Created with Sketch.

Ukrainians Prepare for Christmas Eve on January 6

06.01.2012, 09:18

Christmas is preceded by a four-week fast, the time of spiritual purification. The culmination of the celebratory preparation is Christmas Eve, the day of vigil, prayer and fasting.

Christmas is preceded by a four-week fast, the time of spiritual purification. The culmination of the celebratory preparation is Christmas Eve, the day of vigil, prayer and fasting.  Christmas Eve with its 12 lenten dishes includes not only significant church services but is rich in symbolic rites and customs of our nation, some of which can be traced back to pre-Christian times.

In general, the celebration of Christmas Eve is similar all over Ukraine. The differences in the southern and northern regions are due to the influence of other cultures. Many of the original customs were lost or forgotten due to mass deportations of Ukrainians from their ethnic lands or through the Soviet atheism propaganda. Nevertheless, Ukrainians today open themselves to God, to native traditions and rites in a new way.

Read about
State Only three UOC-MP communities remain in the Lviv region
Сьогодні, 13:45
World news The Vatican forwards thousands of names of Ukrainian prisoners to Russia with a request for their release or exchange
Yesterday, 16:00
Community Patriarch Kirill does not oppose the introduction of the death penalty in Russia
Yesterday, 15:30
Community U.S. surgeon and non-profit receive the Order of St. Panteleimon for helping Ukraine
Yesterday, 15:05