Kolyada for the Armed Forces: How Christmas is celebrated in Kryvorrivna (PHOTO REPORT)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has altered the tradition of caroling. Some carolers went off to fight, and in their place, very young boys took over—the youngest caroler this year was 5-year-old Daniil. The money collected will be donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The starting point for the caroling is the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in the center of the village. After the Christmas service and a blessing from the local priest, Father Ivan Rybaruk, all caroling groups (referred to here as "parties") from each of the nine hamlets of Kryvorivnia gather around a birch tree (the leader of the party) and sing carols while slowly moving around the church.

In addition to the birch tree, each group of carolers always includes its own fiddler and trembita player. All are dressed in authentic Hutsul clothing, often inherited from previous generations. The performance begins and ends with the sound of the trembita.

After this, the caroling groups disperse to their respective neighborhoods, gradually visiting every house in the village with songs and the good news of Christ's birth. This is why caroling here lasts about two weeks, rather than just on Christmas, as a visit to one house along with refreshments typically takes at least an hour.

On Epiphany, the caroling groups come to sing at the house of their birch tree. After that, the "raskolyada" begins—all groups gather again, but this time not near the church, but down by the banks of the Black Cheremosh River. Together, they sing and dance the final carol with splashes, receiving blessings for the coming year.

During Soviet times, due to the ban on tradition, caroling in Kryvorivnia was conducted secretly and only in the upper parts of the village, situated high above the river, making it almost inaccessible to outsiders. The tradition began to be actively revived during the Perestroika era.

This year, all of Ukraine celebrated Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar—December 25, 2023. In the village of Kryvorivnia, at the initiative of Priest Ivan Rybaruk, this tradition was introduced a year earlier to celebrate Christmas alongside Europe and the world.

The village of Kryvorivnia is located not far from the city of Verkhovyna in Prykarpattia. Its founding year is considered to be 1654. At one time, the village was one of the centers of the opryshky movement.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a significant cultural, educational, and socio-political movement emerged and developed in the village. One of the inspirers of these movements was the writer Ivan Franko, who visited the village annually for rest from 1900 to 1914.

Besides Franko, the village hosted Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky, artist Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit (the village has a museum dedicated to the artist, who lived here for many years), writers Vasyl Stefanyk, Lesya Ukrainka, Olga Kobylianska, and many others.

Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky wrote his famous story "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" after visiting Kryvorivnia and other Hutsul villages. In 1963, director Serhiy Paradzhanov filmed part of the well-known film of the same name based on Kotsiubynsky's story in this village, starring Ivan Mykolaichuk and Larysa Kadocnikova in the leading roles.