This Sunday, the War Museum hosted an event where visitors learned more about the world and Ukrainian traditions of celebrating Christmas and New Year holidays.
First, Maryna Lukianova, curator of the exhibition “Ukrainian Christmas tree toys: from the 19th century to the present day,” delved into the history of the origin and development of Ukrainian Christmas ornaments.
In the exhibition “War: Inverse Perspective,” researcher Maria Banko described how Christmas traditions changed during the biggest global cataclysms of the 20th century. The scholar focused on how the holiday of God’s birth was celebrated in the line of fire, military hospitals, and bomb shelters. Visitors also discovered traditional Christmas Eve dishes and gifts exchanged during difficult times in Europe and the United States. They discussed which traditions were only temporary and which ones evolved the idea of Christmas Eve. During the lecture, parallels were drawn with the celebration of Christmas amid the ongoing russian-Ukrainian war: charity events, the delivery of traditional Christmas treats to the contact line, encouraging gifts, and the soldiers’ desire to celebrate despite everything. The guests were convinced that faith in the Christmas miracle strengthened people’s spirits even in the darkest times.
We sincerely thank everyone who shared this pre-holiday day with the Museum.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you soon at the Museum.
