Great Kolyada Festival comes to an end in Lviv

The final gala-concert of the Great Kolyada Festival was held on January 30, 2011. Bishop Ihor (Voznyak), Archbishop of Lviv, attended the closing ceremony of the festival, where he congratulated the organizers and thanked them and the participants of the festival: “I am very pleased to see such wonderful colourful Ukrainian costumes, and even more the light of your faces, because by your singing you praise God and bring joy to the people. Our carols are full of content, so it is important that our young people maintain this tradition.” For over 12 years the Christmas Great Kolyada Festival of Ukrainian carols has been held in the Church of the Holy Eucharist, the Pastoral Center of Youth. The event began as a way to raise the spiritual and cultural level of the people and to preserve and develop the Christmas traditions of our land. All kinds of choirs and ensembles are invited to participate in the festival. The Christmas festival aims to promote the Christmas traditions of the various regions of Ukraine. This year’s festival encouraged the participants to perform Christmas carols, “shchedrivky,” “vinshuvannya,” and Christmas songs of Lemkivshchyna.  

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