Ukrainian Winter Celebrations

A presentation about traditions which asks, “Who Brings Presents To Ukrainian Children?”
Join Daria Antsybor for this fascinating talk!!!

Doors: 6:30pm / Starts: 7pm

Who really brings gifts to Ukrainian children? St. Nicholas, Did Moroz, or Santa Claus? And how did these beloved figures become part of Ukraine’s winter traditions?

Join us for an evening exploring the fascinating world of Ukrainian Christmas and New Year customs, and how they’ve evolved over time. From ancient legends to Soviet-era reinventions, this talk looks at how festive traditions have changed — and how Ukrainians today are rediscovering their authentic cultural roots.

Discover the stories behind St. Nicholas (Mykolai), the controversial figure of Did Moroz (Grandfather Frost), and the enduring power of celebration in times of change.

Presented by Daria Antsybor, a folklore researcher and cultural anthropologist from Kyiv, this event offers an eye-opening look at the meaning behind the winter holidays and the characters that continue to shape them. This is sure to be a captivating talk!!!

ABOUT DARIA ANTSYBOR:

Daria Antsybor is a research fellow at the State Scientific Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Against Man-Made Disasters in Kyiv, Ukraine. She studied folklore at the Institute of Philology in Kyiv National University of Taras Shevchenko. Her dissertation was dedicated to the genres of the oneiric folklore. She specializes in wartime folklore, vernacular medicine, crisis humour and anthropology of dreams. She is a member of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore. She created a Telegram channel “Mushrooms, coffins and dissertations” promoting knowledge about traditional and modern cultural practices. She is a co-author of the anthropological podcast “Porobleno”. She wrote two non-fiction books “Under the pillow or under the tree: anthropological research of holidays” (Kyiv, Laboratoria 2023) and “Dreadlocks, battles and steels: two centuries of subcultures in Ukraine (Kyiv, Laboratoria 2024)”. Currently she is examining the nature of crisis humour in Ukraine, vernacular healing practices on Polissia region and writing a new non-fiction book about Halloween and its connection to Ukrainian culture.