Розмовні теми для 7-8 класів

Pets

 

 

 

People keep dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots as pets. I am fond of animals. I've read a lot of books about pets.

I think I am lucky because my parents agreed to buy a puppy for me when I was eight. It was a nice, funny puppy. It was difficult to give a good name to it. We thought and thought and then decided to call it "Lady".

We taught her to answer to her name, to understand us, to do what we told her.

I think Lady loves all the members of our family, but I hope she loves me most of all. I often take her for a walk, play with her, wash her with warm soapy water and give her two good meals a day. We all treat our dog kindly, she is very friendly and makes us happy.

Lady has her own sleeping place but sometimes she sleeps near me and then Mother gets a little angry. But it's difficult to be angry with our dog for a long time. It's a real pleasure to have a pet at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sport is the Way of Life to Everybody

 

Sport plays a great and important role in our life. If you want to be healthy and keep fit you must go in for sports. "If we are healthy, we are wealthy!", says the English proverb. It is necessary to go in for sports regularly, then it does our health good, gives us joy, pleasure and satisfaction.

Physical Training (Physical Education) is an important subject at schools. Pupils have PT (or PE) lessons twice a week. They run, jump, play volley-ball and basket-ball at the lessons of PT. If the weather is nice, pupils have their PT lessons at the sports-ground near the school. It's fun to have lessons in the open air. In winter pupils go skiing in those parts of the country where there is much snow.

In our school a lot of different competitions are held, a great number of pupils take part in them. The  participants who show the best results become winners.

My friend and I are fond of football. We play in our football team. Playing football is hard work today. So we have to train a lot. Once or twice a week we get up early in the morning and go for a run in the woods. At first we felt tired after running for only ten minutes. But soon we got used to it. Today after half an hour's run we feel fine. Besides running I do morning exercises regularly. In
summer I go swimming, in winter I go skiing and skating. Going in for sports helps my friend and me to feel cheerful after a hard day at school. I think I like sports because all the members of my family are fond of sports. My father lifts weights, my mother and sister play tennis.

Summer is the happiest time for us because we can go on hikes. We enjoy camping in tents. Sometimes we go for a bicycle ride. I think, it is remarkable. You can go along country roads. You find new places, see new sights. It gives you exercise and keeps you in good health. You can stop anywhere; there are no parking problems. When you come back from a day's ride you feel really good.

I think it is necessary for people of all ages to go in for sports.

 

 

 

 

Nature

 

 

The ways of life in many parts of the world have changed. This is the result of changes in the weather and the climate in many parts of the world. Besides this there are great numbers of large factories, plants, electric power stations and railways all over the world. And today there are millions of cars and lorries on the roads. So the water and the air are already not so clean. Fires also destroy the work of Nature. Big forests in many places have been burnt. People have always hunted valuable animals for their skins, their fur, and also for meat. People themselves have destroyed wildlife. Different animals, birds and fish began long ago disappear one after the other. For a long time people did not see the danger. Now many people understand that they have wasted their national riches, and try their best to protect Nature.

In our country people are not allowed to hunt rare animals. They must not pick the flowers of valuable plants. Special people take care of wild animals: they build feeding stations and grow rare, useful plants. In most countries today there are laws for the protection of Nature, but in some countries people don't yet obey these laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling by Sea

 

 

 

Many people enjoy travelling by sea. They say it is the most pleasant means of travelling. They mean travelling by an ocean liner, which combines comfort and speed. You feel as if you are walking on good solid ground when on board the big liner. You can enjoy fresh sea air, the sights of the sea and the sky. No matter what the sea might be — calm or stormy, you feel comfortable and safe on board the big liner. But smaller ships are less comfortable, and in rough seas many passengers will be most unhappy. They get sea-sick, and then travelling by sea becomes a real torture for them.

If you have made up your mind to travel by sea you should book passage on board a modern liner. These liners are real floating cities with all modern conveniences and a wide choice of sport and entertainment facilities. Every modern liner has a number of decks with all sort of names, such as "promenade deck", "sun deck", etc. There are passenger cabins above and below deck. A cabin looks very much like a compartment of a railroad sleeping-car, but the windows are different. In a cabin they are known as portholes.

You needn't worry about your meals on board the modern liner. Restaurants4 will take care of you. In short, if you are not sea-sick the voyage will give you many moments of pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Hobby

 

My hobby is collecting stamps. When I was still a baby, my mother began collecting for me.

