People who live in Western countries celebrate Halloween. Kids do much of trick-or-treating.
We Ukrainians and Russians have holidays when WE visit other people's houses and they give us candy, biscuits, money, etc (no matter if you are 6 or 40 years old, although an old man asking for buiscuits looks odd). We don't walk one by one, but in a group. I think, your question is "What holidays?" Well, it is Christmas and Old New Year's Day.
All our feasts are celebrated according to the Old Style (the Julian calendar). We celebrate Christmas on January 7. December 25 (O.S) is actually January 7 (modern calendar). The difference is not static, it grows uo every century. Some Ukrainians don't know that, they from mere habit think that the Western Christmas is on absolutely another date which is not connected with the date of our feast... Old New Year is celebrated on January 14 (January 1 according to the Old Style). It isn't as popular as New Year's Day (honestly, Christmas is less popular too, that's because it was banned to celebrate any feasts for very long period of existing of the USSR, but popularity of Christmas increases year by year).
According to the traditions, on the 6th of January you should not eat anything till the evening. It is the last day of the fast actually. However, you may have a bite of food if you work hard. In any case, you should not eat dishes containing meat, eggs or milk products (all these products can be named more shortly - skoromnoye, (in Cyrillic - скоромное)), nevertheless, you are allowed to do that if you are ill or travelling. However, I met too few persons who thought themselves obliged to keep fasts.
In general, members of the Orthodox Church (its English name) have more than 200 days a year when they are supposed to be keeping the fasts, but there are just some days when you the church does not recommend to eat at all. These 200 days are not as terrible as you can find them, it is a perfect vegetarian diet :) .
When night has fallen, you take a supper [I think it is not good translation, therefore the original word "vecherya" is obsolete at any other sense] and carry it to other people's houses. The supper is called "kutya" (sounds like kootya). Kutya is a dish like kasha (kasha is kind of food that is cooked of grain or grouts) cooked of boiled millet or rice. Also kutya includes honey or jam. Or candy. Or nuts. Kutya can consist of any delicious elements.
After you've knocked or ringed at the doors and it has been opened, you ask the hosts to taste some kutya. Then every one of them takes three tea-spoon of kutya. And after that they give you their treating for you or money, usually 25-50 kopecks, but sometimes they hold out a $100 banknote and close the door (fearing lest you give the banknote back). It takes part not too often, the people just show off. As for me, I never got more than 50 UAH and not at one time, however, someone did (honestly, that was on Old New Year's Day).
Also you can (but only in a big group) go to sing "kolyadki" (plural). Kolyada (singular) is the custom of house-to-house Christmas carol singing, while kolyadka (singular) is a carol itself.
Originally, Kolyada was a Slavonic god, praying to him was called kolyada either. In order to eradicate the paganism, the church put pagan customs to Christian feasts. Kolyada became a Christmas custom. Well, there are certain characters for singing - Goat (the most necessary element), then Angel, Ukrainian girl in the national costumes, fairy-tale characters, and such. Mostly the actors are young, but they are not kids. They form up pretty beautiful group and go along streets of a village, a town or a city. You need to form a group like that if you wish to sing kolyadki, the roles have to be split between you. Also you must be able to sing all together. That's why kolyadki are usually sung by the adult or by professional choirs.
Kolyadki can be sung until Old New Year's day.
Old New Year's Day is on January 14. Old New Year's Eve is called "shchedriy vechir". On January 13, we sing "shchedrivki" (Ukr. name, not Russian, the Russian name is schedrovki). They are like kolyadki, but there exists an important difference. Singing kolyadki, we carol Christmas. Singing shchedrivki, we wish happiness, health, wealth to the hosts. But it is not too big differece, because anybody can carol Christmas and wish happiness at the same time.
2007-10-29
22:03:44