The Ukrainian carol 'Shchedryk' is where the popular 'Carol of the Bells' came from. Tripsavvy uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. It’s located at 1221 West Villard Street in Dickinson, North Dakota. and end on the Feast of the Epiphany. "Yes we do have some national traditions and family traditions for the Christmas days. 12 Meatless Dishes on Christmas Eve. Probably, that is why there are many Ukrainian holidays. Traditionally, Ukraine is an Eastern Orthodox country, meaning they practice the customs and traditions of the Orthodox Catholic Church. Traditional Ukrainian Christmas festivities start on Christmas Eve, which is celebrated on 6 January, as reckoned by the Julian calendar. Long ago, this day, from the very morning, the woman of the house sets to work. In parts of western Ukraine, Christmas Trees are often decorated with artificial spider's webs because of the story of The Christmas Spider. In Ukrainian tradition, Santa Claus is known either as St. Nicholas (Svyatyy Mykolay, also spelled Sviatyij Mykolai) or Father Frost (Did Moroz). Ukrainian Christmas festivities begin on Christmas Eve ([G]Dec.24; [J]Jan.6.) The Christmas celebrations end on 19 January, the date of Epiphany, or Yordan in Ukrainian, by the Julian calendar. The Polish Christmas traditions are very similar to the Ukrainian ones, with the meatless Christmas Eve dinner, the midnight Liturgy “Pasterka”, and the caroling for friends and family.One of the differences is the use of an unleavened wafer with honey, to share at the dinner table, rather than the “kolach” bread that the Ukrainians use. SVIATA VECHERA OR "HOLY SUPPER"is the central tradition of the beautiful Christmas Eve celebrations in Ukrainian homes. Traditional Ukrainian Christmas decorations differ a lot from the way Ukrainian homes look nowadays. After the meal, people love to sing carols or 'Koliadky'. With Christmas as a primary holiday during the winter seasons, Ukrainians come together to visit with family and friends. 10 Ukrainian holidays and traditions. After Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, Christmas Day was made a public holiday. However, we have special holidays celebrated only in our country and are not well-known around the world. Sunday is Orthodox Christmas Eve, a celebration with many longstanding traditions for the city's Ukrainian community that have passed down from generation to … While many carols are Christian in nature, still others contain pagan elements or recall Ukraine's history and legends. The dinner table sometimes has a few wisps of hay on the embroidered table cloth as a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem. On the 6th of January all the family is usually gathered around the table. The main dish is often 'kutia' a type of a kind of sweet porridge made of wheat. St Nicholas (known as Svyatyi Mykolai) visits children in Ukraine on December 19th which is also when Ukraine celebrates St Nicholas's Day. The main Christmas meal, called 'Sviata Vecheria' (or Holy Supper) is eaten on Christmas Eve (6th January). Christmas in Ukraine is a family holiday when all the relatives gather together. During this week people often dress up in traditional clothes (Vyshyvanka), visit their relatives, sing Christmas carols (e.g. So people (especially the hungry ones!) First of all, she performs a magical action and gets "new fire." Traditionally people fast (don't eat anything) all day but you might start the day drinking some holy water that has been blessed at church. How do Ukrainians celebrate Christmas? When Ukraine was part of the former Soviet Union, Christmas Day was not a public holiday but Christmas traditions were not forgotten. 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