Ukrainian carolers banned in USSR for keeping national culture alive

This was stated by Oleksandr Alfyorov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, during a TV broadcast, according to Ukrinform.

“Carolers were, of course, banned during the Soviet period because this tradition reflected Ukrainian culture, which differed from, for example, communist or Russian traditions. Carolers were monitored, and there are documented cases in the 1970s and 1980s when Ukrainian carolers were held legally accountable,” Alfyorov said.

According to him, authentic carolers were replaced by Soviet-style substitutes – theatrical groups and pseudo-New Year celebrations.

“This replacement was characteristic. Ukrainian carolers, first and foremost, perform traditional Ukrainian songs – carols. They have a cycle of costumes and rituals that continue the story of the Holy Christmas of Christ, the Gospel story, which was not tolerated in the Soviet Union,” Alfyorov added.

He also noted that the didukh is an authentic Ukrainian symbol of Christmas, while the Christmas tree is a broader European symbol of life and renewal, and the two traditions can coexist.

Alfyorov emphasized that preserving and reviving Ukrainian Christmas traditions today is an important component of cultural resilience and national identity.

As previously reported, on December 25, 2023, for the first time, Christians of both Western and Eastern rites in Ukraine celebrated Christmas together. At that time, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church switched to the Revised Julian calendar.