Ukrainian Christmas and New Year Vocabulary and Greetings

As in most of the other Orthodox Christian countries, Christmas in Ukraine is mainly celebrated on January the 7th according to the Julian calendar.

On this day Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholics, and members of some other churches of the Eastern Christian tradition celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Apart from that, there are also Catholics and members of Protestant churches who celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December according to the Georgian calendar.

Postage stamp of Ukraine 1999

Ukrainian Christmas festivities begin on Christmas Eve on January the 6th and end on the Feast of the Epiphany, the 19th of January. You see how much we like to celebrate!

Postage stamp of Ukraine 2001. The Feast of the Epiphany

The big holiday for Ukrainians is New Year’s Eve, which is celebrated as well in other parts of the word at night from the 31st of December to the 1st of January.

In this post, we will learn some Christmas and New Year vocabulary and the ways to greet people with these holidays.

Christmas and New Year Vocabulary

Різдво, Різдво Христове – Christmas;

Новий Рік – New Year;

Святвечір (Святий вечір, Багата кутя) – (Holy Evening) Christmas Eve on January the 6th ;

Різдвяні свята – Christmas holidays;

Новорічна ялинка – (New Year) Christmas tree;

Гірлянда / вогники – lights;

Новорічні іграшки – New Year / Christmas (toys) decorations;

Прикрашати ялинку – to decorate a Christmas tree;

Дідух – didukh, is a decoration made from a sheaf of wheat;

Зірка/и – star/s;

Сніжинка/и – snowflake/s;

Свічка/и – candle/s;

Янгол/и – angel/s;

Хлопавка/и – party popper/s;

Новорічна мішура – New Year tinsel;

Салюти – fireworks;

Листівка/и – card/s.

Didukh – a symbolic sacrifice taken from the autumn harvest. It represents all the ancestors of the family and stands for prosperity for the next year.

How to Greet Christmas

Щасливого (happy, merry) Різдва! 

Вітаю (congratulations) з Різдвом! 

З Різдвом Христовим! 

All these phrases mean “Merry Christmas!”

Нехай Різдво наповнить твій дім радістю, твоє серце любов’ю і твоє життя радісним сміхом. Щасливого Різдва!

May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter. Merry Christmas!

How to Greet the New Year

З Новим роком! 

Веселого (fun, merry) Нового року! 

Вітаю (congratulations) з Новим роком! 

All these phrases mean “Happy New Year”.

Нехай кожен день Нового року приносить гарний настрій і щастя для тебе (вас) і твоєї (вашої) родини. Щасливого Нового року!

May every day of the New Year glow with good cheer and happiness for you and your family. Happy New Year!

In the next post, you will learn about Ukrainian Christmas and New Year dishes. Oh, we have so many special meals and delicacies!

Are you going to greet your Ukrainian friends or/and relatives with Christmas and New Year? Practice your greetings in the comments below.