During the Soviet time it was not officially celebrated in Ukraine. Instead communist government tried to substitute Christmas with the holiday of New Year. But people did not forget their traditions. After gaining it’s independence in 1991 Ukraine started to celebrate Christmas officially as well.

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CHRISTMAS, WHICH TAKES ITS NAME from Christ’s Mass, was first celebrated on various dates from about 200 A.D. but was finally set on December 25 by Bishop Liberus of Rome in 354 A.D. The December date, which almost coincides with the winter solstice, became a popular festival of West Europe during the Middle Ages. But as late as the nineteenth century, Christmas celebration was suppressed in Scotland and New England because of some religious differences.

All Christian nations have traditions which have become a part of the Christmas season. For example, England has contributed the decorations of holly and mistletoe, carolling and gift giving.The Christmas tree is a medieval German tradition and the immortal carol “Silent Night” also comes from Germany. The United States first made Santa Claus popular in New York, popularized the Christmas card about 1846 and made the major contribution to commercializing Christmas.

When Ukraine under King Volodymyr (St. Vladimir) accepted Christianity from Byzantium in 988 A.D. many pagan traditions were in existence which were adapted by the Church to the new religion. Some of those traditions have survived a thousand years and now form a part of today s Christmas celebrations.

SVIATA VECHERA OR “HOLY SUPPER” is the central tradition of the beautiful Christmas Eve celebrations in Ukrainian homes. The dinner table sometimes has a few wisps of hay on the embroidered table cloth as a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem. Many Canadian and American families wear their Ukrainian embroidered shirts on this occasion.

When the children see the first Star in the eastern evening sky, which symbolizes the trek of the Three Wise Men, the Sviata Vechera may begin. In farming communities the head of the household now brings in a sheaf of wheat called the didukh which represents the importance of the ancient and rich wheat crops of Ukraine, the staff of life through the centuries. Didukh means literally “grandfather spirit” so it symbolizes the family’s ancestors. In city homes a few stalks of golden wheat in a vase are often used to decorate the table.

A prayer is said and the father says the traditional Christmas greeting, “Khristos rodyvsya!” (Christ is born!) which is answered by the family with “Slavite Yoho!” (Let Us Glorify Him!) In some families the Old Slavic form Khristos razhdayetsya is used.

AT THE END OF THE SVIATA VECHERA the family often sings Kolyadky, Ukrainian Christmas Carols. In many communities the old Ukrainian tradition of carolling is carried on by groups of young people and members of organizations and churches calling at homes and collecting donations.

The favorite Ukrainian carol is Boh predvichny (God Eternal) which has a very beautiful melody and Iyrics. Some Ukrainian carols are unusual because they mention Ukraine while others are ancient pagan songs of a thousand years ago which have been converted into Christian carols.

CHRISTMAS IS A JOYOUS DAY which opens for Ukrainian families with attendance at Church. Ukrainian Churches offer services starting before midnight on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning. Christmas supper, without Lenten restrictions, does not have as many traditions connected with it as Sviata Vechera. The old tradition in Ukraine of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day, December 19th, has generally been replaced by the Christmas date.

MALANKA OR SHCHEDRY VECHIR on January 13th according to the Julian calendar is celebrated as Ukrainian New Year’s Eve in many cities. On this, the last night of the year, New Year’s carols called Shchedrivky are sung. One of the most famous of these is the popular”Shchedryk” by Leontovich which is known in English as “The Carol of the Bells.”

While Christmas is a religious event, Malanka is a secular, merry-making celebration. In some communities Ukrainian professional and businessmens’ clubs or youth organizations sponsor a dress up Malanka Banquet and Ball.

The traditional Christmas customs of Ukraine add color and significance to the winter festival of Christmas, and Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th is usually a peaceful and quiet event. This celebration reminds us of the baby in a Bethlehem manger whose 1,975th birthday we celebrate. But whether Christmas is celebrated on December 25th or on January 7th the message is the same:

“Peace on Earth! Good will towards men!

SAINT NICHOLAS, one of the most popular saints honored by the Greek and the Latin churches was actually a real person who lived in the 4th century in Myra, Asia Minor, which is presently Demre in Turkey. Traditionally, he has been honored on December 6 by the Latin Church and on December 19 according to the churches, such as the Ukrainian, which follow the Julian Calendar.

In his youth Nicholas entered a monastery and later became an abbot and then a bishop. After suffering persecution and imprisonment, he was freed by a new emperor, Constantine. He died in 352 and his relics were preserved in Myra for seven centuries until some Italian merchants sent an expedition of three ships and 62 men to Myra and, through a ruse, carried off his remains. They were deposited in the church in Bari, Italy on the Adriatic Sea on May 9, 1087 where they have remained to this day.

Many traditions relating to Saint Nicholas as the special guardian of maidens, children, scholars, merchants and sailors, have come down to our day.

THERE IS A LEGEND that connects St. Nicholas with the tradition of giving presents secretly. There was a nobleman in Patana with three daughters but he was too poor to provide them with a dowry for marriage. He was almost on the point of abandoning them to a sinful life when Nicholas heard of his problem. That night he took a purse of gold and threw it in an open window. The nobleman used it for a dowry the next day as he did a second purse he found the next night. Curious about his benefactor, the third night he watched and caught Nicholas in the act but he was told not to reveal the Saint’s identity or generosity. Ever since, St. Nicholas has been identified with the tradition of gift giving. His three purses of gold eventually became the three golden balls symbol of pawnbrokers.

St. Nicholas is the most popular saint in the Ukrainian church after St. Vladimir, as is shown by the fact that there have been more churches named after St. Nicholas than after any other saint. Some scholars believe that it was through the great popularity that the Saint enjoyed in Kievan Rus-Ukraine in medieval times that his popularity spread to western Europe, and particularly to Belgium and Holland.

OVER THE PAST 200 YEARS, as the traditions around Christmas have grown and the importance of this winter festival brightens the season, Saint Nicholas has been absorbed into the tradition. It was the Dutch settlers who brought the St. Nicholas customs across the ocean to New York. The whitebearded Saint Nicholas in a red bishop’s costume was transformed into Santa Claus in the United States and Canada and eventually the tradition re-crossed the ocean to England.

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WHY DO UKRAINIANS CELEBRATE Christmas on January 7th rather than December 25th?

