Photo: Lviv.com
Most Ukrainians, whether Orthodox or Greek Catholic, celebrate Christmas Day 7 January, which kicks off a season of festivities. This is according to the old, Julian calendar of Julius Caesar. In 1582, the western world, at the behest of Pope Gregory XIII, moved the calendar ahead by two weeks. Eventually, after centuries,the whole world joined, but those in eastern Christianity have kept their original dates for holidays.
In Lviv, most people are Greek Catholic, which means they have the rituals and calendar of the east, of Constantinople, like the Orthodox but they are in communion with Rome. It is also popular here to celebrate 25 December as a holiday: both because there is an active minority of Polish and Ukrainian Roman Catholics and because it’s a chance for another holiday. Often on «western Christmas day» you’ll find company parties.
Because of the later date for Christmas, there seems to be less stress, more time to prepare, than in the West.
–Joe Lindsley (American in Lviv)
Read more: During Ukraine’s January Christmas, an American Finds the Soul of Music
The main Christmas tree of Lviv
A 17 metres high Christmas tree, in Ukrainian yalynka, was brought to Lviv from the neighbouring village of Obroshyne, presented by a local resident to the city. Around the Christmas tree, there will be a Christmas fence decorated with geometrical ornaments by Daria Aloshkina, who is known for creating a wonderful lace on paper. The illumination will be partly new, with some of the lights remaining from last year. In addition, the tree will be surrounded by a 3D-mapping dedicated to Ukrainian artist and sculptor Mykhailo Dzyndra on the occasion of celebrating his centenary. You can see the samples of his works on the link.
This year, Lviv developed a new concept of decorating the city for the winter holidays with the use of Himmeli, or Christmas spider [a traditional Northern European and Ukrainian Christmas decoration, in Ukraine it’s made of hay] and some of its elements. At the same time, the city decided to abandon the traditional turnstiles around the Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree was installed 13 December near the Opera house, and the official opening is taking place today, 17 December.
Christmas shopka
Author’s interactive Christmas shopka [nativity scene] under the city council, located near the City Hall, will be opened 24 December. Ethno-band «Kurbasy« will be involved in the event. In addition, by the end of the year, Lviv residents will also be presented with several street performances from the city theaters.
The shopka consists of 11 elements made and carved from poplar, pine and spruce. It has been standing here at the end of each year since 2015. Recently, a hut was added to its composition. The master made it out of pine, and covered it with straw.
Last year’s Christmas shop in Lviv
Christmas fair
A yarmarok, Ukrainian traditional Christmas fair, will be open in Lviv from 17 December to 20 January. Wooden houses are traditionally placed on Svobody Avenue and Rynok Square. There will be 140 houses with street food and souvenirs, 5-6 houses will be allocated for trade to Lviv entrepreneurs.
Also, small local fairs will be in the square on the street Valova, on the street Kurbasa, as well as in the Sykhiv district near the Dovzhenko Centre.
Didukh on Yavorskoho Square
6 January, Christmas didukh (a decoration made of hay, symbolising sacrifice taken from the autumn harvest) will be solemnly taken to Yavorskoho Square, with the participation of various creative teams. Didukh is a cult of the family. This sheaf was a place where the spirit of the ancestor winters. The main function of the diduche is to honor the dead ancestors and ensure a rich harvest.
Didukh could be the first or last sheaf from the last harvest, or the most beautiful one. Didukh still had the names Kolyada, Korochun, Kolyadnyk. It was a sheaf or braided bundles tied with ribbons.
In the Carpathians, didukh could be placed under a table, and in Transcarpathia, a child hid under a sheaf and mmoed so that cattle would be well behaved in the new year.
Didukh on Yavornytsky Square in 2017 / Playbill Lviv
Christmas square
19 December, behind the museum Arsenal, a square with a Christmas atmosphere will be opened, with a Christmas tree and delicacies for all tastes. The location will function daily from 12:00 to 22:00 until 19 January. The entrance will be free.
We will add that almost one million hryvnias were allocated from the city budget for New Year and Christmas celebrations.
Christmas Square at the Arsenal in Lviv last year / 032.ua
We will add that 23 November, a competition for the best design of shop windows, gates, windows and balconies for the New Year and Christmas holidays has also started in Lviv. The City Department of Culture recommends using geometrical ornament or traditional «Christmas spider» to decorate them for this occasion.
For reference:
Greek Catholicism, the majority religion of Lviv, Ukraine, is a Christian confession which acknowledges Catholic doctrine and is in communion with the Pope, but maintains Eastern rites and rituals, including married priests. It emerged in 1596, when a part of the Orthodox Church recognised the supremacy of the Pope. Later, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) became mostly localised in the Western Ukraine, becoming one of the markers of the national identity for the region’s population during Austrian, Polish and Soviet rule.
Currently, Kyiv is the center of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, under the jurisdiction of His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kyiv-Galicia, and it is present in many regions of the country, though Galicia, where Lviv is, still remains its bulwark. It also has a strong presence among the Ukrainian diaspora, especially in parts of Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Translated by Vitalii Holich
You can read a Ukrainian language version of this story here.
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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.