Of course she didn't let me touch the stamps until I was old enough. I remember that it was on my fifteenth birthday that she first put them into my hands. They were in five albums, but since then I have added three more, so that now I have a bigger collection than any of my friends.

How do I get my stamps? I have never bought a single one from a shop. My father, who works in a big office, sometimes brings me stamps from different parts of the world. And I have friends both here and in other countries who send me stamps in return for the ones I send to them.

Now that I am finishing school, I don't have as much time as before to spend on my stamps. But in the evening what can be better than to sit down at a table with my albums arranging the new stamps in them, writing in the names of the countries, or, if I am too tired, only looking through the stamps already in the albums.

Each stamp has a story to tell of distant countries and strange people. I see pictures of men and women, birds and animals that I myself have never seen. Kings and presidents pass before my eyes, and I can follow the history of whole nations.

But my stamp collection doesn't only made me think of the past. Just as my mother collected for me, so I, too, am collecting for my younger brother. What better way will there be of making him interested in history, geography and languages, and of making these subjects live for him'? If I can pass my hobby on to him, he will be grateful to me for it, as I am grateful to my mother.

 

 

 

 

 

The Olympic Games

 

The Olympic Games have a very long history. They began more than two thousand years ago in Greece. The Greeks were fond of music, plays, and all kinds of physical exercises. The famous Games at Olympia took place every four years and all the cities in Greece sent their athletes to take part in them. The strongest athletes came together to run, jump, wrestle, throw the discus, box. There were also chariot races. The Games were very popular, and thousands of Greeks used to watch them.

It became a tradition even to stop wars for the time of the Olympic Games, and the people lived in peace.

The competitions lasted five days. The winners in each kind of sport or art got on olive wreath which was the highest honor. When the champions came back home, the people used to greet them with flowers. The Greeks often put statues of their champions in the city square, because they brought glory to their native city.

For a long time, from 394 till 1896, there were no Olympic Games. On 23 June, 1894, Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in a ceremony held at the University of Sorbonne in Paris. Demetrius Vikelas from Greece became the first president of the IOC. Two years later, in 1896, the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in Athens. The Games have always been as exciting as they were in ancient Olympia.

The capitals of many countries have been Olympic cities — Athens, Paris, London, Berlin, Helsinki, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico, Montreal and some others.

The Olympic Games are always a great festival of sport, youth and beauty.

Photo: Ukraine team mates Olha Zhovnir, Olga Kharlan, Halyna Pundyk and Olena Khomrova celebrate winning the gold medal. Ukraine wins the gold defeating China.

 

 

 

 

 

Your future profession

 

 

   In early childhood children tell their parents whom they would like to be when they grow up. In school students begin thinking of their future profession. There are lots of professions in the world, and all of them are interesting and exciting. So it's very hard to discover your vocation in life. The choice of profession depends on your abilities. If you are good at humanities you should choose something in this field. And if you are good at natural sciences you should choose something closely connected with them. I would like to become a chemist because I like chemistry. I think that it is a very interesting subject, but I am not so good at it so I think that I am not suitable for this profession.

   Inspite of all I possess some qualities which are needed in this field. I think that my future profession will be closely connected with computers. I am capable to work with them, and I also possess the qualities needed in this work. They are accuracy, energy, carefulness. But I hesitate if I have enough patience. I must develop it if I want to become a computer operator. I know that it would be better to choose a profession of an interpreter or any other occupation connected with Ukrainian and literature because I am good at these subjects but when I began to study the computer skills that was what I have been looking for. In our modern world it's hard to do without computers. They are needed everywhere, and I hope that my interests in this subject will never change inspite of any circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London

 

London is the capital of the United Kingdom. It stands on the Thames River. Nearly 7 million people live here. That makes it one of the largest cities in Europe and it is one of the world's most enjoyable cities. Visited by tourists in the millions, the city offers them an astonishing variety of scenes. In this historic city one can meet the modern and the old; the great and the small live side by side; in every part of London's busy and complex life one feels respect and affection for her traditions.

London's history dates back many centuries. Nearly 2000 years ago, Roman armies invaded Britain. One of the towns they set up was called Londinium. The Saxons and the Danes settled here in turn, and after them came the Normans. With the passing years London continued to grow in importance and it was also an important centre of government.