Many people wonder why the Ukrainian date is thirteen days later and only a few people are aware that it is related to a change from the calendar which was in use two thousand years ago.

Tradition plays a great part in the lives of people of Ukrainian origin and it is for this reason that they have continued to celebrate Christmas on the old date that would have been observed by all Christians.

The Roman calendar that had been in use since the eighth century B.C. originally started the year on March 1 and had 10 months as the names of the months themselves indicate, September (7), October (8), November (9) and December (10). Eventually two months were added, Januarius and Februarius, and the year was started on January. However, it was only 355 days long so it had over ten days error and the seasons and the calendar over the years continued to lose their correct relationship.

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JULIAN CALENDAR

JULIUS CAESAR FINALLY in 46 B.C. had the Greek astronomer Sosigenes establish the length of the solar calendar at 365 and one quarter days (365.25). Every fourth year was to add one day to keep the quarter days accurate and this has now become our leap year with February 29. The Julian Calendar was introduced on January 1, 45 B.C. and the next year Caesar was honored by having the seventh month renamed in his honor as July. A later Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar, corrected the leap year system in A.D. 8 and in his honor a month was renamed August.

But the Julian year of 365 days and 6 hours exceeds the true solar year of 365.2422 days or 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes and 46 seconds by the amount of 11 minutes 14 seconds. The difference is about 0.0078 of a day per year or about one day in 128 years. Over a period of 1,500 years the calendar was again getting out of step with the natural seasons by about ten days.

Christmas, which had been celebrated on many different dates was finally fixed on December 25th by Bishop Liberius of Rome.

In 354 A.D. he chose the date to replace a Roman pagan festival of sun-god worship with Christ’s Mass, a Christian event.

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GREGORIAN CALENDAR

FINALLY POPE GREGORY XIII in 1528 introduced changes to correct the error in the Julian Calendar. To restore the vernal or spring equinox to March 21st he eliminated the 10 days from March 11 to 21 in 1582 so the dates March 12 to 20 never existed in 1582, at least not in Roman Catholic countries. Some Protestant countries like England and Sweden adopted the new calendar only in 1752 so there was 11 days difference by then.

The Orthodox and Eastern rite churches such as the Ukrainian have maintained the Julian Calendar for ecclesiastical purposes into this century. The Ukrainians, numbering some 50 million in the world are the second largest nation following the Julian Calendar in their churches. The difference between the two Calendars placed Christmas on January 7th and, because of the size of the Ukrainian church the date has become widely known as “Ukrainian Christmas.” However, there are other smaller Eastern-rite Orthodox national churches such as the Greek, Syrian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Byelorussian that follow the same calendar.

Historically the Julian Calendar is sometimes called Old Style (O.S.) and the Gregorian is called New Style (N.S.). All the Orthodox countries which preserved the Julian Calendar into this century had a 13 day lag. Thus a date would be written January 4/17, 1918, meaning the 4th in new style and 17th in the old style calendar.

Many Ukrainian families and many Ukrainian churches continue to observe the old traditional date of Ukrainian Christmas on January 7 despite the pressures of modern society to change. The later date appeals to many people since, after the commercialism of December 25th, it is possible to enjoy a quieter and more religious occasion. For those who leave their shopping for the last minute the big advantage in celebrating Ukrainian Christmas is that the big sales start – just in time for Christmas shopping. – A.G.

In Ukraine the first mention of St. Nicholas is related to the year 882 at the time of King Ihor of Rus when there was mention of a St. Nicholas Church on one of the hills of Kiev. When St. Vladimir, King of Rus-Ukraine in 988 proclaimed Christianity the religion of his realm it is said he had a special veneration for an ikon of St. Nicholas. When he had visited Constantinople he had seen and was impressed by an ikon of the mighty Byzantine Emperor bowing to the Saint. To this day St. Nicholas ikons may be found, usually on the left of the ikonostas wall of Ukrainian churches.

Among the talismans the Zaporozhian Cossacks would often take in their boats on the treacherous Black Sea was an ikon of St. Nicholas, or Sviaty Mykolai, as Ukrainians usually call him. The Hutsuls, mountaineers of western Ukraine named the four seasons of the year after saints. Winter honored St. Nicholas, Spring was St. George, Summer was St. Peter and Fall was St. Demetrius. Gift giving has been related to St. Nicholas in Ukraine for less than a century and a half. The Christmas Tree, originally a German tradition, first came into Ukraine about 1840 via Austrian influence.

Saint Nicholas is now a permanent part of Christmas, the season of peace and generosity among all peoples. So it’s appropriate that the elements of our Christmas celebrations should have come from so many nations. Although the Ukrainian Saint Nicholas wears the dress of a bishop while the American Santa Claus is a jolly fellow in a white fur-trimmed suit of red, however, under both there is a heart that first beat some sixteen centuries ago in Myra.

The generous spirit of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, lives on today.

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Source:

Ukrainian Christmas Traditions

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Ukraine’s history that included Paganism and later Christianity can be attributed to the evolution of many of her current holidays and festivities.

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State Holidays

(banks are closed)

[list style="circle"]

[item]1 January – New Year’s Day[/item]

[item]7 January – Orthodox Christmas[/item]

[item]8 March – International Women’s Day[/item]

[item]April – May – Orthodox Easter[/item]

[item]50 days after Easter – Holy Trinity Day (Svyata Troyitsya)(or “Green Sunday”)[/item]

[item]1 – 2 May – Labor (May) Day[/item]

[item]9 May — Victory Day[/item]

[item]28 June – Constitution Day[/item]

[item]24 August – Independence Day[/item]

[/list]

Other Holidays

[list style="circle"]

[item]14 January – Old Calendar New Year[/item]

[item]22 January – Ukrainian Unity Day (Den Sobornosti)[/item]

[item]25 January – “Students Day” otherwise known as “Tatyana’s Day”[/item]

[item]14 February – St. Valentine’s Day[/item]

[item]23 February – Men’s Day (formerly known as The Soviet Army Day)[/item]

[item]1 April – Fool Day (the Day of laughter)[/item]

[item]13 May – Mother’s Day Third weekend of May – Europe Day Last Sunday of May – Kiev Day Kiev (Kyiv)[/item]

[item]1 June – International Child Protection[/item]

[item]Day 5 June – World Environmental Protection Day[/item]

[item]6 July – Ivan Kupala Day[/item]

