Ukrainian Influence in American Culture

The United States was established on July 4, 1776, which makes the country one of the

youngest when comparing it to the other countries. America has one of the largest populations in

the world with a count of 321,368,864 that was taken in 2015 (site source), which consists of

many diverse ethnic groups, each practicing their own customs and traditions that have heavily

contributed to forming the American culture. Ukraine is bordered by seven countries which are

Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and Belarus. Despite being surrounded

by these countries, the Ukrainian culture remains strong and rich. Ukraine is known as a

sovereign state in eastern Europe and established its independence from the Soviet Union on

August 24, 1991, making it the second time they sought for independence. However, since 2014,

Ukraine has had war conflict with Russia which led to the United States lending its support to

Ukraine. The US has a very diverse culture which is why it can be assumed that Ukrainian

culture has had some influence in American culture.

1, 2a,b Since moving to the United States, Lidiya went to college, received a degree in Medical

Assisting, but has noticed her title isnt respected much which is very different compared to her

previous profession. However, her job allows her to help people every day, and as she put it, she

loves it and finds joy in it. She was born and raised in Ukraine and lived there until she was 40

years old. When she lived in Ukraine, she married, had three daughters, and became an English

professor teaching English as a second language which made the transition of moving to the

United States from Ukraine easier. According to Lidiya, she was highly respected for being an

English professor. However, despite being classified as part of higher level society she wasnt

paid well for her profession.

 3. When asked about the life in Ukraine compared to the US, Lidiya says there are so

many differences. For example, Americans eat a lot of fast food unlike Ukrainians who only eat

homemade meals with the vegetables they grow themselves, and she remembers there were no

restaurants when she lived there. They also do a lot of pickling to preserve their food, Ukrainian

families are extremely close to each other, even up to the fourth generation, and dont have to get

permission to stop by, are very generous, and when someone visits them they will offer them

something to eat. They enjoy crafts for example cross-stitching (she remembers her house being

decorated with stitched towels and curtains), embroidery, woodcrafts, and making Easter eggs,

singing and dancing. Other interesting cultural differences Lidiya mentions are, the yearly

mandatory month-long vacations, and their maternity leave allows the woman to take up to 18

months off from work, and her position is held for her when she returns. Since moving to the US,

Lidiya continues certain traditions such as growing and pickling vegetables, cooking, and

stitching.

Lidiya says the people of Ukraine are mostly Caucasian but include people from Turkey

and Greece in the southern area which she attributes to previously being a part of the Soviet

Union. The religions in Ukraine, are Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant,

and Mormon. However, she did not disclose her experiences with religion in either Ukraine or

the US.

4. The main religion in Ukraine is Christianity that has built the most churches and has

greatly influenced their culture and religious traditions. The main denomination is known as the

Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, representing just over half of the

population that came about after Ukraine declared independence. The second largest

denomination is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, only representing

about 26% of the population, which is just over half the population involved in Ukraines main

religion. According to NationMasters survey, the rest of the population is made of Ukrainian

Greek Catholics-8%, (Autocephalous Orthodox), Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Jews.

In Ukraine history, it is believed that the people of Slavic descent were the first to settle

toward the end of 400 CE. Later in the 7th century, a city was developing known as Kiev. The city

of Kiev was located near a river that flowed from the Black Sea making it a major trading post. It

is believed that Volodymyr the Great received word about the Christian faith which he later

adopted in the late 900s which led to the people of Kiev converting to the Christian faith.

Then in the early 1600s, the Ukrainian people were governed under the Russian Empire

forcing Ukrainians to accept the Russian Orthdox Church who took drastic measures to ensure

the conversion of their religion by destroying the Ukrainian churches. However, the people of

Ukraine were very resilient to Russian demands leading to further attempts to eradicate the

Ukrainian culture by outlawing the Ukrainian language. Despite the conflicts between Russia

and Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church closely resembles that of the Russian Orthodox

Church.

The religious traditions that are recognized by the Ukrainian Christian Orthodox church

include celebrating Christmas, Easter, Holy Days, Pentecost, and St. Nicholas Day. An

interesting fact about the Orthodox religion is they dont use the traditional calendar known as

the Gregorian calendar. Instead they use the Julian calendar that was implemented by Julius

Caesar in 45BC which is nearly 2 weeks behind the traditional calendar. Those who worship this

faith are known to participate in a fast for 40 days leading up to Christmas and celebrate the

holiday by attending a church service, and they have the usual traditions such as having a

Christmas tree, presents, and singing.

