 introduced into their community’s social circle in elaborately choreographed dances, escorted by young gentlemen.
9. International Women’s Day, Mother’s Day
International Women’s Day, marked on March 8th, is a national holiday in Ukraine. A holiday that celebrated American suffragette and labor union activism at the turn of the century, it became a major holiday in the Soviet Union as women were praised for their role in the Russian Revolution. As such, International Women’s Day is also a national holiday in other post-Soviet and Communist states. Though it’s still a day off in those countries, and the sentiment might be well-intentioned, many are resisting the celebrations’ Communist connotations. Some countries, like Ukraine, have amended it to more-closely resemble Western countries’ celebrations of Mother’s Day which are less political and more affectionate. Celebrations include visiting family, buying flowers, and honoring women and mothers in highly personal ways.
10. Holy Protection, Ukrainian Defenders’ Day
Holy Protection, called Pokrova in Ukrainian and otherwise known as the Intercession of the Mother of God, is a Christian holiday commemorating pagan Rus’-Ukrainians’ failed 10th century attack on Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire now known as Istanbul. It is believed that an apparition of Mary, the Mother of God, appeared over the city, extending her impermeable veil over all of the Christians to protect them from the Slavic invaders’ attacks. A few decades later, when the Christianity became the state religion in Rus’-Ukraine, people began to honor the event as a realization of the error in their pagan ways. The feast also celebrated a powerful medieval alliance between the kingdoms of Rus’-Ukraine and the Byzantine Empire.
As time went on, the Mother of God, as depicted in the 10th century protection of Constantinople, became seen as a protector of Christian warriors. The Ukrainian Cossacks made Pokrova their feast day on October 14th, and churches they built to commemorate victories 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