January 25th

- Tatiana’s

day

(Student’s

day)

2

What is

love ? 3

Ukraine holi-

days of Jan-

uary

4

Ukraine holi-

days of Feb-

ruary

5

Voodoo 6

Western

UKRAINE is

closer than

you think!

8

The Twelfth

Night

and Vertep

10

February 18 is a

remarkable date in

our University life.

Our Rector, a Hon-

orary citizen of Lu-

gansk, Professor,

Doctor of Technical

Sciences

Oleksandr Golu-

benko celebrated

his 70th anniver-

sary. Oleksandr Le-

onidovich has made

a long way from a stu-

dent of our University

to its Rector. "This

University is my whole

life" – says the hero of

the day.

At the meeting of

the Academic Council

of the University

which was held to

mark the 70th anniver-

sary of the Rector,

Oleksandr Golubenko

received the highest

award of the Academy

of Pedagogical Scienc-

es of Ukraine

"Hrygoriy Skovoroda"

Medal, and the Order

of "Engineering Glo-

ry" of the Engineering

Academy of Ukraine.

This meeting brought

together the leading

scientists, university

deans, department

chairs, as well as

special guests.

The Member of

Parliament of

Ukraine and the

member of the Uni-

versity’s Supervisory

Board, Oleksandr

Efremov, read greet-

ings of the President

of Ukraine Viktor

Yanukovich who sent

his sincere congratula-

tions on the 70th anni-

versary of our Rector.

The President appreci-

ated him as a wise

leader and tutor,

a great specialist,

making an im-

portant contribu-

tion to the prepa-

ration of highly

qualified special-

ists for our na-

tive country. He

admitted that just

under the leader-

ship of

Oleksandr Golu-

benko the East-

Ukrainian National

University named after

Volodymyr Dahl be-

came one of the most

prestigious universities

and research centers in

Ukraine. Viktor Yanu-

kovich thanked

Oleksandr Golubenko

for his tireless work,

creativity and commit-

ment to science and

wished his multifacet-

ed talent, energy and

experience to serve fur-

ther development of

educational sphere of

the Ukrainian state.

Our editorial stuff

also joins the congrat-

ulations and wishes

our dear Rector good

health, success in all

initiatives and long

happy life.

At this issue:

Foreign Languages Department of Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University

OLEKSANDR GOLUBENKO CELEBRATED HIS 70TH ANNIVERSARY

Tatyana’s Day, also known as Stu-

dents Day, is commemorated in

Ukraine every year on 25 January.

Tatyana was a real woman, a faithful

Christian believer executed in Roma

on January, 25 in the 2nd century,

who later was proclaimed the Saint

one. On January 25, 1755 the first

University was founded in Moscow

thus giving the day a link to students

and education. These two dates

made the background of the holiday.

Since then the day is one of festivi-

ties and pleasant memories, making

it a very old and enjoyable tradition.

Tatyana’s Day in Ukraine started

many years ago in 1755. That was

the day that Ivan Shuvalov’s mis-

tress, Empress Elizabeth of Russia,

endorsed Shuvalov’s petition to es-

tablish a university in Moscow. Shu-

valov didn’t choose

January 25 by accident.

For many years January

25 (or January 12 on

the Julian calendar) was

observed as a Russian

religious holiday and

known as Tatyana Day.

The day commemorat-

ed the heroic actions of

a Christian martyr in

2nd century Rome

named Tatiana. Shuva-

lov chose this day because it was the

name day of his mother, Tatiana

Rodionovna. Thus it was his aim to

honor his mother on this

sacred Russian day.

It wasn’t long before Mos-

cow University was built,

thus giving the day a link to

students and education.

Ever since, the day has

been centered around

young learners and the

teachers who work so hard

at providing an education

for them. Many now know

January 25 as ‘Student

Day’. However in 1791

The Church of Tatyana the Martyr

was opened on the Campus grounds.

Thus the original religious link to

Student Day has never been lost and

so most continue to

call January 25

‘Tatyana’s Day’.

The students of

Volodymyr Dahl

East-Ukrainian

National Universi-

ty celebrated the

Student’s Day with

a very interesting

game imitating a

computer Quest on

the territory of the

University.

Every department of the University

was represented by a team who were

to pass 10 locations with special

tasks, which were not easy. For ex-

ample; they were to find a student

with blue lacings in the boots in the

crowd of corridors, to count the

number of steps leading to the Con-

ference Hall, to dance and sing in a

gas-mask, to guess what the song

was ciphered in the translated text (it

turned to be “Gaudeamus” Hymn)

and to do some other thrilling tasks.

The main task was to find the teams’

Department mysterious Tatyana – no

Tatyana, no her location was known!

