Ukraine celebrates the feast of St. Andrew the First-Called 13 December. Traditionally on this day, Ukrainians held folk parties – vechornytsi – in which girls were engaged in cooking and making folk art and sometimes divination, and boys made music and poured the drinks.
Father Vasyl Rudeiko, Doctor of Liturgical Sciences and Lecturer at UCU, tells Lviv Now what makes the figure of Andrew the First-Called prominent, and explains why, in fact, the traditions of this day have nothing to do with him.
Andrew the First-Called was one of the 12 apostles. He is celebrated as special among others, because he was the first one to open up and go to Christ’s call. Later, through him, his brother Peter became an apostle.
He was a true disciple of Christ, always present at major events. In particular, at the Last Supper. After the Ascension of Christ, together with the other apostles, Andrew the First-Called received the Holy Spirit and went to preach. He preached Christianity in Scythia and reached as far as the current location of Kyiv, where he placed a cross on one of the hills with the words: «Do you see these mountains? Believe me, God’s grace shines on them. «
Many nations consider him their apostle and the descendant of their Christian culture. For example, the Greek Church says that he brought Christianity to the places where Constantinople is now. Romania has a national holiday on St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland celebrates this holiday and honors the apostle as one of its preachers
Like most of the apostles and like Christ, Andrew the First-Called suffered a martyr’s death – he was crucified.
Interestingly, in ancient times the Christmas fast was shorter, and St. Andrew’s Day was a kind of zapusty (the last day before each of the four long fasts) before Lent, so in many nations it is associated with traditional entertainments. Of course, what happens during these parties has nothing to do with St. Andrew’s Day. For example, divination. I think pagan rituals and magic definitely are not the things the Apostle Andrew would advise to do.
Translated by Vitalii Holich
You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.
Follow Lviv Now on Facebook and Instagram. To receive our weekly email digest of stories, please follow us on Substack.
