Themes by tag: culture

On January 6, at 1:00 PM, a Christmas didukh will be installed in Lviv city. The festive column will go along the Rynok square – Katedralna square – Teatralna street – Iavorskoho square route. This year, military personnel and families of Ukrainian defenders were invited to join the holiday.

View here how a didukh was installed last year.

For reference: A didukh is a Ukrainian Christmas decoration made from spikes, a primitive pagan idol, a symbol of the patron ancestor, as well as a symbol of harvest, prosperity and wealth.

• culture
• Lviv

12 unique exhibits were presented at the exhibition in Lviv’s Arsenal Museum. The armed forces of Ukraine handed over armor plates that stopped enemy bullets and shrapnel in battle, and famous Ukrainian artists Ivan Marchuk, Tiberiy Silvashi, Nazar Bilyk, Petro Bevza, Andriy Bludov, Yurii Vakulenko, Oleksiy Sai, Svitlana Ratoshnyuk, Anton Logov, Leonid Kolodnitsky and icon painter Andrii Okhotsky turned them into art objects with exclusive stories. Later, these works are planned to be put up for auction. The collected funds will be used to purchase protective equipment for the military.

For reference: Ivan Marchuk is one of the most famous artists of modern Ukraine. In 2007, he was included in top 100 living geniuses, according to The Daily Telegraph. In June 2021, Ivan Marchuk’s painting “Golden Night” was sold for USD 96,800 dollars, the highest amount for the artist.

Tiberiy Silvashi is a Ukrainian abstract artist, whose paintings are kept in museums in Munich and Vienna, as well as in private collections in Europe and the USA.

• culture
• Lviv

On December 28, the news broke that Suspilne Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine signed an agreement with the TVORCHI band (the winner of the National Selection). This means that the TVORCHI band will officially and definitively represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which will take place in Liverpool.

TVORCHI is a Ukrainian music band from Ternopil. At the National Selection, they won with the “Heart Of Steel” song. Journalists can find out if the participants are going to change something in the contest piece, show or costumes.

For reference: The Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, however, due to russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine will not host this event. The 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May in Liverpool (Great Britain) on behalf of Ukraine.

• culture

Residents of Lviv can get their hands on the anti-tank weapons that the Ukrainian military uses to counter the aggressor. “Weapons of Victory” educational and interactive exhibition was opened in LЕM Station space. Visitors can hold NLAW, Javelin and about 30 more samples of used anti-tank weapons in their hands. There are screens that demonstrate the exhibits in use at the front. In addition, visitors can learn how to use various types of weapons on an interactive VR simulator.

The exhibition will last until December 30. At the closing, a charity auction will be held to sell used trophy weapons, items of military equipment and other unique items from the front line. The funds collected at the exhibition are planned to be used for the purchase of a training facility with augmented reality technology to hone the skills of using weapons.

• culture
• weapon
• Lviv

At the end of the summer, “Tozhsamist” (Identity) social initiative about Ukrainians of different ethnicities started working in Ukraine. It was launched by Ukrainian designer and marketer Alisa Zhuravel. The girl herself is a non-ethnic Ukrainian. Although she was born in Kharkiv, her father is from Nigeria. Interviews with Ukrainians of various origins are posted on the platform. Those interviewed include Nigerians from Kharkiv, Kazakhs from Kyiv, as well as Ukrainian Armenians and Ethiopians. With her project, Alisa wants to introduce the world to Ukrainians of different ethnicities, counter russian propaganda, and show the Western society the diversity of people identifying themselves as Ukrainians.

• culture
• volunteers

An unusual Christmas shop was set up in “Nahuievychi” State Reserve in Lviv region. In it, traditional biblical characters are substituted with political figures. In particular, there is a miniature of U.S. President Joseph Biden and Ukrainian hero Stepan Bandera near the newborn Jesus, as well as writer Ivan Franko in the image of a manner owner.

The authors of the idea explained such innovation with Ukrainian traditions, which always added national elements and modern references to the usual biblical stories.

• culture
• Lviv

The film “A House Made of Splinters” is among 15 candidates for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. This is a film produced by Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The film tells about children from the problem families who ended up in an orphan asylum near the front. Several teachers who, under the conditions of war with russia, are trying to create a safe space for children also became the heroes of the film. “A House Made of Splinters” premiered in January 2022.

• children
• culture
• Kyiv

The building of the Kherson Regional Universal Scientific Library named after Oles Honchar was badly damaged during the russian occupation and immediately after the liberation of the city. In particular, the library was shelled by the enemy on November 19. The windows of the building, with a total area of about a thousand square meters, were broken. From the Dnieper side alone, no less than 88 windows were destroyed. Now the people concerned help to preserve the building for the winter. Owing to their contributions, the library managed to purchase materials to protect the building and “close” the damaged windows.

• culture
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kherson

On December 23, Ukrposhta will put into circulation a postage stamp in honor of the world-famous Christmas carol. “Shchedryk. Carol of the Bell” is the final one in the cycle of stamps issued by Ukrposhta in 2022. The issue of the postage stamp was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the presentation of the musical piece “Shchedryk” on the Carnegie Hall stage in New York. It was after this that “Shchedryk” by Mykola Leontovych became a symbolic holiday anthem for a number of countries.

The new stamp will be canceled with a special postmark in Kyiv on Sofiiska square by Ihor Smilianskyi, General Director of Ukrposhta, and by Mykola Kochubei, the Honored Artist of Ukraine, the author of the postage stamp. Also, the folk choir “Vesnianka” will perform the famous holiday song on the square.

• culture
• Kyiv

In order for the Christmas tree to light up at the capital’s railway station this year, you need to spin the pedals of a mechanical generator. And the main Christmas tree of the country located on Sophia Square is decorated with energy-saving lamps. Most likely, the Christmas tree will be lit up at certain hours of the day. Among other things, points for recharging gadgets will be set up next to the generator.

The “Indomitable Christmas Tree” was installed in Mykolaiv. It is made of a camouflage net that covers the monument to St. Nicholas. Previously, this monument had been covered with sandbags to protect it from destruction. On St. Nicholas Day, December 19, people are encouraged to bring their toys with wishes to put them up on the unusual Christmas tree. And in Kharkiv, the New Year tree was placed underground. A Christmas tree was put up at one of the metro stations.

• culture
• Kharkiv
• Kyiv
• Mykolaiv