 Easter is recognized as a religious holiday that is celebrated on a Sunday between March

22 and April 25 by attending a church service and they also celebrate the coming of a new spring

season. During this time and later, the Ukrainians paint very detailed patterns on uncooked eggs

with the contents of the egg still inside, although some Ukrainians prefer to drain the egg. These

eggs are also known as pysanky. The pysanky hold different meanings depending on the level of

detailed patterns and shapes. One myth regarding pysanky reveals that if a person kept pysanky

in their house, it would act as a shield by protecting them against bad spirits or anything that

would destroy their home. This tradition began long before the Ukrainians had accepted the

Christian faith. However, once they adopted the religion it led to the pysanky holding a whole

new meaning that would represent Christ and being reborn.

Following Easter, just 50 days after, the Ukrainian Orthodox church celebrates Pentecost

holiday otherwise known as Trinity Sunday. The day before Trinity Sunday the young

adolescents will gather together in a designated area of their village. This sort of resembles a

picnic-style, where they eat food, have drinks, sing and dance. Ukrainians believe this is an

important holiday because it tells of when the Holy Spirit descended after Christs resurrection.

To celebrate this holiday, Ukrainians bring food and drinks (usually in the form of alcohol) to the

graves of their loved ones who have passed on. This holiday also means the abundance of plants,

trees, and flowers will be in full bloom due to the good growing conditions of their lands. The

Ukrainian people decorate their yards with an array of green plants because they believe it

provides protection against bad spirits. This tradition has been practiced since before they

adopted Christianity.

5a. Folk music is very ingrained in the Ukrainian culture because it allowed them to truly

express themselves. They also enjoyed singing and dancing very much. A Christmas folk song
called Shchedryk expresses the coming of wealth in spring that is brought by a bird. This song

became more popular after being translated into Carol of the Bells. The melody of the folk

song has a large range, ascending and immediate rise to a gradual descent contour, and the

movement is mostly stepwise. The rhythm/meter is triple simple. The harmony is in a major key.

The texture of this song is polyphony. The timbre is created through vocals. The tempo in the

beginning is slow then starts speeding up then towards the end it slows down; the dynamics start

out soft then gradually become loud but then go back to soft; the style of the piece in the

beginning is sort of calm then immediately becomes lively with beautiful singing accompanied

by majestic feeling. These are describing the expression of the song. The form is verse and

chorus.

5b. Once Ukraine was no longer part of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian folk music really

emerged and has flourished in the 20th century. Ukrainian folk music has a blend of percussion,

wind, and string instruments. Some examples of these are the bandura-stringed, tarika (cymbal)-

percussion, trembita-wind. The most famous musician in the early 20th century is is Pavlo

Humeniuk who played the fiddle and was known for Ukrainian-American popular music. The

Ukrainian people are very proud of their culture and have a complex history. There have been

many famous poets, embroidery, intricate paintings pysanky, musicians, and athletes.

In Ukraine hip-hop, pop, and rock are all popular genres of music that are influenced by

the US. Distinct elements heard in Ukrainian music do not seem to be as popular in American

music.

In conclusion, the American culture has been and continues to be very influenced by

different countries and cultures. Ukraine has had to face many challenges to maintain their

culture which could be why they havent had much impact on American culture.
 6. Bibliography

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2. Bruce, Erika. "United States of America." Our World, January, 2016

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3. Burgess, John P. "Borderland Churches." Christian Century, vol. 133, no. 7, 30 Mar.

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5. Healey, Christina. "Ukraine." Our World, January, 2016

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6. Hovorun, Cyril. "The Church in the Bloodlands." First Things: A Monthly Journal of
Religion & Public Life, no. 246, Oct. 2014, p. 41. EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?
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8. "Orthodox Christian Christmas: Russia, Ukraine, Serbia among Countries Celebrating

on January 7." ABC Premium News, n.d. EBSCOhost, libprox1.slcc.edu/login?

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