That was a really blood-cooling

task!!! But the teams HAVE DONE

it!

The students of MASS COMMUNI-

CATION DEPARTMENT were the

FIRST! The second place has been

won by the students of INNOVA-

TION ECONOMY AND CYBER-

NETICS DEPARTMENT, the stu-

dents of PHILOSOPHY DEPART-

MENT were the third.

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 2

ALMA MATER

January 25th - Tatiana’s day (Student’s day)

Volkova Anastasiya Mass Communications

Department 1 year

February 14th is the date when LOVE

is the main word for the world.

So what is love? Let’s find out what

famous people think about it.

"One word frees us of all the weight

and pain of life: That word is love." -

Sophocles

"Attention is the most basic form of

love; through it we bless and are

blessed." - John Tarrant

"We love because it's the only true

adventure." - Nikki Giovanni

"Love is like quicksilver in the hand.

Leave the fingers open and it

stays. Clutch it, and it darts

away." - Dorothy Parker

"Love is friendship set on

fire." - unknown

"Love is an ideal thing, mar-

riage a real thing." - Goethe

"To be in love is merely to be

in a state of perceptual anes-

thesia." - H.L. Mencken

"Love is everything it's

cracked up to be. That's why

people are so cynical about

it...It really is worth fighting

for, risking everything for.

And the trouble is, if you

don't risk everything, you

risk even more." - Erica

Jong

"Sometimes love is stronger than a

man's convictions." - Isaac Bashevis

Singer

"Love is the master key that opens the

gates of happiness." - Oliver Wen-

dell Holmes

"Maybe love is like luck. You have to

go all the way to find it." - Robert

Mitchum

"Love stretches your heart and makes

you big inside." - Margaret Walker

"Love has no awareness of merit or

demerit; it has no scale... Love

loves; this is its nature." - Howard

Thurman

"Love is like war: Easy to begin but

hard to end." - Anonymous

"Love consists in this, that two soli-

tudes protect and touch and greet

each other." - Rainer Maria Rilke

"Where love is, no room is too

small." - Talmud

"Loves makes your soul crawl out

from its hiding place." - Zora Neale

Hurston

"Love is the irresistible desire to be

irresistibly desired." - Mark Twain

"True love is eternal, infinite, and

always like itself. It is equal and

pure, without violent demonstra-

tions: it is seen with white hairs and

is always young in the heart." -

Honore de Balzac.

"Love is more than three words

mumbled before bedtime. Love is

sustained by action, a pattern of de-

votion in the things we do for each

other every day." - Nicholas Sparks

"To love is to receive a glimpse of

heaven." - Karen Sunde

"A love song is just a caress set to

music." - Sigmund Romberg

"Love is an act of endless for-

giveness, a tender look which be-

comes a habit." - Peter Ustinov

"Love is like a violin. The music

may stop now and then, but the

strings remain forever." - unknown

"Love is the only sane and satisfac-

tory answer to the problem of human

existence." - Erich Fromm

"In the final analysis, love is

the only reflection of man's

worth." - Bill Wundram,

Iowa Quad Cities Times

"Love doesn't make the

world go round, love is what

makes the ride worthwhile."

- Elizabeth Browning

"Oh, life is a glorious cycle

of song,

A medley of extemporanea;

And love is a thing that can

never go wrong;

And I am Marie of Rouma-

nia."

- Dorothy Parker

"To love is to suffer. To avoid suf-

fering one must not love. But then

one suffers from not loving. There-

fore to love is to suffer, not to love is

to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To

be happy is to love. To be happy

then is to suffer. But suffering makes

one unhappy. Therefore, to be un-

happy one must love, or love to suf-

fer, or suffer from too much happi-

ness. I hope you're getting this

down."

- Woody Allen

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 3

OPINION

What is love ?

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 4

THE WORLD NEWSFAX

January 1st - New Year Day

New Year Day celebration is very

similar to the same Russian because

Ukraine was part of USSR till 1991.

The Holiday is the state day off and

the happiest event for all citizens and

kids in particular.

Children’s matinee are held every-

where with bright performances and

sweet presents, different concerts

with participation of Russian and

Ukrainian pop-stars also find wide

range of spectators.

January 6th – Epiphany Day

(according to Catholic Tradition),

the Twelfth Night holiday

The Baptism of

Christ holiday

or Epiphany,

which is on the

same level with

Easter and is the

most ancient

Christian feast.

It is dedicated

to Baptizing of

Jesus Christ by John the Forerunner

in the Jordan river.

January 7th - Christmas

The most important meal on the table

of this evening is kutya (coliphia). By

the end of the supper kids bring the

meal to their godparents and parents

are preparing to evening worship.

After that family gathers again at the

table to eat the jolly dinner which is

not lean any more.

