Traditions of Malanka folk holiday put on list of Ukraine's intangible cultural heritage

The Traditions of Malanka have been added to the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has reported [Malanka is a Ukrainian folk and church holiday on the evening before the New Year or St Basil the Great on 1 January in the Gregorian calendar and 14 January in the Julian calendar - ed.].

The traditions of Shchedruvannia are widespread throughout Ukraine, with each region having its own specific rites, celebrations and traditional cuisine [Shchedruvannia is an ancient Ukrainian custom of New Year's celebrations that involves groups of carollers singing songs to bless the people they're visiting, wishing them health and prosperity, and receiving a reward for doing so - ed.]. The Ukrainian diaspora abroad also celebrates Malanka.

Maryna Sobotiuk, a scholar and compiler of the nominal dossier on the rite of Shchedruvannia, explains that this tradition dates back to pre-Christian times.

Festivities for the Good Evening or Malanka Day take place on 31 December as New Year visits. On this day, it is customary to cook 12 ritual dishes, sing shchedrivkas [traditional Shchedruvannia songs] and "bring a goat" [Young people stage a festive performance, dressing as different characters, including as a goat, to cheer up and greet the hosts they are visiting, and receive good gifts in return – ed.]. Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych's Shchedryk (a Ukrainian shchedrivka, also known as Carol of the Bells) has also become an essential part of the celebration.

"The tradition of Shchedruvannia is alive: it has faced severe challenges in our history and survived thanks to its carriers, thanks to those who popularised it at different times. At the same time, we have thousands of examples of national cultural heritage inspiring artists to create contemporary works with ethnic motifs. One of the most striking examples is Mykola Leontovych's Shchedryk," said Rostyslav Karandieiev, Ukraine's Acting Minister of Culture.

The ritual song Shchedryk by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych is also planned to be included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"Our goal is to prove to the world that the melody Carol of the Bells has, in fact, a purely Ukrainian 'citizenship'. Under UNESCO's rules, one of the requirements for an item to be included in the World List is its inclusion in the national list of intangible cultural heritage, so today's event is an important step towards global recognition," said Emine Dzhaparova, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister.

In addition to the Traditions of the Generous Evening, the list of intangible heritage already includes a string of elements related to New Year's celebrations, including:

The traditional Malanka ritual of the village of Beleluia in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.

The tradition of the Vasyls' feast in the village of Lypivka in the Rohatyn hromada of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.).

Creation of a three-dimensional spherical Christmas star in the village of Matskovychi.

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