London survived the plague, which killed nearly 100 000 people. In 1666, most of the city was destroyed by fire. It was soon rebuilt, but many of its buildings were destroyed again during World War I and World War II. Between 1940 and 1945, the city was bombed night after night by German planes. Many buildings of great historic value were laid in ruins and today the face of London is changed. Yet much was spared, including the Tower, St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year

 

Children all over the world enjoy the New Year. They know Father Frost will come to give them presents. They like to have a fir-tree at home. It is fun to decorate it.

Today is the thirty-first of December. It's New Year's Eve. It is a very nice holiday. I like it very much because I usually have a lot of fun on that day.

Today I shall go to bed at half past twelve in the morning, not at nine o'clock in the evening as I usually do. Isn't it nice?

My mother didn't go to her office in the morning. Now she is busy in the kitchen. She is cooking a lot of tasty things.

Yesterday Dad brought home a big green Christmas tree. We put it in the sitting-room. The Christmas tree is beautiful. There are a lot of toys and lights of all colors: blue, red, yellow, green, and white. There is a big red star and a lot of little flags on the tree. There are some sweets and fruit on the tree, too.

At half past eleven we shall sit down at a holiday table. There will be a lot of tasty things on the table.

My Mummy and Dad will give presents and say, "Happy New Year, dear! This is a New Year's present for you". I shall give them pictures which I drew for them last week.

I think Father Frost will come to me and bring something in his big bag. It's nice to find a surprise under the Christmas tree in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day at a Zoo

 

The sun rises. Most of the animals are waking up. One of the tigers yawns.He shows his sharp, white teeth. The peacocks walk around freely. The giraffes look tired! But the raccoon has been awake all night. This animal is ready to sleep. Zookeepers look over each cage. They want to make sure the animals have fresh water. One worker says good morning to the gibbons. Other workers clean up.

 Soon the first visitors will arrive. The people who sell hot dogs and ice cream set up their stands. A worker opens the ticket booth. A vet comes to check on the baby panda. A large van drives up. The animals are very excited. Who could be inside? One of the peacocks peeks at the new arrival.

 The zoo is open to the public. Everyone is eager to see the animals. The tigers are a little scary for some people! The gibbons make everyone laugh. Zookeepers take Sally, the friendly elephant, for a walk. Several people take photos of the new arrival. It’s an okapi from Central Africa. Some children buy balloons that are shaped like their favorite animals.

 It’s time to feed the animals! The zookeepers give the penguins fresh fish. The pandas get bamboo shoots. The giraffes munch on green leaves. The gibbons can’t wait to eat their lunch! The visitors are hungry too. A long line forms at the hot-dog stand. Some people go for ice-cream cones instead. Others share a picnic lunch on a bench.

 One of the gibbons has escaped! The zookeeper who fed them earlier left their cage door open. The naughty gibbon dashes around the zoo. He zips by visitors, sending hot dogs flying. The zookeepers quickly grab nets. They need to return the gibbon to the cage. At the same time, the vet keeps checking the animals. The giraffes and the pandas receive their weekly baths. Can you spot the pickpocket stealing someone’s wallet?

 The zoo is about to close its doors. The visitors start to leave. But all of a sudden, the clouds darken. Rain pours down. Lightning flashes across the sky. The zoo is closed for the night. Darkness falls. Security guards patrol the grounds. They check that all the cages are locked. The raccoon creeps out of its hut. It will stay awake all night. The other animals curl up and go to sleep. It is quiet at last. But where’s the escaped gibbon?

 

 

 

 

 

My summer holidays!

 

 

 

 

Summer is a wonderful season for me. It is the hottest and the best season of the year. The weather is always nice and sunny. It’s a real pleasure to spend some days out of a my town. So many people leave towns for countryside, seaside and mountains.

In summer schoolchildren do not go to school. They have summer holidays which are three months long. Children don’t have to get up early. There is no homework to do or lessons to learn. So they like holidays. I never stay in bed long in a bright summer morning. Sometimes my friends and I go to the cinema or to forest. Sometimes we play football or tennis in the yard.