January 13th - The Old Style New

Year

Changing calendar at certain period

of Ukrainian history has led to situa-

tion of using doubled calendar of

new and old time counting, so we

have a very specific holiday the Old

New Year, which is celebrated at

night of January 13. People have a

good time at the New Year tree,

making fun and having a holiday

supper. Girl’s divination deserves a

special attention. If to come out at

midnight one can feel the new year

banishing the old one.

January 19th – Baptism of our

Lord (Epiphany Day according to

Orthodox Tradition)

The Baptism holiday finishes the

Christmas season lasting from 7th till

19th January. According to Bible,

Jesus was baptized in Jordan river

waters so it gave the second, folk

name to the holiday (Jordan). Epiph-

any ends up the list of New-Year-

Christmas feasts. Water is consid-

ered to have healing properties at

this day. Some people bathe in open

water though it is always Christmas

frost on this day. Some others spend

hours in the church where the ves-

sels with water are being baptized to

heal their owners then.

January 20th - The

autonomous republic

of Crimea Day

This day in 1991 most

of the Crimea citizens

have expressed on the

whole Crimean memorandum their

desire to renovate Crimean autono-

my, that further destined the status

of the peninsula in Ukraine.

January 22nd – Ukraine Collegial-

ity Day Ukrainian National Republic was

created in

January 1918

on the left

bank of the

Dnieper Riv-

er, and a

Western-

Ukrainian

National re-

public was

established

on the territory of Austro-Hungarian

empire. December 1918 the leaders

of two republics signed the uniting

agreement in Fastov town. On 22d

January, 1919 this agreement was

announced in Kiev on the Sophia’s

square. This public holiday symbol-

izes the unity of Ukrainian lands.

January 29th – The day of fire

protection service workers

This holiday

was set in or-

der to support

the initiative

of Ukrainian

firemen. The

job they do is especially important

and dangerous. Fire is our friend but

being treated carelessly it becomes

the most cruel enemy.

It is known that air, water and

ground are considered divine forces

while fire is thought to be the de-

monic force. The holi-

day is established to

honour people who can

tame this very special

force and riscue people

who has appeared in a

fire trap.

Holidays of January

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 5

THE WORLD NEWSFAX

February 6th - The International

Day of Barkeeper (St. Amand

Day)

Ukraine together with a lot of other

countries celebrates barkeeper day

on February 6. It is not an accidental

holiday because February 6 is the

day of St. Amand memory celebrat-

ed by Catholic Church.

St. Amand was propagating Christi-

anity on the territories of France,

Germany and Belgium. Today these

areas are the largest wine-producing

regions of Europe. And St. Amand

became the protector of wine-

making, barkeepers, wine-makers

and restaurant keepers.

Ukraine is celebrating the day of

barkeeper with various spectacular

contests and barkeepers performanc-

es.

February 14th - St. Valentine’s

Day

Saint Valentine's Day, often simply

Valentine's Day, is observed on

February 14 each year. Today Val-

entine's Day is celebrated in many

countries around the world, mostly

in the West, although it remains a

working day in all of them.

14 of February in Ukraine as also in

many other countries is the Day of

St. Valentine and all beloved. In

this day is supposed to present gifts

and cards in the shape of hearts to

the people you love. This holiday

came to Ukraine recently, and be-

came very popular among young

people. According to the latest pub-

lic polls, about 63% of the popula-

tion of the Ukraine celebrate this

holiday.

The legend of celebrating of the

St. Valentine’s Day has its roots

deep in the Middle Ages. There is

almost nothing known about the life

of the real Christian Valentine

(born in 3 century A.D. in the settle-

ment Terni – Roman Empire). They

say that he was a bishop, who

helped young beloved to write love

letters, made the peace of those who

were in quarrel etc. Then he was

arrested by order of Emperor Julius

Claudius II, who did not allow his

soldier to get married and Valentine

married the legionaries secretly.

Being in the prison, he considered

to fall in love with the blind daugh-

ter of his executioner - and healed

her. The other version says, that

everything was in opposite: prison

guard asked Valentine to cure his

daughter and she fell in love with

the priest. Before the capital punish-

ment Valentine left the love letter

for her: “Yours Valentine!” That’s

why the letters in this day are called

Valentinki (from 1800) and the very

holiday – the St. Valentine’s Day.

Students of Volodymyr Dahl

East Ukrainian National Universi-

ty celebrated Valentine's Day by

launching of sky lanterns at the uni-

versity stadium. On February 12 the

heavens became full of numerous

lanterns which were sent there to

make the dreams of lovers come

true. The lovers were from those

who are very brave as they man-

aged to come to the event despite of

the 20 degrees below zero.

