Christmas and Malanka

A book about the traditions of celebrating Christmas and Malanka by the Ukraїner team. Christmas brings together generations and families around a festive table and shared caroling, while Malanka unites entire villages in a street carnival with masks and elaborate costumes to celebrate the coming of the new year.

Both holidays hold deep roots for Ukrainians, which the Soviet repressive system tried to erase for decades. Stories of bans, repression and persecution of carolers and Malanka performers were collected by the project team in villages of the Poltava region, as well as in Kharkiv, Lviv and Vashkivtsi. Despite these prohibitions many traditions have survived.