Q:How many of these people call themselves "Christians"?
"Each winter in southwestern Ukraine, villages are transformed by a riot of
color,
noise,
and a kind of organized chaos.
Costumed performers that are sometimes human, sometimes animal, sometimes entirely otherworldly wander from house to house, dancing, singing, playing instruments, cracking whips, and offering shots of alcoholic drinks.
Their mission is simple but profound: to sweep away misfortune,
summon laughter, and ensure abundance in the year ahead.
This lively tradition is known as Malanka, an ancient pre-Christian ritual marking the eve of the Old New Year under the old Julian calendar. Once observed from Jan. 13–14, Malanka now begins on Dec. 31 following Ukraine's recent calendar reforms, which aligned religious and folk holidays with the new Julian calendar.
"If we speak about its ritual meaning, Malanka is a way to prevent evil in the coming year. According to tradition, figures representing death, devils, or evil spirits enter a house during Malanka, they will not return again (for the rest of the year)," Tsiia Sviderska, a popularizer of folk traditions in Chernivtsi Oblast, told the Kyiv Independent.
"There is an element of trickery and deception of evil in this. That is why Malanka must be loud — noise, music, and shouting perform a protective function, driving away everything impure."
The tradition has survived everything from Soviet censorship to Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, with locals vowing to celebrate no matter the cost."
Their mission is simple but profound: to sweep away misfortune,
This lively tradition is known as Malanka, an ancient pre-Christian ritual marking the eve of the Old New Year under the old Julian calendar. Once observed from Jan. 13–14, Malanka now begins on Dec. 31 following Ukraine's recent calendar reforms, which aligned religious and folk holidays with the new Julian calendar.
"If we speak about its ritual meaning, Malanka is a way to prevent evil in the coming year. According to tradition, figures representing death, devils, or evil spirits enter a house during Malanka, they will not return again (for the rest of the year)," Tsiia Sviderska, a popularizer of folk traditions in Chernivtsi Oblast, told the Kyiv Independent.
"There is an element of trickery and deception of evil in this. That is why Malanka must be loud — noise, music, and shouting perform a protective function, driving away everything impure."
The tradition has survived everything from Soviet censorship to Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, with locals vowing to celebrate no matter the cost."
KievIndependent
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