February 15th - The Day of Com-

memorating Battles Participants

on the Foreign States Territories

This day appeared after Soviet ar-

my had

left Af-

ghanistan

on Febru-

ary 15th,

1989. It is

the day of

commemorating wars participants.

Today there are about 2,000 offic-

ers in Ukraine’s army fought in

Afghanistan war.

About 20,000 servicemen were car-

rying their international duty in

Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chile, Vi-

etnam and other conflicts since

1991.

February 21th - The Internation-

al Day of Native Language

According to All-Ukrainian general

census of the population (2002)

67,5% of Ukrainian citizens named

Ukrainian as native language.

Ukrainian language had a lot of

problems during the time if its ex-

istence.

Poland and Russian Empire ne-

glected and tried to forbid it, Soviet

power was trying to abolish it creat-

ing so called “united Russian lan-

guage”. Ukrainian language re-

turned to life after Ukraine received

independence in 1991.

Holidays of February

Feb. 9-11 is a traditional time for

voodoo festivals which are held in Be-

nin.

For millions of Beninese, voodoo is a

skullduggery-free part of everyday life.

It does have a dark side – it’s hard to

miss the voodoo dolls riddled with nails

– but this is only one aspect of it. Oui-

dah’s Voodoo Festival, Benin’s most

vibrant and colourful festival, is a show-

case of its other qualities.

Since 1997, one year after the govern-

ment officially decreed voodoo a reli-

gion (one practiced by around 60% of

Benin’s 7.4 million residents), thousands

of believers have flocked to Ouidah, the

historic centre of voodoo worship, to

receive blessings from the city’s voodoo

chief. The celebrations begin when the

supreme voodoo priest slaughters a goat

to honour the spirits, and are marked by

much singing, chanting, dancing, beat-

ing of drums and drinking of gin. The

beach also briefly becomes a racehorse

track.

Voodoo is an ancient religion practiced

by some 30 million people in the West

African nations of Benin, Togo and

Ghana. With its countless deities, animal

sacrifice and spirit possession, voodoo --

as it's known to the rest of the world -- is

one of the most misunderstood religions

on the globe.

In the United States, voodoo has been

sensationalized by Hollywood, demon-

ized by Christian missionaries and paro-

died in New Orleans tourist shops.

NPR's John Burnett traveled to Benin

and Togo to explore the roots and cur-

rent practice of this ancient belief, and

found some surprising truths behind the

hype.

West Africa was once known as the

Slave Coast, because it was at the center

of the transatlantic slave trade for centu-

ries. African slaves brought voodoo with

them to plantations in Brazil, Haiti, Cu-

ba and Louisiana. But 400 years later,

the religion still remains a central part of

spiritual life for millions living in West

Africa.

"Voodoo is older than the world," says

Janvier Houlonon, a tour guide in Benin

and a lifelong voodoo practitioner.

"They say that voodoo is like the marks

or the lines which are in our hands -- we

born with them. Voodoo are in the

leaves, in the earth. Voodoo is every-

where."

Every year in the village of Glidji, 30

miles from Togo's capital city of Lome,

members of the Guen tribe gather to-

gether for the Epe Ekpe festival -- part

family reunion, part New Year's Eve,

part religious worship.

The highlight of the festival is the sa-

cred stone, sought by a priest within a

sacred walled-in forest. The stone's col-

or portends the fortunes of the coming

year. This year, the stone he presents to

the gathered crowd of 5,000 is white --

signifying wealth, happiness, an acci-

dent-free world.

"In this perennially destitute and ill-

governed country, it would be some-

thing of a miracle if the promises of the

white stone came true," Burnett says.

"Life is a struggle for most Togolese,

and the insurgency in nearby Ivory

Coast is a constant concern. Still, the

Guen can now begin their new year

with hope."

The individual deities of voodoo have

all the character of the gods of ancient

Greece -- some capricious, some se-

ductive, some full of wrath. In Cove,

Benin, the voodoo faithful gather to

dance and thank the god Sakpata, a

powerful divinity of the Earth, for re-

cent rains. Women dancers sway in

bright dresses with a mottled pattern

imitating the scars of smallpox. Sak-

pata can bring life-giving rain, but the

god is responsible for the dreaded dis-

ease, too.

The rituals of voodoo are as elaborate

as those for any Western church --

learning secret, sacred languages, danc-

es and diets are part of the initiation for

voodoo priests. Central to the belief is

offerings to the gods, in the form of

animal sacrifices. Human sacrifices in

West Africa ended more than a century

ago.

Another key element of the religion is

veneration of the spirits of ancestors.

Among voodoo worshippers, the dead

are thought to walk among the living

during the dance of hooded Egunguns,

who spin through the village in elabo-

rate costumes. Touching the dancer

during the trance, it is believed, could

kill you -- such is the power of the

dead brought to life again.