Every summer I go to the country to stay with my grandmother for a month or two. I help Granny to work in the kitchen garden or to look after chickens and pigs. In the village I often go for long bike rides with my brother. There is a nice river Prut not far from my Granny’s place. Sometimes we go fishing or boating. I like to sit in silence for a while waiting for a fish to get caught and listening to the birds singing in the forest. I like to go to the beach in the morning when it is not too hot. I swim, sunbathe and play with my friends on the bank of the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Climate of Ukraine

 

The climate of Ukraine is determined by its geographical location. Ukraine's territory lies in the temperate belt. In general the country's climate is temperately continental, being subtropical only on the southern coast of the Crimea. The differences in climate are caused by many factors: the latitude, relief, altitude, and proximity to seas and oceans. The climate varies not only from north to south, but also from the northwest to, the southeast as the warm damp air masses
moving from the northwestern Atlantic weaken and become dries. A characteristic feature of the climate is an increase in its continental nature from west to east.

A feature, of Ukraine's climate is the considerable fluctuation in weather conditions from year to year. Alongside very wet years there can be droughts, whose effect increases to the south and east. There are frequent oscillations in weather in the regions of the Crimean and Carpathian Mountains.

The average yearly temperature in Ukraine varies between +5.5, +7°C (42, 44.5°F) in the north and +11, +13°C (52, 55.5°F) in the south. The coldest month is January, with a record low of 42°C. The warmest month is July with are record high of 40°C.

Precipitation (rain, snow, and other forms of moisture) ranges from about 30 inches (76 cm) a year in the north to about 9 inches (23 cm) in the south. The highest rainfall is in the Carpathian and Crimean mountains (31.5 to 63 inches).

On the southern coast of the Crimea the climate is subtropical Mediterranean, inasmuch as the Crimean Mountains obstruct the movement of cold Arctic air to the coast. These climatic features have contributed to the creation of one of the best resort areas in Ukraine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chornobyl Nuclear Accident

 

The 26th of April is a special day for the people living in Ukraine and regions situated not far from it. On that day in 1986 a horrible accident occurred at the Chornobyl nuclear station. There was a nuclear reactor explosion which had far reaching consequences.

Contamination by various radioactive isotopes, such as caesium-137, iodine-131, strontium-90, plutonium-239, and plutonium- 240, from the Chornobyl nuclear accident have affected the air, land, and water of Ukraine and vast areas beyond it. Recorded but unreported radiation levels in Kyiv a few days after the accident exceeded the maximum allowable levels by a hundredfold.

Press reports claim that significant numbers of deaths by radiation sickness, elevated levels of stillbirth and birth defects and highly elevated rates of childhood leukemia have occurred in the affected areas. These claims and other concerns are being researched by a-host of scientists and medical professionals from Ukraine and other countries.

Recent detailed field studies indicate that significant areas of agricultural and forest lands of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia will remain unsafe for human occupancy and food production for upwards of eight thousand years. Nevertheless, thousands of people who were evacuated after the accident have returned to live and farm in these highly contaminated regions. Thus, the Chornobyl region, in fact, has become something of a living laboratory for the study of nuclear contamination.

A number of foreign countries offered specialized medical equipment and drugs for biological elimination of isotopes of different chemical elements from human body. Later on thousands of children were taken to other republics of the former USSR and abroad for corresponding medical treatment.

Such accidents like that in Chornobyl must never be repeated again, because the very existence of millions of people may be under a threat. The safe maintenance of nuclear power stations depends or proper work and sufficient technical knowledge of every worker and engineer.

The Ukrainian people are very grateful to all those who helped and continue to help them.

 

 

 

 

 

Easter

Easter is the feast of Christ's resurrection, which in its observance combines both pagan and Christian elements.

In Ukrainian, Easter is called Velykden (The Great Day); It has been celebrated over a long period, of history and has had many rich folk traditions that are no longer fully preserved.

The last Sunday before Easter (Palm Sunday) is called Willow Sunday (Verbna nedilia). On this day pussy-willow branches are blessed in the church. The people tap one another with these branches, repeating the wish: 'Be as tall as the willow, as healthy as the  water, and as rich as the earth. They also use the branches to drive the cattle to pasture for the first time, and then the father or eldest son thrusts his branch into the earth for luck.

The week before Easter, the Great Week (Holy Week), is called the White or Pure Week. During this time an effort is made to finish all field work before Thursday, since from Thursday on work is forbidden. On the evening of 'Pure' (also called 'Great' or 'Passion' (Strasnyij) Thursday, the passion (strasti) service is performed, after which the people return home with lighted candles. Maundy Thursday, called 'the Easter of the dead' in eastern Ukraine, is connected with the cult of the dead, who ore believed to meet in the church on that night for the Divine Mass.

