International Students of TNMU Studied Ukrainian Traditions
International students of the 2nd-year of study, group IM-231, and the 3rd-year of study, groups IM-329, IM-340 and IM-363 of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, on January 27, 2022 visited Ternopil Regional Museum of Local Lore and studied national Christmas traditions, customs of our region within the framework of the Ukrainian Club of TNMU.
Educational events and entertainment organized by Marta Rudenko and Oksana Mysyk, Associate Professors of the Department of the Ukrainian Language and Olha Khrystenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Higher Education Pedagogy and Social Sciences, founders of the Ukrainian Club of TNMU, help foreign students from different countries to integrate into Ukrainian society. This time the theme of Christmas and Ukrainian traditions was chosen for the meeting.
The students were told about sowing – one of the main rites during the celebration of the Old New Year, which Ukrainians celebrate on the night of January 13-14. Devarajula Mariappan tried himself as a sower and sowed the house with grain that symbolizes fertility and prosperity.
During the theatre performance with Ukrainian proverbs, the students were told about the women’s holiday of Catherine (December 7). On that day the girls foretold fate and the groom, inviting the convict to dinner, divinated on cherry twigs, went to the well to look at his reflection, threw boots over gate, burned the thread of fate. On St. Andrew’s Day (December 13), the boys organized a competition for a piece of kalyta – a ritual cake that symbolizes prosperity. The fun is that the round cake is tied with a ribbon to a stick, and the young guys are trying to bite off a piece. Our students, who gladly took part in the entertainments offered, also wanted to know their destiny.
“We are grateful to our Ukrainian club and wonderful teachers for such an interesting and informative evening that helps us better understand the Ukrainian people,” said Sania Salish, a student of the Faculty of Medicine.
The students were treated with pancakes, which were a symbol of the spring sun, which conquers winter for our ancestors.
We show gratitude to Oksana Hulyk, Andrii Lesitskyi, Viktoria Bezbakh, Oleh Havryliuk and Vira Shumska – excellent specialists of the Ternopil Regional Museum of Local Lore for such a rich, interesting program about Ukrainian Christmas traditions, unforgettable emotions and a tour around the museum, and Yarema Shatarskyi, the director of the institution, for his assistance in preparation this event.
Solomiia Hnatyshyn, TNMU Journalist
Photos by Mykola Vasylechko