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 6

SOCIETY

Voodoo

In the open-air market of Lome, Togo's

capital, merchants sell the basics of life --

and that includes voodoo talismans

known as "fetishes." They could be elab-

orate statues representing voodoo gods,

or even dried animal heads and other ani-

mal parts, sold for medicine and their

spiritual power.

There is a dark side to voodoo. Sorcerers

called botono can be summoned to put a

hex on an adversary, or bo, using the ma-

levolent power of a voodoo spirit. An-

thropologist Wade Davis has studied voo-

doo as part of the National

Geographic Society's Ethno-

sphere Project, celebrating

world cultures. He says the

"dark side" of voodoo is sim-

ilar to the concept of heaven

and hell in Western religious

tradition. "The whole point is

to make manifest the dark-

ness, so that the goodness

can overwhelm it," he tells

Burnett.

In one sense, voodoo is no

different from other religions

– followers appeal to divine

powers to assure their suc-

cess in life. But Christian

missionaries don’t see it that

way. Inside a quiet, fenced

enclave in central Lome, a

spiritual war is being waged

against the spirits of voodoo.

A retired Catholic priest who settled in

Togo says many followers of voodoo

convert to Christianity and leave the cult.

But over time, he has observed, they re-

turn to the animal sacrifices, the venera-

tion of fetishes, the dances with the spir-

its.

"The pull of voodoo is so powerful, he

says, it seems embedded in the earth of

West Africa," Burnett says.

Voodoo in New Orleans

Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New

Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of under-

ground religious practices which originat-

ed from the traditions of the African dias-

pora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-

American religions which developed with-

in the French, Spanish, and Creole speak-

ing African American population of the

U.S. state of Louisiana. It is one of many

incarnations of African-based religions

rooted in West African Dahomeyan Vo-

dun. They became syncretized with the

Catholicism and Francophone culture of

south Louisiana as a result of the slave

trade. Louisiana Voodoo is often confused

with (but is not completely separable

from) Haitian Vodou and southern Hoo-

doo. It differs from Vodou in its

emphasis upon Gris-gris, voodoo

queens, use of Hoodoo occult para-

phernalia, and Li Grand Zombi

(snake deity). It was through Loui-

siana Voodoo that such terms as

gris-gris (a Wolof term) and voo-

doo dolls were introduced into the

American culture. Voodoo was

brought to the French colony Loui-

siana through the slave trade.

Beliefs

The core beliefs of Louisiana Voodoo

include the recognition of one God

who does not interfere in people's

daily lives and spirits that preside

over daily life. Spiritual forces, which

can be kind or mischievous, shape

daily life through and intercede in the

lives of their followers. Connection

with these spirits can be achieved

through dance, music, singing, and

the use of snakes, which represent

Legba, Voodoo's "main spirit conduit

to all others." Unlike

the Judeo-Christian

image, the Voodoo

serpent represents

"healing knowledge

and the connection

between Heaven and

Earth." Deceased

ancestors can also

intercede in the lives

of Voodoo follow-

ers.

The main focus of

Louisiana Voodoo

today is to serve

others and influence

the outcome of life

events through the

connection with

nature, spirits, and

ancestors. True ritu-

als are held "behind closed doors" as

a showy ritual would be considered

disrespectful to the spirits. Voodoo

methods include readings, spiritual

baths, specially devised diets, prayer,

and personal ceremony. Voodoo is

often used to cure anxiety, addictions,

depression, loneliness, and other ail-

ments. It seeks to help the hungry, the

poor, and the sick as Marie Laveau

once did.

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 7

SOCIETY

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 8

TRAVELLING NOTES

Western UKRAINE is closer than you think!

In the early 20th century two states existed in

what is now modern Ukraine. The first was

called the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which

existed from 1917 to 1921. That was the first

attempt in the 20th century to establish a sover-

eign nation state on the part of Ukrainian lands at

the time incorporated into the Russian Empire. It

arose from the revolutionary chaos that broke up

the Russian empire in 1917. The

second state was in the territory

of Eastern Galicia, known as the

West Ukrainian People’s Repub-

lic. It was proclaimed on No-

vember 1, 1918 following the

collapse of Austria-Hungary in

October 18, 1918. Those two

states were very much different.

While the Ukrainian People’s

Republic had to struggle with the

raising Soviet powers, the big-

gest challenge for West Ukraini-

an independence seekers were

the Poles who comprised the

majority of population in Lviv,

the capital of Eastern Galicia –

the region, which belonged to

already defunct Austrian monar-

chy at that time and where the

majority of the population were

Ukrainians.