[item]6 June – Day of Journalists[/item]

[item]20 June (Third Sunday of June) – Day of Medical Workers[/item]

[item]22 June – Day of Sorrow and Remembrance of Victims of War[/item]

[item]24 June – Youth Day Last Friday of June – Graduation Day[/item]

[item]1 August (first Sunday of August) – Navy Day[/item]

[item]1 September – The Day of Knowledge[/item]

[item]27 September – World Tourism Day October[/item]

[item]5 – Teacher’s Day[/item]

[item]8 October – Lawyer’s Day[/item]

[item]6 December – Ukrainian Army Day[/item]

[item]19 December – St. Nicolas Day[/item]

[item]25 December – Christmas[/item]

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State Holidays

(banks are closed)

1 January – New Year’s Day

It is one the most favorite of all holidays in Ukraine. As in Western countries on Christmas Eve, Ukrainians give “New Year” presents, Children receive their presents under the New Year Tree on the morning of the 1st of January. Traditionally just prior to midnight there’s a Presidential speech broadcast nationally. When the clock strikes Midnight, people pop open thier champaign bottles and raise a toast. With the first glass they congratulate each other as the clock strikes 12 times and fireworks fill the sky. The week before the New Year is a busy one with shopping, parties at work, decorating pine and fir-trees, and cooking the years most delicious meals. The main folk heroes of this holiday are Father Frost (Did Moroz) and his grand-daughter “Sniguron’ka” (The Snow Girl). The tradition of predicting fortunes on this night is very popular among young people.

A peculiar tradition includes writing down on a piece of paper your wish for the coming year, then dropping it in to your champagne and drinking it as the clock stikes twelve times. Another “fun” folk tradition pacticed mainly in the villages on New Year night is for the unmarried girls to go outside and throw one of thier boots over the Hosts’ fence. Whichever way the toe of the boot ends up pointing indicates where the future husband will come from. Nearly all businesses remain closed from December 31st to January 8th.

7 January – Orthodox Christmas

The period from the 7th until the 14th of January is Saint Christmas week. During this week people go from one house to another, singing songs and wishing good wishes to health, prosperity, etc. and just having a good time. Most usually are dressed in folksy or carnival type costumes. Such activity is called “Kolyaduvannya” and “Schedruvannya”. The songs are called “kolyadky” and “schedrivky”. When somebody is singing these songs and greeting you, as a rule you should give them sweets or food or drinks or whatever you have as a token of appreciation. It is believed that everything that the people have sung in their Kolyadka and Schedrivka will come true.

Also during the new year holidays, up to the 14th of January it is common for kids (and sometimes adults-in the villages) to go from one house to another wishing the owner of the house new year wishes, new happiness, health, etc. All those wishes are usually said in rhymes and with the spreading of seeds, such as wheat or other grains. This shows a wish of prosperity for the house. This practice is called “Posivannya”. Some token, usualy food, drink, sweets, or money, is usualy given in return.

8 March – International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is considered the first Spring Holiday in Ukraine. It is an official day off as both men and women look forward to this holiday. It originated as a day of fighting for women’s rights, when on the 8th of March 1897 women (workers of sewing and shoe factories) gathered in New York demanding 10 hour working days, light and dry work places and equal salaries with men. In 1910 at the International Conference of Women Socialists in Copenhagen, Clara Tsetkin proposed celebrating the International Women’s day on March, 8th which sounded an appeal to all women of the world to join in the struggle for equality.

The International Women’s day on March, 8th has been a State Holiday of the Former Soviet Union since the countries inception. Beginning in 1965 it was recongnized as an official day off. The Holiday enjoyed vast celebratory rituals, including public meetings involving officials at various levels of government in an attempt to report the govenments efforts in supporting Womens Rights and issues concerning them.

Gradually International Women’s day became less political and more personal. After disintegration of the Soviet Union , March, 8th has remained on the list of State Holidays in nearly all of the CIS countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia as the “International Women’s Day”. In Uzbekistan it is referred to as the ” Day of Mother”.

In Armenia it is celebrated on April, 7th as the “Day of Motherhood and Beauty”. Currently in the CIS it is also thought of as the “Day of Spring” and the “Day of all Women”, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, wives and girlfriends. Unlike Mother’s Day “every” woman expects to receive flowers and gifts. After disintegration of the Soviet Union , March, 8th has remained on the list of State Holidays in nearly all of the CIS countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia as the “International Women’s Day”. In Uzbekistan it is referred to as the ” Day of Mother”. In Armenia it is celebrated on April, 7th as the “Day of Motherhood and Beauty”. Currently in the CIS it is also thought of as the “Day of Spring” and the “Day of all Women”, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, wives and girlfriends. Unlike Mother’s Day “every” woman expects to receive flowers and gifts.

April – May – Orthodox Easter

Two weeks following the Catholic Easter Holiday is the main Christian Orthodox Holiday established to honor the Resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifiction on the cross and to the coming out of the Jews from Egypt. The date of Easter is usually determined by the Church calendar and calculated according to the so-called “Paskhalias” (the name for the “special tables”.) Before and during Easter Ukrainians buy or bake Easter cakes (buisquits with raisins),and hand paint eggs widely known as Pysanka. It is a very important holiday. On Easter night people go to their local church, spending the entire night in Church services! Usually they take with them Easter cakes, painted eggs, and bottles of wine. In the morning (about 4 am) the service concludes with the clergyman sprinkling all food with sacred water which is believed to give strong healing powers. At this time people return home to continue the celebration with food and drink throughout the the day. The traditional greeting on this day is: “Khrystos Voskres!” (Christ is arisen) and the answer “Voyistynu Voskres!” (Truly arisen) followed with kisses and the exchanging of gifts.

50 days after Easter – Holy Trinity Day (Svyata Troyitsya)(or “Green Sunday”)

This holiday is dedicated to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ (Easter). This event gave rise to Christianity. The meaning of the Holy Trinity is thus: God the Father laid the basis for the church in the Old Testament, the Son brought its meaning into words, and the Spirit acts within it. On this holiday people decorate their houses and apartments with Calamus (an herb) and assorted green branches.

This tradition comes from ancient Judaism, in which the Pentecost, the Feast of Harvest, was celebrated outside amongst flourishing Nature. On Holy Trinity Day people go to a cemetery to visit the tombs of relatives and friends who have passed away. In this holiday has emerged the custom of leaving food on the burial tombs of loved ones though no one claims it’s significance or relavance to Christianity.

