ Day, is probably the most celebrated holiday in Ukraine. This was our second experience here in Ukraine.