During its short existence, the Western Ukraine’s

People Republic officially united with the

Ukrainian People’s Republic with the center in

Kyiv. The unity act was solemnly signed on

January 22, 1919 in Kyiv. The union was quite

formal since both entities continued to struggle

in two different wars with different enemies to

their autonomy and independence: the Western

Ukrainian People’s Republic was involved in a

conflict with Poles; its eastern counterpart was

fighting the growing Soviet-Russian forces.

Nowadays, Ukraine celebrates the union

between Eastern and Western lands on

the 22 of January, as it was the first step

towards what is now the independent

and united Ukraine.

Though modern Ukraine includes both

Eastern and Western parts, it still often

seems as if we live in separate countries

which have different cultures and lan-

guages. Is that really true? Or it’s just a

common stereotype that has per-

sisted for many centuries?

There’s no better way to find out

such things than travelling. If I

have some doubts about some-

thing I prefer to inquire about

everything by myself, not rely on

someone else’s opinion. That is

why I decided to go to Western

Ukraine.

What does a common citizen of

Eastern Ukraine know about

the West? Usually most would

think first about Lviv

(it’s the most popular

city of the Western part)

and the Carpathians,

who are famous for

their ski resorts. That’s

all. Rarely someone

would mention the for-

tress in Kamyanets-

Podilsky and small eth-

nic villages of Kolomi-

ya or Yaremtsche. Of

course this is a very,

very sparse description

for such an authentic,

beautiful and unique

land. But unfortunately,

that’s all we know about

the right-bank Ukraine. I was not satis-

fied with my knowledge and I also was

afraid to miss something extraordinary,

so I decided to Google everything and

ask my friends who are real travel mani-

acs =).

After two months of intensive planning,

I finally created the best route which

was full of extremely exciting sights and

really economical (don’t forget that I’m

a student, not a Rockefeller’s daughter

=). You can see it on the map below.

We started our trip from Luhansk. Then

we came to Kiev to see the main New

Year tree of Ukraine (it was just Christ-

mas that day). From Kiev we moved to

Kamyanets-Podilski (it was a one-night

train trip).

Kamyanets-Podilski

For those who don’t know, Kamyanets-

Podilski is a very old city and it is fa-

mous for its huge fortification complex

with the citadel in the center. The com-

plex is situated in the “old part” of the

city. There are buses going there from

the railway, but we of course decided to

go on foot (yes, we are desperate travel-

ers!). I was afraid that it would be too

long of a journey, but it actually took

only 30 minutes before we reached the

bridge which started the old city part.

Soon I came to understand that cities in

Western Ukraine are usually very small,

not like we are used to in the East.

The fortress actually was not the

only interesting sight. There are

also some really amazing churches

of different religions and lots of

other interesting buildings. The

holiday illumination turned the old

city into the real fairy tale, so I was

charmed by the atmosphere of that

historical town.

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 9

TRAVELLING NOTES

Khotyn

Our next stop was not far away from Ka-

myanets. It’s a small town in the Cherno-

vetskiy region called Khotyn. It’s situated

on the Dniester river and used to be a

great fortification complex of Medieval

epoch. Today the fortress of Khotyn is

one of the Miracles of Ukraine. The cita-

del is smaller than in Kamyanets but it

better represents the medieval atmos-

phere, so it’s worth to attend, believe me!

Chernivtsi

I never thought about going to this city,

before my friend told me about its beauty.

Chernivtsi isn’t a big touristic center and

it’s very strange because its architecture

is very similar and just as beautiful as

Lviv’s or Prague’s. The most magnificent

building of the city is undoubtedly the

famous University of Chernivtsi. It used

to be a huge residence of Metropolits in

19th century. Now it’s the National Uni-

versity, but on its territory you can still

find working churches.

Slavske

The next must-see place was of course a

ski resort. Everyone inside Ukraine and

out knows that Carpathians are extremely

good at winter sports. We chose the

cheapest ski resort, which is in Lviv re-

gion, – Slavske. Google told me that the

prices there were reasonable and the ser-

vice was good. Well what I must say,

that was the truth – the resort is the

cheapest in the Carpathians but it’s still

not so cheap for frugal tourists like us!

However I never saw my friends so ex-

cited as there, on skis. For me the adven-

ture of skiing was a total disaster! I

prayed not to break any parts of my body

and finally decided to leave the skis to

save myself =) I reached the peak of the

mountain without my skis. It was a real

winter wonderland on the top! It seemed

like we were right in the clouds and it

was probably true because it was hard to

see anything further than in 5 meters.

The frost and the fog made me think that

I would be lost and nobody would find

me there so, frightened by such thoughts,

I decided to sit in a café and wait for my

ski-lovers there. I met lots of good peo-

ple from different parts of Ukraine and

we spoke to each other for a long time.

