Lviv: Christmas Countdown

Hello everyone! Christmas coming nearer and nearer, and people’s only concern now is holiday’s shopping. Santa’s lists are ready yet, so you are going to think about buying Christmas gifts and surprises. If it involves visiting Ukraine as well, you would have a brilliant opportunity to solve the Christmas gifts’ problem. Today a new week starts and today the City of Lviv officially opens Christmas season-2013. So you are welcome!

As a matter of facts, Christmas in Ukraine is the most colorful and emotional holiday. The air is chilled and smelled fresh, there is gala in it. There are tangerines everywhere – these fruits are believed to be traditional Christmas fruits as well as oranges are. Houses, buildings and trees are beautifully decorated with lights and wreaths; and artificial Christmas trees decorated in every-year-changing style are really breathtaking! You can hear "Shchedryk", a world-wide known Ukrainian Christmas carol (“The Carol of the Bells” is considered to be its adaptation), and wrapping paper’ ruffling, and “Shchaslyvogo Rizdva” (“Merry Christmas” in Ukrainian). Christmas mood is in the air. And as to the visitors, the City of Lviv is believed to be a true discovery of ancient customs and traditions during the Christmas holidays. A lot of amazing events as carol choir singing, hot mulled wine, medovukha and sbiten’ (hot winter traditional alcohol drinks) tasting and, of course, an annual Christmas fairs! Today, on the 16^th of December, the Lviv Christmas Fair-2013 has been officially opened and is ready for visiting.
The Lviv Christmas Fair itself is presented with small wooden houses at Rynok Square and on Svobody Avenue. Various hand-made goods are presented there, among them Ukrainian traditional ceramics, wooden carving, wrought-iron things, embroidered clothing and linen, local artists’ paintings. Christmas hand-made decorations are worth especial seeing and buying – here you can see wooden figurines, handcrafted – knitted or embroidered – Christmas baubles and balls, even hand-painted free-blown glass permanent baubles! They could be perfect souvenirs even for Ukrainian ladies. Knitted angels, wooden horses and hard-angered bells could be perfectly used for Christmas tree’s decoration. Hand-made Christmas tree will be an excellent idea – it’s worth trying!