ictories over Muscovy, the Crimean Khanate, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were often dedicated to the Mother of God on this feast. Ukrainian militias and insurgencies in the 20th century also prayed for the Holy Protection.
In the folk iteration, Pokrova was a popular time for marriage, since the year’s harvest had all been accounted for and a feast could be had. Likewise, it was one of the last feasts that could be had before the beginning of the pre-Christmas fast. If snow would fall before the Feast of the Holy Protection, Ukrainians believed that they should not only expect a good harvest in the following year, but also a surge of marriage proposals and children being born.
Last year, the feast of the Holy Protection became a national holiday in Ukraine, and came to be referred to in civic circles as Ukrainian Defenders’ Day, which replaced and moved a former Soviet-era holiday in February honoring veterans. This came after many months of bloodshed in Ukraine’s Eastern regions of the Donbas, and became a new way of combining Ukrainian ethnic and civil holidays. Though it always celebrated bravery, chivalry, and honor, Pokrova is now a day to celebrate the centuries-long struggle for Ukrainian independence.
By Julian Hayda