One woman from the Western Ukraine

told me about the best places to see there.

She also told me that she hated skiing

and she was waiting for her friends as

well. The woman was surprised to hear

that I’m from the Eastern Ukraine be-

cause she thought that Easteners couldn’t

know Ukrainian language as well as I

did. She was a very kind, friendly and

funny person. By the way, here in the

East people think that Westerners hate us

and they become very unfriendly when

they hear Russian. Actually that’s not

true. I spoke to everyone there in Ukrain-

ian not because I was afraid. I just love

Ukrainian so much that I was happy to

have an opportunity to practice. And

Chernovtsi shocked me a lot because I

met only one person who spoke Ukraini-

an there!

Lviv

The last city to attend was of course the

pearl of Western Ukraine, the most beau-

tiful city of our country, a small piece of

Europe inside Ukraine – Lviv. This

city is so famous and so loved by tour-

ists that it’s hard to tell something new

about it, and I wouldn’t try to. I would

say the only thing – it’s well worth it to

go there and to see everything by your-

self. Believe me all your expectations

would be nothing compared to the real

Lviv. I think it’s one of the most beau-

tiful cities of the world!

So, after my wonderful trip to Western

Ukraine I would make this conclusion:

Don’t believe people who say that

Westerners hate us! Don’t believe poli-

ticians who say we are different! We

all are Ukrainians and we all have the

common thing in our heart – the faith

in the good future. And we shouldn’t

believe anyone who tries divide us.

Whether east or west, it’s all OUR

country, our Ukraine.

Sukhopleshchenko Katerina Mass communications depart-

ment, MK-182, journalist

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 10

SCIENCE-GATE

The Twelfth Night AND Vertep

The Twelfth Night holiday

is celebrated on the eve of the 5th January

and on the 6th January day. It is one of the

fertility pre-Christian festivals, which the

Church converted to its use. The Twelfth

Night is formerly the last day of

the Christmas festivities and

many specific rituals are being

followed on this day.

First of all The Twelfth

Night is a traditional day for

acting plays or “mumming”

with the specific number of

the mummers (the holiday

characters).

Usually the Twelfth Night is celebrated on

London’s riverside. Only men are allowed

to participate mumming plays acting female

roles too. The matter of the holiday is freeing

the Spirit of Forest – the Holy Man.

The Holy Man is the spirit of forest who

dies and then is re-

born, a 2000-year-old

carving of whom are

found in Britain. Most-

ly only a face in ivy

design is depicted on

the rocks or in very old

churches. Nowadays this image is often used

for decoration in the British banks as the

Holy man is associated with wealth. He

offers wassail (a kind of beer) from his bowl

for the participants.

Wren boys are a couple of young boys

dressed in strips of rag or tinsel, with black-

ened faces who collect offerings from people

going from door to door. Hunting the wren

was a custom once performed as a real hunt,

in which a bird was killed and taken in pro-

cession with the Wren song that asked for

money for the bird’s funeral. Offerings were

collected, after which the wren was ceremo-

nially buried. Now they are only

merry beggars for holiday offer-

ings.

Bran is the character of

Pre-Christian God who had

three faces and could see the

past, the present and the

future and was associated

with the King of the Un-

derworld. His head is said

to be dug under London to protect it

from evils. Christian church renamed him to

St Brendan and honours him as the Wales

patron. Bran is a very important holiday

mythonym who wassails the apple-trees as

the remembrance of the dead ones.

After the wassailing, holiday proces-

sion was going about the town to the place of

mummer’s plays themselves. Originally

mummer’s play was a pantomime because

the Middle English word “mum” means

“silent”, but nowadays mummer’s plays are

always performed in poetic form and usually

the main theme is a combat between two

heroes, the fall of one of them, and his reviv-

al by a doc- tor. One of

two heroes is usually

Saint George while the other varies;

it can be the Turkish

Knight, the Bold Slash-

er or some- times the

Dragon.

Saint George is

one of the helpers of

Jesus Christ and Saint Protector of England.

As a hero of mumming he appears only in

Medieval times, so it may be just literary

Christian tradition, while old myths tell of a

folk hero who overcomes a dark creature.

His names are different in Wales, Scotland

or Ireland.

The Turkish Knight is a

usual partner with whom St

George fights. The Knight

has got blackened face and

his clothes are made from

ribbons or stripes of rags.

He is the embodiment of

the Death, so he is to get the

victory over St George meaning Life. How-

ever, Life wins and reawakens due to the

Doctor’s help.

The Doctor is a comic character, who

performs a won-

derful, albeit

comedic, cure

on the body and

in the process

neatly performs

the symbolic act

of reawakening

the earth from the death of winter.

