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Culture Documents
The United States was established on July 4, 1776, which makes the country one of the
youngest when comparing it to the other countries. America has one of the largest populations in
the world with a count of 321,368,864 that was taken in 2015 (site source), which consists of
many diverse ethnic groups, each practicing their own customs and traditions that have heavily
contributed to forming the American culture. Ukraine is bordered by seven countries which are
Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and Belarus. Despite being surrounded
by these countries, the Ukrainian culture remains strong and rich. Ukraine is known as a
sovereign state in eastern Europe and established its independence from the Soviet Union on
August 24, 1991, making it the second time they sought for independence. However, since 2014,
Ukraine has had war conflict with Russia which led to the United States lending its support to
Ukraine. The US has a very diverse culture which is why it can be assumed that Ukrainian
1, 2a,b Since moving to the United States, Lidiya went to college, received a degree in Medical
Assisting, but has noticed her title isnt respected much which is very different compared to her
previous profession. However, her job allows her to help people every day, and as she put it, she
loves it and finds joy in it. She was born and raised in Ukraine and lived there until she was 40
years old. When she lived in Ukraine, she married, had three daughters, and became an English
professor teaching English as a second language which made the transition of moving to the
United States from Ukraine easier. According to Lidiya, she was highly respected for being an
English professor. However, despite being classified as part of higher level society she wasnt
many differences. For example, Americans eat a lot of fast food unlike Ukrainians who only eat
homemade meals with the vegetables they grow themselves, and she remembers there were no
restaurants when she lived there. They also do a lot of pickling to preserve their food, Ukrainian
families are extremely close to each other, even up to the fourth generation, and dont have to get
permission to stop by, are very generous, and when someone visits them they will offer them
something to eat. They enjoy crafts for example cross-stitching (she remembers her house being
decorated with stitched towels and curtains), embroidery, woodcrafts, and making Easter eggs,
singing and dancing. Other interesting cultural differences Lidiya mentions are, the yearly
mandatory month-long vacations, and their maternity leave allows the woman to take up to 18
months off from work, and her position is held for her when she returns. Since moving to the US,
Lidiya continues certain traditions such as growing and pickling vegetables, cooking, and
stitching.
Lidiya says the people of Ukraine are mostly Caucasian but include people from Turkey
and Greece in the southern area which she attributes to previously being a part of the Soviet
Union. The religions in Ukraine, are Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant,
and Mormon. However, she did not disclose her experiences with religion in either Ukraine or
the US.
4. The main religion in Ukraine is Christianity that has built the most churches and has
greatly influenced their culture and religious traditions. The main denomination is known as the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, representing just over half of the
population that came about after Ukraine declared independence. The second largest
religion. According to NationMasters survey, the rest of the population is made of Ukrainian
In Ukraine history, it is believed that the people of Slavic descent were the first to settle
toward the end of 400 CE. Later in the 7th century, a city was developing known as Kiev. The city
of Kiev was located near a river that flowed from the Black Sea making it a major trading post. It
is believed that Volodymyr the Great received word about the Christian faith which he later
adopted in the late 900s which led to the people of Kiev converting to the Christian faith.
Then in the early 1600s, the Ukrainian people were governed under the Russian Empire
forcing Ukrainians to accept the Russian Orthdox Church who took drastic measures to ensure
the conversion of their religion by destroying the Ukrainian churches. However, the people of
Ukraine were very resilient to Russian demands leading to further attempts to eradicate the
Ukrainian culture by outlawing the Ukrainian language. Despite the conflicts between Russia
and Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church closely resembles that of the Russian Orthodox
Church.
