Christmas (January, 7)

Топик тема My Hobby.

There are many differnt kinds of hobbies. Every person has their ones. Some people draw and dance, others play volleyball, football, chess, some people do crafts.

All these occupations are for our enjoyment.

As for me, I like to listen to music, to play computer games and to play chess. Chess is a very interesting game. It makes you think and train your brains. Music allows to have a rest and to relax.

Besides, I like some dynamic games. I like to play football most of all. But I enjoy not only playing football, but watching it as well.

In general, I like to mix with interesting people and it's my hobby too. There are such old words of wisdom: "You should mix with people who are more than 70 and less than 6 years old." I agree to it and I try to do it, but still I know few persons of such an age.

Our hobbies are not constant, they are changing during lifetime. But still there are some permanent hobbies. I hope that some of my hobbies will last all my life.

Топик №10

Ukrainian traditions embody the genuine qualities of the people and reflect them in their lifestyle, everyday life, their customs and accompany a man from the moment of birth up to the last day, being passed over from generation to generation.

Ukrainians as a nation formed back in ancient times. And our ancestors began to create their culture far long before Christianity came to the land. Up till now our traditions feature elements of old Ukrainian, pre-Christian and Christian cultures. They got so merged with each other that sometimes we can't draw a demarcation line between the pagan and Christian rituals.

Ukraine has always had fertile soils that predominated the agrarian lifestyle of its habitants. The whole human life was submitted to seasons' rhythm of the work on earth, with holidays marking the change of season works.

What religious and folk holidays are kept and observed by the people of Ukraine?

Winter holidays which people like most are Christmas, Shchedry vechir (Generous Evening), or the day of Melanka, New Year and Vodokhreshche (Baptism of Christ), all of which symbolize people's hope for happiness and well-being.

Christmas (January, 7).

From time immemorial on this day people try to create the festive atmosphere of the holiday that became a symbol of family well-being, happiness andpeace. The celebration begins on January 6, with the Holy Supper, a ritual meal joining the whole family. It starts at twilight time, before the first star appears in the sky, announcing the birth of Jesus Christ. The Supper consists of twelve meager dishes (to the number of apostles) and opens with kutya (a sort of porridge generally prepared from boiled wheat grains and honey with different additions: nuts, raisins, prunes, poppy-seed etc). The meal concludes with uzvar (a soft drink made of dried fruits) and after that people will visit their relatives to share their supper with them. Children go to near relations: grandchildren to their grandparents, nephews and nieces to their uncles and aunts and the like. Then comes time of fun. Children and young people, the former go first, move in groups from house to house, sing good-wishes songs (kolyadky - from the name of the pagan deity Kolyada, who was prayed for harvest and peace in home), and are awarded smiles and generous gifts. The young men carry the Christmas 'star' and a bell. The 'star' is made of a rim and splines, and has eight points (sometimes six or seven) instead of traditional five. It is decorated with pieces of colourful paper and ribbons. A small icon of Christ and candle are placed in the middle. After the Morning Prayer on January 7, a ritual of visiting the fellow-villagers similar to that of Christmas Eve takes place and in homes young people perform a short puppet-show, vertep, which plot describes the Biblical events connected with the birth of Christ.

Shchedry Vechir (January, 13), the Generous Evening of Bounteous Gifts takes place on the New Year Eve, a week after Christmas. It may have come from a pagan tradition and coincides in time with the Christian holiday of St Melaniya the Roman. In the course of time they merged and now we have the single holiday: Schedry Vechir or Melanka Holiday.

In this evening joyful and merrymaking procession of young men bizarrely attired and in masks, among them Melanka himself (a young man dressed as a woman), slowly moves through the village, stops once in a while to give a sort of folk theatre performance or to make fun of bad housewives. The good-wishes songs (schedrivky) this time go together with jokes, mocking and laughs. This is a true carnival full of humor and improvisations.

In the New Year night (January, 14) girls sing shchedrivky at the fellow villagers' windows, wishing peace and well-being for every family.

The first day of a new year is holiday of Vasyl (Basil) the Great, one of the Church Fathers. On this day children visit their relatives and neighbours and boys 'sow' in the house with the rye, oats, wheat and peas grains, a handful of every item and then a mix of all. At that they sing zasivalky (sow-songs).

On Vodokhreshche, or Baptism of Christ (January, 19), the whole community goes to church for the morning service and then to the river or a pond where an ice-cross has been set in advance. Every participant of the procession has a bottle or a potter with him/her for water. The priest blesses the water: after a short pray he plunges the cross into the water. Now parishioners can take the blessed liquid and return to their homes. Vodokhreshche is a genuine Christian feast commemorating the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River (that's why Vodokhreshche sometimes is called Iordan) which came to our land with Christianity to become one of the most important Ukrainian traditional holidays.

When winter turns to spring the main concern of the farmer is the crops of the next year. So this time rituals mostly express the people's pray for the plentiful harvest, accompanied with songs, games and khorovods.

Maslyana (Shrovetide) is Farewell to Winter fete, a week before the Lenten season. It is a joyful celebration with songs, games and lot of fun, when everyone is happy that the winter turned its back. The main meal of the fete is varenyky (boiled pieces of paste enclosing curd or fruit or other stuff), yet buckwheat cakes are no less popular.