The Twelfth Bake is a female character

which is played by a man. There was an old

tradition in Britain to bake

specific Christmas bread

the twelfth loan of which

mustn’t be eaten but is to

be kept up to the next

Christmas as an amulet.

This character is the one

who offers a Yule Log –

special holiday cake where

different things were put

inside (coins, rings etc).

Bean King is a person who finds a bean in

the Yule Log. He is the referee at the boat

race that usually takes part in the Twelfth

Night celebration. Besides the Bean King

brings fun and joy, making people

do funny tasks.

Beelzebub is the second

figure in the Hell after

Satan, the Governor of the

flies; the founder of the

Fly’s Order. At the holi-

day Beelzebub often

follows the Doctor and

interrupts his curing the

hero. Maybe it’s because Beel-

zebub is the Saint Protector of the doctors

and healers. He also makes mess and fun at

the holiday.

Dragon often becomes the hero of the

battle with St George. He has become a

negative char-

acter since

Christian

tradition

strengthened.

Pre-Christian

tradition con-

sidered the Dragon the symbol of Eternity.

Strawboys are the band of young men in

high straw hats who move from door to

door soliciting money and kisses from la-

dies and girls. They are the

main heroes near the Kiss-

ing Wishing Tree – a bush

or a tree decorated with

ribbons and tinsel, where

the mummers spend

many hours of this

merry night in dancing,

singing and having fun.

As we see the holiday of the Twelfth Night

has got many characters which have very

old mythic background.

Shtokolova

Nataly

Small Academy of Science,

Lugansk Re-gional Lyceum ,

11 Form

Issue №7, January-February 2012 DAHL’S HORIZON Page 11

SCIENCE-GATE

Vertep was a portable puppet thea-

tre in the culture of East Slavs

(Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians)

which presented the nativity enactment

scenes, the Bible mystery plays, and later

secular plots as well. The original meaning

of the word is "secret place", "cave",

"den", referring to the cave where Christ

was born, i.e., the Bethlehem Cave in the

tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church.

It originated in 16th century, coming from

the Western Europe via Poland, where it

was known as Szopka, to Ukraine, and

finally to Russia. In Bela-

rusian culture it was also

referred to as Batleika,

from "Bethlehem" and in

the Russian culture it is

known as Petrushka. Ver-

teping was also known in

both Croatian and Serbian

folk culture.

It is believed that it was

introduced by students of

the Kiev-Mohyla Academy.

The vertep puppet theatre

was made familiar to

Ukrainian rural communi-

ties by wandering deacons

and students of the above mentioned

Academy.

A typical vertep was a wooden box, one or

two storeyed. The floors had slots through

which the puppeteers con-

trolled wooden puppets. The

upper floor of the two-

storeyed box was used for the

nativity scene, while the lower

was for interludes and other

mystery plays (most often

featuring the Herod and Ra-

chel plots) and secular plays,

often of comedy character.

There are from 10 to 40 vertep

characters a sacristan, angels,

shepherds, Herod, three

kings, Satan, Death, Russian

soldiers, gypsies, a Pole, a

Jew, a peasant couple and

various animals among them.

Religious Christmas carols

were also sung, often in har-

mony.

Vertep theatre declined in the mid-19th

century. It has retained a symbolic signif-

icance, as in the miniature Nativity scene

displayed in Ukrainian homes during the

Christmas season and in the Christmas

carolers dressed up as vertep characters.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917,

the atheistic Soviet state severely perse-

cuted religion and the associated ele-

ments of culture, and by 1930's the tradi-

tion of Christmas verteps was virtually

eliminated. The word itself survived in

the jargon of the robbers.

In the 20th century vertep theatre has

been revived as an ‘alive’ vertep, with

live actors faithfully re-creating the tradi-

tional village vertepy, by Les Kurbas's

Molodyi Theatre, for example,

the Lviv Ukrainian Drama The-

atre, the Avant-Garde Ukraini-

an Theatre in Toronto, and the

New Generation Theatre in

Cleveland.

In recent times at Christmas

young children dress as the

various characters and act out

the plays of the vertep. This

form, following the old tradi-

tion of Malanka, is quite popu-

lar in Western Ukraine. Often

hidden political meanings are

placed in the performances.

Vertep in LVIV (January 2012)

The Guides:

Volodymyr Dahl East

Ukrainian National

University

Moldizhniy Block, 20-a

Luhansk

Contacts:

(0642)41-94-57

labekresheva@mail.ru

Chief editor: Editing Collegium:

THE EDITORS:

Sukhopleshchenko Katerina Mass communications de-

partment, MK-182, journal-

Volkova Anastasiya Mass communications department, journalist

Senior Teacher:

Sychevskaya I.O.

Senior Teacher:

Bekresheva L.A.