The religious traditions that are recognized by the Ukrainian Christian Orthodox church
include celebrating Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Pentecost, and St. Nicholas Day. An
interesting fact about the Orthodox religion is they dont use the traditional calendar known as
the Gregorian calendar. Instead they use the Julian calendar that was implemented by Julius
Caesar in 45BC which is nearly 2 weeks behind the traditional calendar. Those who worship this
faith are known to participate in a fast for 40 days leading up to Christmas and celebrate the
holiday by attending a church service, and they have the usual traditions such as having a
22 and April 25 by attending a church service and they also celebrate the coming of a new spring
season. During this time and later, the Ukrainians paint very detailed patterns on uncooked eggs
with the contents of the egg still inside, although some Ukrainians prefer to drain the egg. These
eggs are also known as pysanky. The pysanky hold different meanings depending on the level of
detailed patterns and shapes. One myth regarding pysanky reveals that if a person kept pysanky
in their house, it would act as a shield by protecting them against bad spirits or anything that
would destroy their home. This tradition began long before the Ukrainians had accepted the
Christian faith. However, once they adopted the religion it led to the pysanky holding a whole
Following Easter, just 50 days after, the Ukrainian Orthodox church celebrates Pentecost
holiday otherwise known as Trinity Sunday. The day before Trinity Sunday the young
adolescents will gather together in a designated area of their village. This sort of resembles a
picnic-style, where they eat food, have drinks, sing and dance. Ukrainians believe this is an
important holiday because it tells of when the Holy Spirit descended after Christs resurrection.
To celebrate this holiday, Ukrainians bring food and drinks (usually in the form of alcohol) to the
graves of their loved ones who have passed on. This holiday also means the abundance of plants,
trees, and flowers will be in full bloom due to the good growing conditions of their lands. The
Ukrainian people decorate their yards with an array of green plants because they believe it
provides protection against bad spirits. This tradition has been practiced since before they
adopted Christianity.
5a. Folk music is very ingrained in the Ukrainian culture because it allowed them to truly
express themselves. They also enjoyed singing and dancing very much. A Christmas folk song
called Shchedryk expresses the coming of wealth in spring that is brought by a bird. This song
became more popular after being translated into Carol of the Bells. The melody of the folk
song has a large range, ascending and immediate rise to a gradual descent contour, and the
movement is mostly stepwise. The rhythm/meter is triple simple. The harmony is in a major key.
The texture of this song is polyphony. The timbre is created through vocals. The tempo in the
beginning is slow then starts speeding up then towards the end it slows down; the dynamics start
out soft then gradually become loud but then go back to soft; the style of the piece in the
beginning is sort of calm then immediately becomes lively with beautiful singing accompanied
by majestic feeling. These are describing the expression of the song. The form is verse and
chorus.
5b. Once Ukraine was no longer part of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian folk music really
emerged and has flourished in the 20th century. Ukrainian folk music has a blend of percussion,
wind, and string instruments. Some examples of these are the bandura-stringed, tarika (cymbal)-
percussion, trembita-wind. The most famous musician in the early 20th century is is Pavlo
Humeniuk who played the fiddle and was known for Ukrainian-American popular music. The
Ukrainian people are very proud of their culture and have a complex history. There have been
many famous poets, embroidery, intricate paintings pysanky, musicians, and athletes.
In Ukraine hip-hop, pop, and rock are all popular genres of music that are influenced by
the US. Distinct elements heard in Ukrainian music do not seem to be as popular in American
music.
In conclusion, the American culture has been and continues to be very influenced by
different countries and cultures. Ukraine has had to face many challenges to maintain their
culture which could be why they havent had much impact on American culture.
6. Bibliography
1. Adair, Genetta and G.A. "The History of Ukraine." Faces, vol. 18, no. 7, Mar. 2002, p. 8.
EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=mih&AN=6351433&site=eds-live.
EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ers&AN=88391213&site=eds-live.
3. Burgess, John P. "Borderland Churches." Christian Century, vol. 133, no. 7, 30 Mar.
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=rlh&AN=114041179&site=eds-live.
4. "Everything You Need to Know about Easter." Old Farmers Almanac for Kids, vol. 6,
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=f6h&AN=109334132&site=eds-live.
EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ers&AN=88391211&site=eds-live.
6. Hovorun, Cyril. "The Church in the Bloodlands." First Things: A Monthly Journal of
Religion & Public Life, no. 246, Oct. 2014, p. 41. EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=pwh&AN=98040770&site=eds-live.
7. Luka, Oksana Victoria. "On Western Ukrainian Iconographic Practice." Studies in World
doi:10.3366/swc.2011.0016.
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=pwh&AN=P6S381744715917&site=eds-live.
<http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Ukraine/Religion>.
10. Wanner, Catherine. "Church and State." ["History Today"]. History Today, vol. 64, no. 4,
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=khh&AN=95527477&site=eds-live.