If it’s May in Ukraine then it must be a holiday – or there must be a string of days off just around the corner. Starting with May Day on the first and ending with Kyiv Days the last weekend of the month, this is the season for concerts, church services, shashlyks and long days at the dachas.
May Day stretched from May 1 to May 3 this year, followed by Easter Monday on May 6 and then Victory Day on May 8‑9.
There are sure to be numerous concerts and other activities in Kyiv to keep idle workers from getting bored. There are also some serious events planned.
Easter
Some 15 years ago, May Day and Victory Day were pompous Soviet feasts, and Easter – if celebrated at all – was marked in secret. Today, May Day is more like a big party, and Victory Day is celebrated mostly by WWII veterans. Easter on the other hand, has become one of the biggest holidays of the year.
The most ardent believers attend the vespers – an all‑night religious service. At the main Orthodox churches, the vespers start at 11:30 p.m. Throughout the night, the liturgy evolves from the the crucifixion of Christ to the celebration of the resurrection.
Many people drop by a church the night before Easter to take in the spiritual atmosphere.
Many more people go to church in the morning to have their Easter food – colored eggs, paskas (Easter bread) and ham – sprinkled with holy water by a priest.
People greet each other with “Khrystos Voskres” (Christ has risen), and the response is “Voistynno Voskres” (Truly risen).
All Orthodox churches will have a special service and food blessing. But the most traditional place to get into the festive mood is at the Pecherska Lavra. Its sonorous bell echos as far away as the Left Bank, calling people to services at all the major churches of the monastery: the Trapezna, the Rozhdestva Bohorodytsi and the newly restored Uspensky Cathedral.
St. Andrew’s Church will also hold Easter vespers. Officially it is a museum, but since mid‑2001 services have been held there on special occasions. The evening service will start at 11 p.m., and the blessing of paska will be between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Most Western‑style modern churches also celebrate Easter on May 5. The International Christian Assembly (16 Khreshchatyk, 2nd floor, tel. 258‑2017) invites guests to a holiday sermon by guest preacher Kevin Tyler and the Eucharist at 10 a.m. The Word of God Church (5A Milchakova, tel. 517‑5193) will hold services at 11 a.m.
The best place to celebrate an old‑fashioned Easter Sunday is Pyrohovo. The Folk Architecture Museum organizes an elaborate Easter celebration. The entrance to the museum is free between 11 p.m. on May 4 and 11 a.m. on May 5. The vespers and the blessing of food take place at the museum’s Mykhailivska Church. After the end of the service, an authentic Ukrainian Easter party begins featuring a colored Easter egg exchange, games and the singing of the traditional Easter songs “vesnyanky” and “haivky.” Many folk bands from all over Ukraine will play throughout the day.
The celebration continues on May 6, moving to the hilly “Carpathians” area of the museum. But beware: Easter Monday is called “wet” in Ukraine, as young people chase each around attempting to douse one another with buckets of water.
Another public celebration will take place in front of St. Michael’s Cathedral, but of a more orchestrated nature. It starts at 2:45 p.m. with a religious procession. At 3 p.m. the head of St. Michael’s, Vladyka Dymytry will bless Easter food and lead a prayer. Then Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko will give a speech and treat the audience to slices of blessed paska. A major concert follows, featuring traditional Easter songs, Cossack dances and games.
Victory Day
Victory Day is also celebrated all over Kyiv, but in narrower circles, and all are welcome to join. On this day, World War II veterans fill the streets and public transport sporting rows of war medals. When they meet together and start recalling their military days, the old “babushkas” and “dedushkas” relax and laugh like youth, their eyes shining.
May 9 will start with the laying of wreaths to several monuments in Kyiv: the monument to hero tank drivers on Peremohy Prospekt; the Victory stele at Peremohy Square; the monument to General Vatutin; the liberator of Kyiv; in the park near the Rada; and the Unknown Soldier obelisk at Slavy Square.
A parade of WWII veterans will take place on Khreshchatyk at 11 a.m. The holiday’s culmination is lighting the Eternal Flame at 12:30 p.m. at Slavy Square. During the “Soldier Porridge” ritual, all guests are treated to a field‑ration of cereal, cooked on an open fire, dished out in bowls and eaten with aluminum spoons. The holiday ends with a concert.
Also on May 9 the WWII Museum opens three new exhibits: “The Unknown Soldier,” “Letters From the War” and “War and Victory are Feminine Gender,” about the role of women in WWII.
