Kyiv rediscovers Ukraine's ancient Christmas traditions

Religious Information Service of Ukraine

KYIV - A special Christmas celebration was held on January 7 in the national park near Kyiv, where the Museum of Popular Architecture and the Life of Ukraine operates. Original Ukrainian wooden and clay huts of the mid-15th to early 20th centuries are situated there on several acres of land. In addition, the Office of the Mayor of Kyiv encouraged a renewal of Christmas celebrations.

"We aren't simply recreating the image of how the Ukrainian village celebrated religious holidays, but are also trying to renew the traditions of our ancestors, so that today's generation does not forget its roots," said Tetiana Chuiko, the museum's ethnographer.

The employees of the museum organized a true Ukrainian "vertep," or traditional Christmas pageant, and a traditional Ukrainian feast in the ancient houses. Iryna Haniukova, head of the museum's excursion bureau, said that "for the museum's employees, this is not a play, but real life."

"For decades we have been living in an atmosphere of Ukrainian religious traditions and life, so for many employees, the feasting after the pre-Christmas fast season is customary," Ms. Haniukova said.

The museum's workers, dressed in traditional men's mantles and embroidered shirts, invited visitors to join them at the tables.

The Kyiv Mayor's Office also was involved in celebrating Christmas. Performances by dance groups from five regions of Ukraine were organized in downtown Kyiv. The Mayor's Office also organized traditional plays on the city's main streets and distributed gifts to children until the feast of Christ's Baptism on January 19.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 27, 2005, No. 9, Vol. LXXIII

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