Traditionally people leave some vodka or other alcohol and something to eat along with it, such as a piece of bread or candy. It is considered a good sign to find that the food and drinks have disappeared upon your next trip to the cemetery! Holy Trinity Day is a very important religious holiday in Ukraine.

1 – 2 May – Labor (May) Day

The 1st of May historicaly has been the traditional holiday of Spring. During the Industrialization of the Nineteenth Century, it became an International Day of Solidarity for workers of all countries.

The 1st of May began to be widely celebrated with various groups of workers joining together and paying tribute to the memory of victims of oppression and for the rights of all oppressed workers irrespective of their nationality, sex, age and/or profession. In it’s convention of 1888 the “American Federation of Labour” declared, that May the1st should become a day for the active struggle of workers for the eight-hour work day.

Strikes and Demonstrations were held worldwide. Later, in the former Soviet Union, this holiday was widely and actively celebrated with huge parades and political speaches on Red Square in Moscow and in all other cities.

All workers of the Soviet Union including university and school students, were obligated to attend the parades, bringing flowers, balloons and posters. Non compliance was met with severe persecution.

Now in many of the CIS countries, including Ukraine, you can still find some political gathering to celebrate May Day. At this time however, this holiday has become a celebration as the day of triumph for “Nature”, from which is a full bloom with birds’ singing, trees budding, and multicolored flowers painting the countryside. In this celebration people look forward to warm weather and the joys of summer.

9 May — Victory Day

This is a holiday of both joy and sorrow. A great tribute is bestowed to those who gave their lives during World War II resulting in today’s peace and happiness. The eternal memory of those lost will last forever throughout the generations. Veterans gather together remembering those who perished. Every city has an area on this holiday in which people gather called “The Eternal Fire”. In Kyiv it is located near the famous WWII museum and the “Motherland” Statue and Monument.

28 June – Constitution Day

On this day in 1996 the Constitution of Independent Ukraine was adopted. Fireworks and various concerts and musical events are common throughout the country.

24 August – Independence Day

Independence Day is Ukraine’s largest State holiday, which commemorates the adoption in 1991 of the “Declaration of Sovereignty” of Ukraine. Impressive fireworks displays and noteworthy concerts throughout the capital Kyiv and the rest of the country.

NOTE:

If any of the above official Holidays fall on Saturday or Sunday, it is customary for the following Monday to be an official public holiday also. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine may also transfer Monday or Friday “work days” to the preceding or following Saturday ONLY if any of the above holidays fall on the corresponding Tuesday or Thursday.

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Other Holidays

14 January – Old Calendar New Year

Old Calendar New Year celebrated as a family holiday. See more above under 7 January – Orthodox Christmas.

22 January – Ukrainian Unity Day (Den Sobornosti)

Ukrainian Unity Day (Den Sobornosti) is an important historical event in Ukraine. It goes back to the date when Eastern and Western Ukraine were united. On this day in 1919 the “Treaty of Unity” between Ukrainians was signed and the unity of all Ukrainian lands previously belonging to the Russian Empire (UNR) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was solemnly proclaimed on Sofijivska Square in Kyiv. “Den Sobornosti” is the symbol of territorial and spiritual unity of Ukraine as a unified sovereign state.

25 January – “Students Day” otherwise known as “Tatyana’s Day”

Tatyana’s Day is a pleasant and upbeat holiday highlighting the best, brightest, and most carefree years in the life of every student. On this day, all former classmates tend to grow nostalgic, and recall their fellow students, Deans and Principals as well as recalling memorable student years. The holiday’s origin goes far back into history.

On the 12th of January according to the Old Calendar (Jan 25 New Calendar) in 1775, being the day of “Maiden Tatyana the Martyr”, Empress Elisabeth Petrovna signed the regulation “Concerning the foundation of Moscow University.” This project was developed by the famous Russian Scientist Mikhail Lomonosov and later continued by Ivan Shuvalov.

Shuvalov chose this day to sign the regulation not by accident. as he desired to present it as a gift to his mother Tatiana Petrovna on her Name Day. “I am giving you a University”, said Shuvalov. On Easter, 1791 the “Church of Tatyana the Martyr” was opened. Later, Nikolay ” I” disposed in his Decree to celebrate, not the opening of the University, but the signing of the regulation regarding its foundation. On this holiday all kinds of distinctions -of age and class, grades and ranks, were cancelled, Rich and poor were equalized – All felt themselves as fellow citizens of the” Scientific Republic ”. On this holiday the kitchen was preparing for the students cold snacks along with vodka, cheap wine, and beer. You could find seated at the table favourite professors, popular journalists, students, lawyers, and administrative figures. Vladimir Giljarovsky, describing Tatyana’s day, truthfully recalls the popularity of a rhyme “”Pyana – Tatyana” which translated means “Drunken Tatyana”. Yes, it was a loose, and at times a disgracefully loose holiday. So, thanks to the love of Mother by an omnipotent favorite of Shuvalov, and the decree of emperor Nikolay “I”, Sacred Martyress Tatyana has turned into a “Patroness” of the students, and the day of her commemoration turned into a reckless revelry. Nowadays, on this winter day we congratulate students of all generations. With feelings of gratitude we recollect the teachers who opened the Temple of Sciences for us. Eventhough this holiday is considered more of a Russian holiday, students in Ukraine are celebrating it also as a youth holiday, for all of those who keep the fire of creativity in their souls, with a thirst for knowledge, search and discovery.

14 February – St. Valentine’s Day

St. Valentine’s Day inherited from Western culture, is now very popular in Ukraine.

23 February – Men’s Day (formerly known as The Soviet Army Day)

It is a tribute of respect to all the generations of Soviet soldiers and military people who defended courageously our Motherland from invaders. All men ,including boys, receive heart-felt greetings and gifts. Now, this holiday is considered as an opposite to Women’s Day on the 8th of March, as all men get an opportunity to have their own holiday as well.

So, women have an opportunity to say the warmest and sweetest words to the men they love and to flatter them with attention.

1 April – Fool Day (the Day of laughter)

This holiday is celebrated everywhere in Ukraine with people attempting to get the best of each other through trickery and jokes. But nowhere is this holdiay taken more seriously than in Ukraines port city of Odessa where an impressive and light hearted parade is held annualy to celebrate both April Fools Day as well as Odessa itself as the “Humor Capital” of the CIS.

