For a EUnited EUrope 2021-2022 Etwinning project : Our CULTURAL HERITAGE in Greece, France, Ukraine, Slovakia and Turkey.
Christmas & New Year’s Festivities in our countries Each country carries a short research for each of our partners.
Based on the research of information about our cultural heritage, we created a Kahoot Game and met online to play it
https://create.kahoot.it/share/christmas-ne w-year-celebrations-in-europe/7167257c-4 b5a-4523-a4b3-62b5817f0618
Ukraine for France
Christmas celebration
◦ Christmas in France is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. Christmas is celebrated as a public holiday in France on December 25, as well as in the United States and other western countries. ◦ Public life on Christmas Day is generally quiet. Post offices, banks, stores, restaurants, cafés and other businesses are closed. ◦ Many people in France put up a Christmas tree, visit a special church service, eat an elaborate meal and open gifts on Christmas Eve. ◦ Other activities also include walking in a park, participating in city life and sharing a meal with family and close friends.
Ukraine for France
Food
◦ Typical French Christmas foods include: ◦ truffels, ◦ rabbit terrine, ◦ roasted capon, ◦ garlic soup, ◦ salad, ◦ peas, green beans, ◦ carrots and potatoes, ◦ small chocolate and sweet candies. ◦ Traditional French Christmas food includes a lot of meats with mashed potatoes, beans, salad, peas and carrots. Soup and bread is also very popular. ◦ Deserts include Yule log cake, cupcakes, muffins with small chocolate candies.
Ukraine for France
Decorations
◦ Many houses, public spaces, and businesses are decorated with lights and Christmas trees. ◦ Advent wreaths (Couronnes de l'Avent) are also common, they are made up of fir and pine tree branches for the first Sunday of Advent. ◦ The Advent wreath is topped by four candles, symbolizing the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Each candle is lit on each of the Sundays before Christmas
France for Greece The boat is the national greek Christmas emblem. Some people build boats with colored strings of paper and wood in small villages and on islands. The children do that to honor the return of the sailors who bring back food. The rest of the population puts a Christmas tree like in most countries of the world.
France for Greece
France for Greece
France for Greece
France for Greece
Greece for Turkey / Cuisine 1 Turks love to start a meal with soup, hot or cold. Granted we are in the heart of winter when ringing in the new year, so a warm soup made of, most likely, seasosnal winter vegetables will be what starts off the feast While some Turkish tables may forget the soup course for New Year’s Eve, it is guaranteed that there will be a round of cold starters including meze varieties to begin the meal. Most meals will try to include a yogurt-based meze, such as haydari, köpoğlu (kyopolou) or tomato-based variations which could be acılı ezme or şakşuka
Greece for Turkey / Cuisine 1
Greece for Turkey / Photos 2
https://www.maxmag.gr/taxidia/konstantinoupoli-nostalgiki-protochronia-stin-poli/ue
Agia Sofia
Blue Mosque
https://www.latravel.gr/proorismos/eyropi/konstantinoypoli/
Greece for Turkey / Traditions 3 Celebrating New Year’s Eve is a newer tradition in Turkey dating back to 1935 when Jan. 1 was first made an official holiday. However, many Turks, especially in urban areas, have embraced the holiday wholeheartedly with towns and shopping centers decked out with lights and holiday displays and in homes by decorating Christmas trees, exchanging gifts and ringing in the New Year with a party. The Turks have also come up with a number of steadfast traditions, superstitions and symbolism to make this holiday special. The following is a list of the most popular traditions in Turkey for New Year’s Eve. In Turkey, the pomegranate has always been symbolic of prosperity and abundance and many homes will have decorative baubles portraying the fruit year-round. One of the most interesting traditions surrounding New Year’s Eve in Turkey however is the practice of smashing a pomegranate in front of the home as a means to make way for good fortune in the coming year. Likewise, gifting a pomegranate or an object symbolic of one makes for the perfect holiday present. Meanwhile, if you don’t have a pomegranate on hand, salt will also do as some sprinkle salt on their doorstep for luck.
Greece for Turkey 3 The word Milli Piyango, which is the name of the national lottery drawing in Turkey, has become synonymous with New Year's Eve. Pretty much anyone who has the means to do so will purchase a lottery ticket for the highly anticipated and inflated drawing that takes place on New Year’s Eve. The largest lottery drawing of the year, over TL 500 million ($65.5 million) will be distributed with the jackpot alone being TL 100 million! The tickets are broken down into single, half and quarter categories, costing TL 100, TL 50 and TL 25 respectively. While tickets are generally sold by supermarkets and wandering vendors, this year there is also the option to purchase lottery tickets online.
