Spiders and their webs are not showed the door on Ukrainian Christmas
Fastidious housewives traditionally shoo spiders and their webbed homes from ceiling corners or ones spun between chair legs, but in Ukraine, these nocturnal insects may discover a welcome mat at the door especially on Christmas day. Spiders and their webs represent good luck for Ukrainians.
Features - Editor - 17 December 2007
Ukrainian Christmas Eve meal is a feast for the senses as well as the tastebuds
Christmas around the world is a celebration of food and generosity, but in Ukraine, the celebration does not come until January 7 according to the ancient Julian calendar. While many Ukrainians in North America and Europe join in the holiday festivities on December 25th, a special religious emphasis is also marked thirteen days later, particularly on January 6th – Ukrainian Christmas Eve.
Features - Editor - 10 December 2007
Jumping in frozen water in Ukraine is more than a dare
International media flock to the Dnipro River in the frozen month of January to witness the hardy and the faithful jump into the frosty waters. Known as winter walruses in some parts of the world, these swimmers are not simply executing a dare made over a shot of vodka. The nineteenth of January marks the end of the Christmas season for Ukrainians following the Julian calendar and commemorates the baptism of Christ by John in the River Jordan. In Ukraine, the date also marks the arrival of Christianity in the ancient Kyivan Russia.
Features - Editor - 03 December 2007
Cossack history tells another artful tale
Pysanky eggs may garner the share of the artistic spotlight around the world when a traveler considers Ukrainian art, but the art of woodcarving can be traced to the heydays of the Cossack state in the 17th and 18th centuries. Indeed, wood sculpture reached a heady climax when talented Cossacks created their own unique artistic style – the Cossack Baroque. Practical, yet ornamental, the work of Cossack and later, Hutsul artisans, incorporated natural imagery of grapevine stems, sunflowers, and roses with figures of saints and angels into furniture, chests, plates and dishes.