13 May – Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is a day when Ukrainians express their love, respect, and appreciation to their Mothers.

Third weekend of May – Europe Day On this weekend, Ukraine celebrates a day to show unity, respect and an opportunity to magnify the public will and determination to join the Union of European Nations. This holiday weekend is a major cultural event. The Central Squares of Kiev and other large cities of Ukraine host concerts, performances and shows highlighting European musicians, artists, along with European cuisine as well.

Last Sunday of May – Kiev Day Kiev (Kyiv)

Last Sunday of May – Kiev Day Kiev (Kyiv) – the beautiful capital of Ukraine celebrates her day. This is a time when chestnut trees – the symbolic tree of Kiev – are in full bloom and sporting their wonderfully eloquant “white candles”. Spring is a great time to visit Ukraine’s Capital Kyiv and see it with your own eyes.

1 June – International Child Protection Day

Children are the future of the mankind. And this day is their day. Kids right for life and dignity must be respected and defended. What is sunnier, joyful, and memorable than the childhood? A child gets to know the world with the help of adults, learns and finds out new interesting things. A child is happy when he is loved, warmed fed and understood. A lot of different concerts, shows and games are held on this day.

5 June – World Environmental Protection Day

6 July – Ivan Kupala Day

Ivan Kupala Day is one of the great and enigmatic holidays signifing a celebration in honour of the “God of the Sun” (or “Dazhbog”). It is belived that during this time of summer solstice, the sun is strongest, before turning to the winter. They say that the Sun is a personification of light, celebrating its victory over dark forces, so as it rises it’s “playing”, “leaping” and feeling joyful. All Nature is also joyful because of this, becoming special and charmed. The name of the holiday is bound to the name of “Kupajla”, who is the “Divinity of Fertility”,of the harvest, welfare and medicinal healing herbs and plants. Traditional ceremonies are timed so as to celebrate in honour of youth, beauty, love and purification.

On the 6th of July people set off for the gathering of medical hebs and plants. They gather healing herbs at dawn, far from the settlements and paths, all in a good mood and praying. Folklore has it that besides medical properties Kupal’s'ki plants have a considerable magical effect. The main Kupal’s'ki ceremonies were taking place at night 6 – 7 July. Kupala night is a special night.

Not only is it the most mysterious and enigmatic but also the most dissolute night of the year. The people believed that all Kupala’s articles like chaplets, sprigs of sapling, ash, dew and other items had had not only healing properties but also considerable guarding forces from impure spirits as well as witches, which were thought to be very active on Kupala’s night. All night long people keep Kupala bonfires burning, leaping over the flames, cleansing themselves of ill and bad luck.

The remnants of the bonfire are distributed to the participants, and maybe taken home, to protect against evil forces. It was considered a good sign for their future if young people, while jumping over the fire, would keep their hands locked and their clothes unsinged. Mothers burn shirts of ill children in the Kupala fire as illnesses are believed to burn away with it.

The next ceremony consists of purifying by another element. Water. Girls try to dive in the water in such a way, that a chaplet from their hair would float on the surface of the water. Sometimes girls were sending their own personal chaplet with candles alit floating to the other side of the river or lake as the young men would try to capture the chaplet of his favorite girl. If not able to reach it from shore, some would impatiently jump in the water and retrieve the girls chaplet. A kiss awaits the bearer of each chaplet.

Especially enigmatic were recitals relating to fern blossoms on Kupala night. In order to see it, you have to go at night to the fern bush to spread under it a linen or towel on which the Easter cake was sanctified. Next you must draw around yourself a circle with the knife sanctified in the Church, sprinkle the plant with sanctified water and read a prayer. Impure forces then try to drive away and scare the man ie; wind, noise, blowing small rocks and twigs. It will not, however, be able to overcome the outlined circle. This is why you need to “fear not”.

At midnight the fern begins to bloom and fall on the linen. This is when you need to quickly rap the linen and hide it with the fern blossoms in your bosom. Such bravery rewards the person who did this to inherit the power to see how trees walk from one place to another. To understand the language of birds, animals, plants and trees. He will be able to locate treasure hidden in the ground and retrieve it.

The highlight of the ritual is a decoration of the sacral sapling – “kupaily” (kupailytsi, gil’tsya, madder). Usually it is the branch of a willow, cherry or ash tree, decorated by field flowers, paper ribbons, and burning candles. Girls dance and sing about love and marriage around the “Kupaily”. It is then dipped in water and broken into pieces and given to the girls, “so they would attain riches”.

The Kupal’ska ritual is highly symbolic. Kupal’s'ki fires symbolize a cult of the Sun. Kupal’s'ka water is a symbol of healing power. A fern is a symbol of a happy future. Magic Ivanivs’ka dew provides beauty and love, and the Kupala tree denotes fertility and happiness.

The Kupala ritual, as with Ukrainians, was widespread not only amoung the Slavic people, but also included other segments of Europe and even India. In particular, Bulgarians believed that on Kupala the Sun is “dancing” and “twirling the sabres”. Polish girls baked ceremonial “sun” cakes while Englishmen sought out the fern, not for the sake of the blossom of a burning flower, but for its seeds which can make a man invisible.

6 June – Day of Journalists Day of Journalist

There are many professional holidays in Ukraine, and this is one of them. Being an independent journalist can be dangerous. But at the same time, it is one of the most important and interesting professions in providing people with unbiased information that they need to understand the world around them.

20 June (Third Sunday of June) – Day of Medical Workers

Another important professional holiday. People in white garments are receiving greetings and due respect for their hard and important work. But, try not to get sick on this day, as all doctors, nurses, and health care administrators will be getting together for some very, merry festivities.

22 June – Day of Sorrow and Remembrance of Victims of War

This day was the beginning of World War II for the USSR. On this day in 1941 began one of the darkest pages of mankind, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. A long four years of war were marked with the heroic battles of the Soviet people and their allies for liberation. Many were killed. Nearly every family lost one of their loved ones. This day is to remember those who fought for freedom and defended their families and their country. This day is to remind us also about the terrible human mistakes of the past and to prevent them in the future.