Greece for Turkey 4
N New Year's Eve (Yılbaşı gecesi) is one of the most popular holidays in Turkey. The New Year's Eve traditions in this country include a family dinner, a national lottery drawing and a countdown to midnight. Houses are also decorated and it is not unusual to see Santa Claus with a Happy New Year (Mutlu Yıllar) sign.The Turkish eat pomegranates on New Year's Eve, which symbolize fertility and abundance for the upcoming year. Variety shows on television begin in late afternoon and continue until early morning of the next day. Many people play games while waiting for the clock to strike midnight.
Turkey for Ukraine DIVISION OF WORK BETWEEN TURKISH TEAMS: 1)ARAL/BURSA TEAM WILL PREPARE A PRESENTATION ON CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN UKRAINE. 2)BAL/ISTANBUL TEAM WILL ADD VIDEOS ON CHRISTMAS CAROLS AND CELEBRATION PHOTOS
1)CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN UKRAINE:(ARAL TEAM) n Ukraine, the week of January 7-14 hosts traditional Christmas celebrations. Ukrainians visit family friends, gather at tables with traditional food, sing Christmas carols, and celebrate each other with sincere traditions, wishing each other well for the New Year. I
The night that connects January 6 to January 7, that is, Hz. The day when it is believed that Jesus was born is also the last day of fasting in Christianity. In Ukraine, Christmas Eve is called “Holy Evening”, a candle lit in front of the windows of the houses is to wait for those without families to attend the celebration of this special time, and the Christmas Eve dinner is not served until the first star appears in the sky.
1)CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN UKRAINE:(ARAL TEAM) The traditional dish of the Holy Supper is “Kutya”. After the prayer for food, the meal begins with Kutya, a desert specially prepared for today, made of wheat, sugar, poppy seeds, honey, grapes and walnuts. Kutya is held only twice a year, on Christmas and Easter. Kutya is eaten from a common plate to symbolize unity by all members of the family. It is also a feature of the Holy Supper that 12 different meals are served on Christmas evening, representing the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.
1)CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN UKRAINE:(ARAL TEAM) Traditional christmas food in Ukraine; Kutia (sweet grain pudding). Borshch (beetroot soup). Vushka (small dumplings with mushrooms). Varenyky (meatballs with cabbage and potatoes). it includes Ukrainian specialties such as Holubtsi (stuffed cabbage). An interesting aspect of Christmas in Ukraine is that a sheaf of wheat is brought home to remind of the ancestors and the long tradition of farming in Ukraine.
1)CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION IN UKRAINE:(ARAL TEAM) Every corner of Ukraine is adorned with 'Didukh', the traditional Christmas ornament, large and small. Didukhs, small bouquets of flowers made from straw and ears of wheat, symbolize fertility and ancestral spirits. Now BAL Team is going to give information about these carols.
CAROLING Caroling is a part of Ukrainian Christmas traditions. Traditional caroling involves a whole cast of characters that includes a person dressed as a shaggy animal and someone to carry the bag that is filled with the rewards collected in return for the songs the band of carolers sings. There might also be someone who carries a pole topped with a star, symbolizing the star of Bethlehem (a handcrafted star that symbolizes the star that had appeared when Crist was born) a Christmas custom that makes its appearance in other countries as well. Meanwhile in this day Ukrainians go to church and visit their relatives. During Koliada children and young people visit neighbors, relatives, and friends singing traditional songs and giving the families best wishes. In return, hosts give Koliada participants presents such as sweets, fruit, or money.
UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS PUPPET THEATER There are lots of special celebrations in Ukrainian. One of them is the puppet theatre. It is also known as a "Vertep". Vertep is a portable puppet theatre and drama, which presents the nativity scenes, other mystery plays, and later secular plots as well. Its history dates back to the 17th century. According to some researches, Vertep was probably founded by students of the Kyivan Academy. At the same time, they also wrote the scenarios and performed there. The puppet theater consisted of a two-storied structure, which served as a stage for the action. The puppets that made for Vertep, wood was used in its construction, and also each puppet had a wire attached to one leg for the convenience of the puppeteer. Generally, the play consisted of two parts and there is no connection between the first part and the second part. The first play took the stage on the upper floor of the miniature theatre and the plot of the first play had a religious theme and didactic character. The second part of the theatre took a stage on the lower floor as well and it consisted of short humorous scenes, designed to amuse the viewer. It was built around a character, even though there was almost no connection between the scenes. Both parts of the Vertep were accompanied by music, decorations, and instrumental ensembles. During the Christmas Holidays, students went, from town to town, village to village, house to house with the Vertep, and gave performances.
VERTEP