Ukrainian festival “Ukrainian Christmas” in Tokyo

On the 21st and 22nd of December of 2019 in the center of the gender
equality Libra of the Minato-ku of Tokyo there was held a Ukrainian
festival “Ukrainian Christmas”. Festival was organized and held by
Ukrainian community in Japan “Kraiany”, Ukrainian school in Japan
“Dzherelze”, with the participation of the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan
and with the help of Administration of Minato-Ku and Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of Ukraine.

Festival program included various master classes of Ukrainian crafts,
cooking and testing of Ukrainian traditional dishes, Christmas concert.

During the first day of the festival visitors had chance to learn how to
do Ukrainian motanka-dolls, Christmas spiders from straws, paint
Christmas-tree toys and by their own hands to create masterpieces of
Ukrainian “vybiyka” bags, aprons and scarfs. Not only kids but parents
too painted with colorful chocolate Christmas cookies “mykolaichyky” as
well as painted and colored Christmas and New Year postcards. Japanese
and Ukrainian children were met by Holy Mykolai and learned about
differences in celebrating of the Christmass in Ukraine, children
listened to Ukrainian fairy tails and participated in competitions.

At the same time with the festival Ukrainian cooking class was
happening. Masters of Ukrainian cooking have taught over 30 guests from
Japan and other countries how to to cook authentic Ukrainian borshch and
Ukrainian varenyky with mashed potatoes.

Second day of the festival was not less busy than the first
one. However, instead of borshch and varenyky, this day visitors were
learning how to cook traditional Christmass “kutya”, and as a prize,
participants could try few of the dishes, prepared for them by Ukrainian
cooks: borshch, deruny, zrazy, vinegrette. Nobody left hungry. After the
lunch concert in the central hall has started. Stage of the hall
disappeared and for an hour it became a Christmass house somewhere in
Ukraine. Master of the house and his wife were meeting kolyadnyky’s
(Ukrainian for carolers), rewarded them with a Christmass delicacies and
“run the goat”. Ukrainian carols (schedrivky and kolyadky), Ukrainian
songs and dances were presented to attenders by pupils, parents and
teachers of the Tokyo Ukrainian School Dzherelze.

Overall in the festival participated over 200 attenders: Japanese and
foreigners leaving in Japan.