Kolyada for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Celebrating Christmas in Kryvoryvnia (PHOTO REPORT)

The Russian aggression against Ukraine has altered the tradition of caroling. Some carolers have gone to fight, and in their place, very young boys have stepped in — the youngest caroler this year was 5-year-old Daniil. The money collected from caroling 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 main figure in the party) and sing carols while slowly moving around the church.

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

Following this, the caroling groups disperse to their respective neighborhoods, gradually visiting every house in the village with singing and the good news of Christ's birth. Therefore, caroling here lasts for about two weeks, not just on Christmas, as a carol in one house, along with treats, usually takes at least an hour.

On Epiphany, the caroling groups come to sing at the house of their birch tree. After this, 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 a splash, receiving blessings for the coming year.

During Soviet times, due to the ban on traditions, caroling in Kryvorivnia was conducted secretly and only in the upper part of the village, which is situated high above the river, making it difficult for outsiders to reach. The revival of this tradition began actively during the Perestroika period.

For the first time, 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 in unison with Europe and the world.

The village of Kryvorivnia is located not far from the city of Verkhovyna in the Prykarpattia region. Its founding date is considered to be 1654. At one time, the village was one of the centers of the opryshok 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 from 1900 to 1914 for rest.

In addition to Franko, notable figures such as 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), and writers Vasyl Stefanyk, Lesya Ukrainka, Olha Kobylianska, among others, also stayed in this village.

Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky wrote his famous novella "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 novella in this village, featuring Ivan Mykolaichuk and Larysa Kadocnikova in leading roles.