On Passion (Strasna) Friday Good Friday — no work is done. In some localities, the Holy Shroud (plashchanytsia) is carried solemnly three times around the church and, after appropriate services, laid out for public veneration.

Easter is the principal spring festival, its rites are closely related to agriculture, to the remembrance of the dead, and to the marriage season; during their performance, praise is given, ritual songs are sung, and there is much well-wishing.

Easter is a feast of joy and gladness that unites the entire community in common celebration. For three days the community celebrates to the sound of bells and to the singing of spring songs — vesnianky. Easter begins with the Easter matins and high mass, during which the pasky (traditional Easter breads) and pysanky and krashanky (decorated or colored Easter eggs) are blessed in church. Butter, lard, cheese, roast suckling pigs, sausage, smoked meat, and little napkings containing poppy seeds, millet, salt, pepper, and horseradish are also blessed. After the matins all the people in the congregation exchange Easter greetings, give each other krashanky, and then hurry home with their baskets of blessed food (sviachene).

In Western Ukraine at Easter the girls perform special  choral dances on the church grounds. These are the haivky or hahilky, which have retained a number of motifs that are older than those of the ordinary spring songs (vesnianky).

The krashanky and pysanky are an old pre-Chrhistian element and have an important role in the Easter rites. They are given as gifts or exchanged as a sign of affection, and their shells are put in water for the rakhmany (peaceful souls); finally, they are placed on the graves of the dead or buried in graves and the next day are taken out and given, to the poor. Related to the exchange of krashanky is the rite of sprinkling with water, which is still carried on in Western Ukraine on the second day of Easter (Wet Monday, Oblyvanyi ponedilok); it is practiced by young people, the boys usually splashing the girls with water.

 

 E-Readers

Have you got an eReader? Are you thinking of getting one? We asked some eReader owners to give us their opinions.

There are many things that people like about eReaders. “eReaders are really light, weighing less than most paperbacks,” said Nathan Jones, a market researcher. “You can hold the book and turn the pages with one hand. An eReader is definitely more comfortable to read in bed or if you’re lying on a sofa, plus mine’s got a light so I can read in bed at night without disturbing my partner.” Another big advantage is that you can store hundreds of books on them. “eReaders are perfect for travel,” said Kiera Smith. “You can have lots of books in one device, instead of carrying loads of books in your luggage.” The search functions are also popular. “You can look for a character by their name or for a place just by typing in the word. That’s really useful,” said Megan Malone, a sales executive.

One user liked the function for increasing font size. “I’ve got poor eyesight,” explained Harvey Callaghan, an engineer. “But the eReader is perfect for me as I can increase the font size.” And Jennifer Saunders said, “I like eReaders because they’re ecological. If we buy an ebook, we’re helping to save trees as they don’t use paper. Also, my eReader is solarpowered, so it only uses renewable energy.” Best of all is the availability of hundreds of free books online. “Project Gutenberg* has millions of titles and they’re all free to download,” said another user.

One of the biggest complaints is that you can’t find certain titles. “Many books are simply not available in electronic form,” said Daisy Madison, an estate agent. If you want a specific book, one that is older, perhaps, or not a bestseller, it won’t be available – at least, that was my experience.” Others complained about the small delay in turning pages. “The gap between pressing the ‘next page’ button and the screen showing the page is really annoying,” said Joel Bray, a shop assistant. “Also, you can’t flick between pages so easily.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

iPad

Have you heard of the iPad? It’s the latest gadget from Apple. What can it do? And is it as good as they say it is?

In favour

The iPad is basically a portable entertainment device. It’s beautiful, stylish, sleek and fun to use – a fantastic  all-in-one gadget with 10 hours of battery life. I can put all my music on it and the speakers are excellent. You can also watch films or TV programmes on it. And as the screen is really big (compared to other portable devices) – it’s much more like watching a real TV. The picture quality is fantastic, too. On top of that, the iPad has also got an application called iBooks. This is a type of eReader, so you can download dozens of books onto it. Obviously, you can use an iPad to go online too, so you can go to your favorite sites, read online newspapers or check your e-mail. There are also lots of games included, and you can download more. I love my iPad!