24 June – Youth Day Youth Day is celebrated with a lot of fun, fireworks and concerts!

Last Friday of June – Graduation Day The end of June is well known as graduation time for schools, institutes and universities. It is the time when all exams are passed and young girls and boys receive their certificates or diplomas and thus enter their new life.

1 August (first Sunday of August) – Navy Day

If you are in Crimea, especially in Sevastopol, don’t miss this day and the opportunity to witness an expressive and impressive festival. Parades, concerts and fireworks. A good time for all guaranteed!

1 September – The Day of Knowledge

This is a serious holiday called the “Day of Open Doors” and includes all Schools, Colleges, Universities and Institutes. It is celebrated as the time when all students begin their new year studies. After a funfilled hot summer students are going back to the “Land of Knowledge”. The day starts with meetings held next to each school. You’ll see many nicely dressed students carrying flowers everywhere.

27 September – World Tourism Day

World Tourism Day is a wonderful time to visit Ukraine.

October 5 – Teacher’s Day

This special day was created to focus the World’s attention on the contributions and achievements of teachers as well as their concerns and priorities. Teachers recieve special appreciation for all the hard work they do.

8 October – Lawyer’s Day

Lawyer’s Day is another holiday in Ukraine that celebrates the legal profession.

6 December – Ukrainian Army Day

In 1991 the Decree regarding the establishment of the” Armed forces of Ukraine” was signed and is annualy celebrated.

19 December – St. Nicolas Day

On this day parents and relatives try to surprise their kids by placing small gifts, toys, or books into symbolic shoes or stockings or even under their pillows. St. Nicolas is the most well known Saint from the KievanRus era. People consider him first to help with any appeal and trouble. On December 19 he was beautified. Relics of St. Nicolas are kept in Bara city, Greece where people are believed to be cured by a single touch. This day opens the chain of winter holidays. Every child who behaved during the year will receive a present from St. Nicolas on this day. Nowadays it has become traditional to present gifts to every child.

25 December – Christmas

Catholic Christmas is also celebrated in Ukraine, especially in her Western regions.

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Source:

Best of Ukraine

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Note: This is not urging Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians to ‘latinize’ (adopt customs from another Church when they didn’t use them before). However, the Rosary remains a part of us who have come from a tradition where it is common: a veritable school of prayer. For those of us, then, here is a version of this practice nicely adapted to the Byzantine tradition, based on a version devised by Ukrainian Catholic priests of the Basilian Order in the 1950s.

In the best Eastern tradition it’s a fine ‘fallback’ to make up for a missed part of the Hours when you’re tired or ill.

Some background: Besides the obvious parallel of the Rosary to the prayer beads used by Orthodox monks and nuns, there were Russian adaptations of the Rosary in the 1700s and 1800s. St Seraphim of Sarov is said to have had one. The Russian ‘Rule of the Mother of God’ consists of praying 150 ‘Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God’ prayers (Hail Marys) a day. Some of the mysteries here are the same as the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church (Annunciation, Nativity, Ascension, Dormition) while others, especially the Sorrowful Mysteries, have a more Latin emphasis.

You might want to compare this Rosary to the Rule of the Mother of God of St Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), an Orthodox bishop killed by the Soviets in 1937.

About the Rosary in general

The Rosary is a practical substitute for the Divine Office/Hours, a sort of layman’s breviary well suited for those who cannot read as was true of many in the Middle Ages. The 150 Hail Marys mimic the 150 psalms. St Dominic is said to have introduced it to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Eastern Orthodox have an equivalent system of Jesus Prayers and prostrations one may use at home that corresponds to the Hours prayed in church.

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The Revd S.C. Hughson, Order of the Holy Cross (Anglican), wrote in 1918:

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Almost any encyclopædia will inform the reader that the use of beads in prayer is far older than Christianity itself and belongs to almost every race which has any highly developed system of prayer.

‘It will be a surprise to many, no doubt, to know that our common English word bead is derived from the Saxon word bid, to pray, the derivation arising from the fact that our ancestors made common use of perforated pebbles, or beads, upon which to count their prayers. It will be news even to most Catholics to learn that instead of their Rosaries being spoken of as beads because of a resemblance to the common ornament of the name, the ornament takes its name from the Rosary.’

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[item]Make the sign of the cross.[/item]

[item]Start at the crucifix.[/item]

[item]In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.[/item]

[item]Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.[/item]

[item]Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art everywhere and fillest all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come dwell within us, cleanse us from all our sins and save our souls, O gracious Lord.[/item]

[item]From Easter until Ascension leave out Glory to Thee and Heavenly King and instead say three times Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. From Ascension until Pentecost, simply make the sign of the cross — In the Name of the Father — before continuing as usual with:[/item]

[item]Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)[/item]

[item]Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.    Most holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. O Master, pardon our transgressions. O Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Thy Name’s sake. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.[/item]

[item]Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.[/item]

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Then at the first large bead on the pendant:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.   Lord, have mercy. (12 times)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O come, let us worship God our King.  O come, let us worship and bow down before Christ, our King and our God.  O come, let us worship and bow down before Christ Himself, our King and our God.

Then you may say Psalm 50 (51), Have mercy upon me, O God — or another appropriate psalm — and the Nicene Creed, I believe in one God, the Father almighty.

Then at the first small bead on the pendant:

Glory to the Father, who hast made us, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls.

Then at the second small bead on the pendant:

Glory to the Son, who hast redeemed us, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God…

Then at the third small bead on the pendant:

Glory to the Holy Spirit, who hast enlightened us, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God…

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The decades or mysteries are as in the Latin (Dominican) Rosary, with an Our Father, 10 ‘Rejoice O Virgin Mother of God’ (Hail Mary) prayers and the ‘Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit’. After each decade one may say the Fátima prayer: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

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The mysteries are:

JOYFUL:

Annunciation, Visitation of Our Lady to St Elisabeth, Nativity of Christ, Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple.

SORROWFUL:

Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns, Jesus Carries the Cross, Crucifixion.

GLORIOUS:

Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Dormition/Assumption and Crowning of Our Lady in Glory in Heaven.

Traditionally you pray the Joyful Mysteries on Mondays and Thursdays, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

In 2002 the Pope added another set of mysteries that may be prayed on Thursdays, changing Saturday’s set to another round of the Joyful ones.

LUMINOUS:

Baptism of Christ in the Jordan (Theophany, Богоявление), the Wedding at Cana, Jesus Proclaims the Kingdom, the Transfiguration (Преображение) and the Institution of the Eucharist.