The major religious and public holiday in the whole year is Velykden (literally: Great Day; Easter), Day of Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On the Easter eve housewives cook paskhas (a cake with raisins) and girls paint pysanky (eggs decorated in different patterns and colours with paints and wax). Pysanky and krashenky (eggs painted in mono colours) are an integral part of the fete. People take these eggs, paskhas as well as lard and sausages to the church where the priest will bless this 'Easter package' after the Morning Prayer. Right during the service and all the day long the priest and then parishioners congratulate each other on the event. When back home villagers break the fast with the blessed food. On Easter Monday they exchange visits to share wheat kalatchi (small, padlock-shaped, white loaf) with relatives and friends. Children go to their grand- and godparents.

By the day of Voznesinnya (Resurrection, 40th day after Easter) the fields should have been sowed. Farmers watch the rye forming ears.

The legends have it that during Zeleni Svyata (Green Holidays, a week next to Trinity) mermaids left their waters and swung on the trees branches at moonlight. Women put rushnyky (towels decorated with embroidery) and shirts on the branches to be picked up by mermaids, while girls hang there flower-grass wreathes for them.

Triytsya (Trinity) Holiday marks the turn of spring into summer. It derives from the heathen ritual and preserved the custom to decorate the house with tree branches and herbs. Triytsya coincides in time with Christian holiday of Pentecost (the 50th day after Easter).

Petrivka, a fast that ends on July, 12, Day of Petra and Pavla the Apostles, celebrates the coming of summer. The first day of this fast is women's holiday when they address the God asking for long-lasting youth and well-being.

Ivana Kupala Holiday (June, 6-7) is traditional folk fete of youth, beauty and spiritual clarification. In the night from the 6th to 7th of July, people put ascarecrow of Kupala on the hills and Kupaylytsya, a ritual tree decorated with flowers, ribbons and wreathes, along the banks of a river or pond. One of the popular rituals of Kupala's night is jumping over the fire. Young men and girls participate in it holding each other's hand to ensure their hope for love and happiness come true.

Meanwhile young girls are trying to tell their fortune with the help of wreathes they made and put on the water. The direction the thing drifts points where her would be husband lives, if her wreath sinks the girl faces an imminent separation with her beloved.

At the summer peak, when all the strengths are needed for hard season works in the fields, the Petrivka fast ends. It happens on Petra and Pavla the Apostles holiday on July, 12.

There are three holidays in August that have the name Spas (Savoiur). The First one is on August, 14 and coincides with Christian Day of the seven Martyrs Makoveyi (Maccabees). It is also on this day that Prince Volodymyr the Great Christianized the old Rus-Ukraine in 988 BC. On First Spas priests in churches consecrate water, plants and poppy-seeds (mak in Ukrainian, it sounds as mac from Macccabees that may have given rise to this tradition).

Second Spas (August, 19), or Great, or Transfiguration of Christ, is also referred to as Apple Spas. This day people celebrate as harvest festival, with blessing of vegetables, fruit and honey.

Third Spas (August, 29), also Gorikhovy (Nut), named so since at this time nuts are gathered in the gardens, is preceded by Christian holiday Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of the God (August, 28). Folk name of this holiday is Persha Prechysta (First Purest), when fruit is almost picked in the gardens.

On the 14th of September a new church year begins. Then follows Druga Prechysta (Second Purest), day of Birth of the Most Holy Mother of the God. (September, 21).

Church holiday of Pokrova (Protective Veil of the Most Holy Mother of the God) takes place on October, 14. Traditionally marriages in Ukraine are celebrated in autumn. The marriage season extends through Pokrova up to the Holiday of Arkhistratih Mikhayil (Archangel Michael the Arch-Warrior), or in folk tradition - Mikhayila (21st of November). This day is believed to forecast what the coming winter will be like.

December, 4 is a religious holiday of Introduction of the Most Holy Mother of the God into the Temple, Introduction or Tretya (Third) Prechysta. And soon after that comes a joyful fete Mykolaya (St Nicholas' Day), most liked and eagerly expected for its presents by the children. Mykolay encloses the circles of a year's holidays.

Numerous folk songs (schedrivky, kolyadky, vesnyanky) accompanied by the charming music of national instruments (bandura, sopilka, tsymbala, buben) and a whirlpool of folk dances (hopak, kozachok) are an integral part of family and folk holidays.

Neither you can imagine a Ukrainian holiday without national cuisine which is well known abroad for its traditions connected with customs, daily and spiritual life of people. It is also famous for its diversity and deliciousness. Most dishes are cooked to complicated recipes, stuffed and stewed dishes are widely spread (holubtsi, stuffed cabbage; kruchenyky, twisted dough with different filling; stuffed meat etc).

Grains are largely used in cooking, both flour and various cereals. Varenyky, halushky, pan-cakes, pampushky, pastries are of great popularity among Ukrainians. Varenyky are made with curd, cabbage, potatoes, meat, berries and other fillings.

Borsch (red-beat soup) is a most famous and widely spread kind of first courses. It may account more than 20 ingredients which impart a specific taste to the dish. Beef, chicken meat, mushrooms, baked beats, prunes and other products can serve as ingredients for borsch. And there are more than fifty recipes of its cooking.

Various brands of horilkas (vodka) and nalivkas (bitters with berries and fruits) are popular in Ukraine among strong drinks. Ukrainian wines and beer are also well known and liked both inside the country and abroad.

If you are invited to a Ukrainian family you can be sure that hospitable hosts will prepare for you most delicious dishes of the national cuisine accompanied with plenty of tasteful drinks.

ТОПИК№ 24

Marriage and Weddings

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