Against

I’ve got an iPad but I’m not that keen on it. The keyboard is good but you can’t type very quickly on it. The screen is OK, but it’s hard to read outside because of the glare from the sun. You can read ebooks on it, but I’m not sure I could read a whole novel on one I think my eyes would get tired after about 15 minutes. Another problem with the screen is its size. Basically, many of the applications are for the iPhone, which is smaller than an iPad. So, if you use these apps on an iPad, the visuals get stretched. But the real problem for me is that there’s nothing an iPad can do that my laptop can’t do. For example, with my laptop I can watch movies, listen to music, read PDFs of books, and go online. Can an iPad do anything else? No, I don’t think so. I say, if you’ve already got a laptop, save yourself the money and don’t bother buying an iPad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas (Sviatyi Mykolai) is one of the most popular saints of the church. Little is  known about him except that he was bishop of Myra (in Turkey) in the 4th century and that he was  probably born in Patara (near Kalamaki, Turkey). Legends of his charity, especially toward children, and of miracles associated with him, soon spread throughout Europe. In Ukraine the cult of St. Nicholas was probably introduced by Metropolitan Iefrem, to whom a popular manuscript on the miracles of St. Nicholas is attributed.  According to chronicles a church in St. Nicholas's honor had already been built in Kyiv during the reign of Prince Ihor.

In Ukrainian folk tradition there are two figures known as St. Nicholas. One, ’warm Nicholas’, was celebrated in the spring, on 22 May , and the other ’old Nicholas’ was commemorated in the winter, on 19 December. The warm Nicholas was considered to be the patron saint of agriculture. He was said to walk the land, examining the sown fields, ’drying places over-damp, and dampening those over-dry’ after the winter. On the festival, householders would lead their horses into the fields for the first night’s grazing, shear sheep, and sow buckwheat. St. Nicholas was called upon to protect livestock from wolves, and his name frequently appeared in shepherds' prayers. He was also a patron of  youth, particularly of orphans and poor girls. The latter he was said to assist in preserving their chastity and in seeking a husband.

According to folk tradition the old Nicholas brought the first snow by shaking his beard. He was considered the patron of spinning, and yarns and thread were often brought to church on his festival 'to add to his beard'. In Western Ukraine gifts were given to children on the eve of his feast day.

St. Nicholas often appears in carols and legends. In Ukraine icons with his image were greatly cherished and found in virtually every home. His icon was also placed in an important position in iconostases, usually flanking  Jesus, the Mother of God, or the patron saint of the church.

 

 

 

Christmas

Christmas the feast of Christ's birth was at first celebrated in the East on 6 January, together with the feast of Epiphany. Later, in the mid-4th century, it was established by the Roman Catholic church as a separate feast and was celebrated on 25 December according to the Julian calendar. With the introduction of the Christianity into Ukraine in the 10th century Christmas was fused with the local pagan celebrations of the sun's return or the commencement of the agricultural year. In some areas the pre-Christian name of the feast — Koliada — has been preserved. The most interesting part of Christmas is Christmas Eve (Sviat-Vechir) with its wealth of ritual and magical acts aimed at ensuring a good harvest and a life of plenty. Dead ancestors and family members are believed to participate in the eve's celebration and are personified by a sheaf of wheat called did or didukh (grandsire). A characteristic feature of Christmas is caroling, which expresses respect for the master of the house and – his children and is sometimes accompanied by a puppet theater (vertep), and individual dressed up as a goat, and a handmade star. The religious festival lasts three days and involves. Christmas liturgies (particularly on the first day), caroling, visiting, and entertaining relatives and acquaintances. The Christmas tree, which was adopted from Western Europe, is today an element of the New Year celebration in Ukraine. The Christmas theme has an important place, more important than Easter, in Ukrainian painting, particularly church painting, and in poetry.

The 'holy supper' on Christmas Eve is a meal of 12 ritual meatless and meatless dishes. The order of the dishes and even the dishes themselves are not uniform everywhere, for every region adheres to its own tradition. In the Hutsul region, for example, the dishes were served in the. following order: beans, fish, boiled potato dumplings (pyrohy or varenyky), cabbage rolls (holubtsi), kutia (cooked whole-wheat grains, honey, and ground poppy seeds), potatoes mashed with garlic, stewed fruit, lohaza (peas with oil or honey), plums with beans, pyrohy stuffed with poppy seeds, soup containing sauerkraut juice and groats (rosivnytsia), millet porridge, and boiled corn (kokot).