Closing Prayer

JOYFUL MYSTERIES:

It is truly proper to glorify thee, who hast borne God, the ever-blessed and immaculate and the Mother of our God! More honorable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim art thou, who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word. Thee, truly the Mother of God, we magnify!

SORROWFUL MYSTERIES:

We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our prayers in our necessities but deliver us from all danger, O glorious and ever-blessed Virgin.

Most holy Mother of God, save us. (Three times with bows)

GLORIOUS MYSTERIES:

To thee, the Champion Leader, we thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and thanksgiving as ones rescued out of sufferings, O Mother of God: but as one with invincible might, from all dangers deliver us that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride!

This last prayer is from the Akathist to the Mother of God, an important Marian devotion in the Orthodox Church.

A Scriptural Rosary by Catherine Fournier

Recommended reading: We Fly to Thy Patronage, O Holy Mother of God by Aid to the Church in Need. This has quotations from the Byzantine Rite for each traditional mystery.

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The 15 promises of Mary to Christians who recite the Rosary Given to St Dominic and Blessed Alan

This is devotion, not dogma, but very nice.

Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.

The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.

Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.

The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.

All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.

Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

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Saying the Rosary good for soul — and heart By Cameron Simpson

SAYING the rosary is good for the heart as well as the soul. According to research by Italian scientists, reciting the rosary has a similar effect to the Eastern practice of yoga.

Espoused by celebrities such as Madonna and Geri Halliwell, the practice of yoga slows breathing and induces a favourable effect on the heart’s rhythm.

Luciano Bernardi, associate professor of internal medicine at Pavia University, recorded breathing rates in 23 healthy adults during normal talking, recitation of the rosary, yoga mantras, and six minutes of controlled breathing.

Breathing was markedly more regular during the rosary and the mantra and was slowed to about six breaths a minute. The results mean yoga enhances ‘aspects’ of heart and lung function and might be viewed as a health practice as well as a religious practice, he said.

The benefits of breathing exercises in yoga have long been reported, and mantras may have evolved as a simple device to slow respiration, improve concentration, and induce calm, Professor Bernardi says in this week’s British Medical Journal.

Similarly, the rosary may have partly evolved because it synchronised with the body’s natural heart rhythms, and thus gave a feeling of well-being, and perhaps an increased responsiveness to the religious message, he said.

A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland was not surprised by the findings of the therapeutic benefits of saying the rosary. He said: ‘It’s good to know that spiritual health and physical health are linked. This proves what people thought long ago — that a healthy mind is linked to a healthy body.’

Prof Bernardi also notes the historic and cultural links between yoga mantras and Catholic chants. He said: ‘It’s what the Church has been offering for centuries. ‘Saying these prayers can lead to a calming and enhanced feeling of well-being.’

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More on the Rosary By Dr Alex Roman

St. Dmitri of Rostov, a Russian Orthodox, said the Rosary.

He also practised the Western devotion of saying a ‘Hail Mary’ at the start of every hour, including throughout the night — what a hardy individual.

He also venerated the Immaculate Conception of our Lady, for which he was called up on the carpet by the Synod in St Petersburg. (A Conservative Site for Peace’s webmaster notes: I’ve read somewhere the Russian Old Believers did too. Read Q&A for more on the Immaculate Conception, which Orthodoxy never has dogmatized about, positive or negative. The Byzantine Rite used by the Orthodox calls Mary ‘immaculate’ — пренепорочная.)

He also wrote movingly about the ‘Wounded Heart’ of our Lord Jesus Christ, so much so that a priest I knew who didn’t like the Orthodox exclaimed, ‘That Orthodox person must really BE a saint to write so wonderfully!!’

The Orthodox Church even believes that the Rosary was first revealed to an Eastern monk in the 8th century where our Lady asked the people to say it daily and from the East it spread throughout the world. (This page’s author notes: I’ve never heard this before. Most authorities believe St Dominic introduced the Rosary in its commonly known form to the Roman Catholic Church around 1200.)

To this day, in Russian and Greek monasteries, monks and nuns say up to 150 Hail Marys with prostrations at the end.

The Old Believers of Russia always end their ‘Hail Mary’ (which is also the version used by the Ukrainian Catholic Church) in this way: ‘For Thou hast given birth to Christ the Saviour, the Redeemer of our souls’ or ‘Бo Tы пoрoдилa Христa Спaсa, Избaвитeля душъ нaшихъ.’

One brings one’s fingers to one’s head for ‘Христа’, then down to the belly for ‘Спaса’, then to the right shoulder for ‘Избaвитeля’, the left for ‘душъ’ and then one bows for ‘нaшихъ’.

Believe it or not…

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Did you know?

That the Western form of the Hail Mary wasn’t completed until St. Pius V had it printed in the Breviary in 1568? Before that, the West used a shorter form much like the Byzantine Rite.

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For if there is no resurrection, let us eat and drink: let us pursue a life of pleasure and enjoyment. If there is no resurrection, wherein do we  differ from the irrational brutes? If there is no resurrection, let us hold the wild beasts of the field happy who have a life free from sorrow. If there is no resurrection, neither is there any God nor Providence, but all things are driven and borne along of themselves. For observe how we see most righteous men suffering hunger and injustice and receiving no help in the present life, while sinners and unrighteous men abound in riches and every delight. And who in his senses would take this for the work of a righteous judgment or a wise providence? There must be, therefore, there must be, a resurrection. For God is just and is the rewarder of those who submit patiently to Him. Wherefore if it is the soul alone that engages in the contests of virtue, it is also the soul alone that will receive the crown. And if it were the soul alone that revels in pleasures, it would also be the soul alone that would be justly punished. But since the soul does not pursue either virtue or vice separate from the body, both together will obtain that which is their just due.

Nay, the divine Scripture bears witness that there will be a resurrection of the body. God in truth says to Moses after the flood, Even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, for his blood his own shall be shed, for in the image of God made I man. How will He require the blood of man at the hand of every beast, unless because the bodies of dead men will rise again? For not for man will the beasts die.

And again to Moses, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob: God is not the God of the dead (that is, those who are dead and will be no more), but of the living, whose souls indeed live in His hand, but whose bodies will again come to life through the resurrection.

And David, sire of the Divine, says to God, Thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust. See how he speaks about bodies. Then he subjoins this, Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth.

