Reflecting on the Ukrainian New Year
New Year’s Eve is a symbol of faith and hope for the best.
There’s much to be said about the beginning of a new year which is a very important event for each of us. It is a time of reflection about our past, the completion of another year in our lives. It’s the beginning of new hopes, goals, and desires. I associate New Year’s Eve with my family, my childhood, joy, and the anticipation of miracles. As children we traditionally waited for gifts on New Year’s Eve and believed that Father Frost brought them and left them under the tree.
On the morning of January 1st, we would find toys, candy, crayons, and brightly colored children’s books under the tree which made us very happy. Children’s institutions held New Year’s concerts, usually in the morning, called Children’s Urenniki. Mothers sewed New Year’s costumes for us with the girls often wearing snowflake costumes, and the boy’s bunny costumes. We sang songs, and at the end of the event, we all called out loudly to Father Frost, who would arrive with a large red gift bag and hand out festive boxes of candy.
My people have many superstitions associated with the New Year holiday. Before December 31st, you should tidy up your house, give away unwanted items and dishes to those in need, pay off debts, and make peace with anyone you’ve had a fight with. It’s also considered a good tradition to make your biggest wish on New Year’s Eve. You should mentally wish for something that’s very important to you or something you’d really like to receive in the coming year, believing that your wish will definitely come true.
Our family lived in a big city, and before the New Year holidays, you could find a small Christmas tree market in every neighborhood. When I was little, fir and pine trees were brought in on trucks and sold near these trucks. We were not allowed to choose the size and fullness of our tree; the seller would simple pull out any tree, and it would be yours. We eagerly awaited the day when our dad brought home a Christmas tree. Father believed that if the tree had a straight trunk and proportional branches, the year would be lucky and prosperous. Nowadays, a live Christmas tree is usually decorated in mid- or late December to ensure it doesn’t lose its needles before the end of the Old New Year.
What is Old New Year you might ask? It’s an unofficial holiday celebrated on the night of January 13th to 14th, as an additional New Year according to the old Julian calendar. Because historically, holidays in Ukraine have shifted, many people celebrate holidays according to both the old and new calendar dates and Old New Year is no exception. This phenomenon arose from discrepancies between the secular and religious calendars. While the church adhered to the old Julian calendar, society, beginning in Soviet times, switched to the new Gregorian calendar and began celebrating the New Year on January 1st.
My grandparents celebrated New Year’s from January 13th to January 14th, adhering to long-standing Ukrainian traditions. My mother recalls how on the evening of January 13th, children would visit friends and neighbors, sing the song “Shchedrivka,” and receive gifts of candy, cookies, and money. Early the next morning, on January 14th, men and young boys would go to the houses of neighbors, friends, and acquaintances and, with their permission, scatter wheat grains in the corners of their homes. They sang songs and wished for good fortune and prosperity. Women did not participate in such rituals but the hosts generously rewarded the scatterers with candy, baked goods, and money. The main rule was not to sweep the grain before sunset, lest they sweep away the happiness.
Shchedrivka are cheerful songs wishing prosperity, well-being, and a rich harvest:
Generous evening, good evening
A sincere, good holiday!
May your family have many children!
May everyone be healthy, full of blush!
May your fate unfold, like embroidery!
May your friendly family
Laughter roll sincerely!
Generous evening, good evening,
All the best and peace.
Shchedrivka is not associated with religious songs. According to the new calendar, Shchedrivka is sung on the evening of December 31st, and this evening is called Generous Evening.
The new reality is that since the war began in Ukraine, New Year’s holidays have been marked by rocket attacks, tragedies, and anguish. This New Year’s was no exception. Massive missile strikes have disabled the energy infrastructure, causing power outages in many regions.
I want to commend the incredible fortitude of my compatriots, who, even without power and water, refuse to despair and find ways to buy and cook food, and even celebrate the holidays.
Here is what author Maya Tulczynska had to say about our capital. “Kyiv is a city where there is no electricity, but there is pistachio latte because generators buzz like beetles over cherries in coffee shops. Kyiv is a city where there is no electricity, water, and heat for several days, but the girls have fresh manicures. Because it is a holiday. Because you want to. In Kyiv, a city where there is no electricity, water, heat, communication, at the same time for several days - there is fresh bread in the stores. The shelves are full of all kinds of food. The garbage is taken out. The snow is cleared. The traffic lights are out for a while, but there are no more accidents on the streets than there always were. It seems that perhaps there are even less. Someday, history textbooks will write about a nation in which not only warriors defeated barbarians, but civilians also managed to remain civilized in artificially created barbaric conditions. They managed to maintain their usual civilized way of life, wherever possible.”
So, my close friend Lina, who lives in Kyiv, was celebrating her mother’s birthday when the city’s power went out. Even so, the family table was still warm and inviting, with plenty of delicious food and celebratory toasts, one of the main ones being a wish for peace in Ukraine.
Evil knows no bounds. With incredible cynicism, Russia continued to launch massive missile strikes during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Homes in many Ukrainian cities were destroyed, with casualties. On New Year’s Eve, an attack occurred in Odessa, damaging residential buildings and other structures. My friends who live in Odessa said they were forced to go to a bomb shelter instead of enjoying the holiday. Here is an excerpt from my friend Lina’s story:
“My niece and her friends went to Odessa for the weekend by train. That night, rockets were flying over Ukraine. The train the girls were on was stuck for 5-6 hours, not reaching Odessa. They were hungry and without water. Despite all this, my niece had a great time in this beautiful city.”
Despite all this horror, people are trying to live their normal lives, stocking up on generators, and adapting to these difficult circumstances. A large Christmas tree and other New Year’s paraphernalia were erected in a square in Kyiv. In the evening, people take to the streets, rejoicing in every joyful moment of their lives.
Later, a friend wrote to me to say: “I went to the theater. It’s located in the Kiev Fortress building. There was a power outage in that area at that time, but thanks to the beautifully lit shops along the road, I reached the fortress. And there it was dark. I turned on the flashlight, it was scary...”
Lina and I recalled celebrating New Year’s Eve before the war in a square in Kyiv. A street orchestra played; it was incredibly festive, cheerful, and bright. I would very much like for people in Ukraine to regain a sense of peace, security, the ability to make plans for the future, and hug their loved ones and friends.
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish the residents of Crowsnest Pass all the best in the New Year. We all need to remember that no blessings of civilization can compare to sincere feelings of kindness, love, and compassion for one another.