Article prepared by Wally Lazaruk, January 2023

Ukrainians and people of Ukrainian heritage who follow the traditional Julian calendar, celebrate the Old Calendar New Year, also called the Orthodox New Year, on January 14th. Social gatherings and dinners are celebrated on January 13 and 14.

In traditional villages, groups of young people walked from household to household, caroling, sometimes playing pranks and acting out small plays. Hosts offered food and drink and sometimes a tip.

One custom on the Old Calendar New Year is the vibrant ‘Malanka’ celebration. In pre-Christian folklore, Malanka is the daughter of the earth goddess. Malanka herself represents “Spring-May”. In the story, her uncle, the devil, kidnapped her and brought
her to the underworld. While she was gone there was no spring. But when she was finally released, flowers and greenery began to bloom again, with ‘Malanka’ symbolizing the onset of spring.

To honour ‘Malanka’, young men in masks walked around a village, expressed good wishes, and entertained residents with humorous songs, dances, and skits. One of the men was usually dressed in women’s clothing and was called ‘Malanka’.

In another custom, a group of boys or men visited houses to “sow grain”, that is, to sprinkle grain onto the floor and recite a rhyme wishing the family happiness, health, love, luck and more for the upcoming year. As thanks, the boys or men received small
gifts such as candies and/or money. In the last part of this tradition, the owner of the visited house waited until the next day to sweep the grains, in order to safeguard the family’s good luck.

In North America, people of Ukrainian heritage typically celebrate Malanka with a banquet and dance.

A common greeting for Happy New Year in Ukrainian in Cyrillic is : Щасливого нового року (transliteration: Ščaslyvoho novoho roku) or З Новим роком (transliteration: Z Novym Rokom).

Prepared by Wally Lazaruk, January 2023

Author’s note: I appreciate that there are many interpretations of the customs associated with the Ukrainian New Year. This interpretation is one among many.

References: Link: Photos of Malanka text and photos: beautiful photos of Malanka here.