Further Isaiah says: The dead shall rise again, and they that are in the graves shall awake. And it is clear that the souls do not lie in the graves, but the bodies.

And again, the blessed Ezekiel says: And it was as I prophesied, and behold a shaking and the bones came together, bone to his bone, each to its own joint: and when I beheld, lo, the sinews came up upon them and the flesh grew and rose up on them and the skin covered them above. And later he teaches how the spirits came back when they were bidden.

And divine Daniel also says: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such trouble as never was since there was a nation on the earth even to that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and out of the multitude of the just shall shine like stars into the ages and beyond. The words, many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, clearly shew that there will be a resurrection of bodies. For no one surely would say that the souls sleep in the dust of the earth.

Moreover, even the Lord in the holy Gospels clearly allows that there is a resurrection of the bodies. For they that are in the graves, He says, shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Now no one in his senses would ever say that the souls are in the graves.

But it was not only by word, but also by deed, that the Lord revealed the resurrection of the bodies. First He raised up Lazarus, even after he had been dead four days, and was stinking. For He did not raise the soul without the body, but the body along with the soul: and not another body but the very one that was corrupt. For how could the resurrection of the dead man have been known or believed if it had not been established by his characteristic properties? But it was in fact to make the divinity of His own nature manifest and to confirm the belief in His own and our resurrection, that He raised up Lazarus who was destined once more to die. And the Lord became Himself the first-fruits of the perfect resurrection that is no longer subject to death Wherefore also the divine Apostle Paul said: If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, our faith is vain: we are jet in our sins. And, Now, is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept, and the first-born pyre the dead; and again, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Even so, he said, as Christ rose again. Moreover, that the resurrection of the Lord was the union of uncorrupted body and soul (for it was these that had been divided) is manifest: for He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. And the holy Gospel is a trustworthy witness that He spoke of His own body. Handle Me and see, the Lord said to His own disciples when they were thinking that they saw a spirit, that it is I Myself, and that I am not changed: for a spirit hath not flesh or bones, as ye see Me have. And when He had said this He shewed them His hands and His side, and stretched them forward for Thomas to touch. Is not this sufficient to establish belief in the resurrection of bodies?

Again the divine apostle says, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. And again: It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is sawn in weakness, it is raised in power: it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory: it is sown a natural body (that is to say, crass and mortal), it is raised a spiritual body, such as was our Lord’s body after the resurrection which passed through closed doors, was unwearying, had no need of food, or sleep, or drink. For they will be, saith the Lord, as the angels of God: there will no longer be marriage nor procreation of children. The divine apostle, in truth, says, For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus, Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body: not meaning change into another form (God forbid!), but rather the change from corruption into incorruption.

But some one will say, How are the dead raised up? Oh, what disbelief! Oh, what folly! Will He, Who at His solitary will changed earth into body, Who commanded the little drop of seed to grow in the mother’s womb and become in the end this varied and manifold organ of the body, not the rather raise up again at His solitary will that which was and is dissolved? And with what body do they come? Thou fool, if thy hardness will not permit you to believe the words of God, at least believe His works. For that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body. Behold, therefore, how the seed is buried in the furrows as in tombs. Who is it that giveth them roots and stalk and leaves and ears and the most delicate beards? Is it not the Maker of the universe? Is it not at the bidding of Him Who hath contrived all things? Believe, therefore, in this wise, even that the resurrection of the dead will come to pass at the divine will and sign. For He has power that is able to keep pace with His will.

We shall therefore rise again, our souls being once more united with our bodies, now made incorruptible and having put off corruption, and we shall stand beside the awful judgment-seat of Christ: and the devil and his demons and the man that is his, that is the Antichrist and the impious and the sinful, will be given over to everlasting fire: not material fire like our fire, but such fire as God would know. But those who have done good will shine forth as the sun with the angels into life eternal, with our Lord Jesus Christ, ever seeing Him and being in His sight and deriving unceasing joy from Him, praising Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit throughout the limitless ages of ages. Amen.

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St. John of Damascus

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Book IV, Ch. 27

From the Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

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St. Michael The Archangel seeks to be a community of Orthodox Christians that proclaim the truth as it is revealed by God in Christ, to faithfully hand on the Holy Tradition, and to manifest the truth of the Gospel in the way we live our lives as individual Christians and as a community.

We invite you to come and experience the fullness of the Orthodox Faith and the beauty and power of the Western Rite Liturgy. If you are seeking a community that is faithful to Scripture and Tradition, that strives to embody the Faith in holiness of living and is committed to offering our bounden duty and service in worship of the Holy Trinity, come and join us at St. Michael’s.

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Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year.  This spring festival celebrates the central event of the Christian faith, that being the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion.

In both the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, you will hear Easter referred to as Velykden, which means “Great day.”

Because of the common Byzantine Christian roots of both churches, Easter services in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church are virtually identical. A major difference, however, cropped up in North America during the 20th century. Not to do with how Easter is observed, but rather when.

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Easter is considered a “movable holiday” as it follows highly complex calculations involving lunar cycles and the Jewish liturgical calendar (Easter must always come after Passover).

In the “old country” (under whatever imperial regime ruled the Ukrainian lands at any given time), neither church chose to follow the Gregorian calendar, which Pope Gregory created in 1582 to correct and replace the Julian calendar, which was losing time.

The Orthodox Church traces its roots directly and without interruption to Jesus and the Apostles. After the Day of Pentecost the Apostles went into the world preaching the Gospel of salvation in and through Jesus Christ. They founded communities throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East and from the original Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome the Church spread throughout the world.

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After a number of centuries, various differences in theology and practice arose between the Eastern and Western churches. This resulted in the initial split in 1054 and culminated in the sack of Constantinople in 1204. The Western church became known as the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern church continued on as the Orthodox Catholic Church.

Orthodox Christians believe that God has fully revealed himself and offered us eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ. The fullness of God’s gifts to humanity is to be found in the life of our Mother, the Church. To us, the Church is a foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. Through our life in the Church we attempt to live these divine revelations of God. Therefore, we believe that we must guard and uphold the integrity of the Holy Orthodox Faith as it was handed down to us by Jesus Christ and His Apostles, defined by the Holy Ecumenical Councils, written and approved by the Holy Fathers and lived by the Saints.

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 Click on this icon to read about St. Michael The Archangel

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