Christmas Traditions in Ukraine Mini Unit and Notebooking Pages

Use these free Christmas Notebooking Pages and Resources to write about the Christmas Traditions in Ukraine.

These Christmas Traditions in Ukraine Notebooking pages and Mini Unit Study Resources are perfect for comparing how holiday customs in Ukraine vary from other parts of the world.

With these Christmas Traditions in Ukraine notebooking pages, your kids can write about the traditions and customs that the Ukrainians have for celebrating the birth of Jesus.

In the Ukraine, they say ‘Веселого Різдва’ Veseloho Rizdva (Merry Christmas) or ‘Христос Рождається’ Khrystos Rozhdayetsia (Christ is Born)

The Ukrainians usually celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 19 (instead of December 6th like many other countries).

Traditionally, Christmas was not celebrated in Ukraine until January 7th because the Orthodox church uses a different church calendar. However, in the summer of 2023, the Orthodox church was outlawed, and everyone must celebrate Christmas now on December 25.

These notebooking pages are generally for students working at the 2nd to 8th grade levels.

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Resources for Learning about Christmas Traditions in Ukraine

Library List

Most historians believe the folktale of the Christmas spider came from either Western Ukraine or from Germany. Here are a couple of the Ukrainian versions.

The Spider’s Gift: A Ukrainian Christmas Story by Eric Kimmel This book is OOP, but you can read it on Open Library

OR Spider’s Gift: A Christmas Story by Geraldine Marshall

Online Resources and Videos

Ukrainian ornaments are often shaped like spiderwebs.

Carol of the Bells is a popular Christmas song, but it actually began as a Ukrainian folk song about a swallow called Shchedryk. NOTE: Only the first nine minutes of this hour long video are about the history of the Carol of the Bells song. Listen to the original version with Ukrainian and English lyrics.

Just for fun: Watch the Swedish Chef and the Muppets sing their version of Carol of the Bells.

This video shows a family celebrating a traditional Ukrainian Christmas

Learn about the Holy Christmas dinner with the twelve dishes.

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated in Ukraine a bit differently than in other European countries.

Father Frost and his granddaughter Snow Maiden often deliver gifts on New Year’s Eve.

Why Christmas has a very informative text about traditional Christmas customs in Ukraine.

Here are the top 20 Ukrainian Christmas foods. I have a good friend whose grandmother was Ukrainian and she told me they always had “halubky (holubtsi) cabbage rolls filled with meat and rice, kolachky nut roll cookies, certain Christmas breads … I think the tradition had mostly to do with serving more complicated to make and/or special foods and gathering with family on the holidays”

Hands on Activities for Learning about Ukrainian Christmas Customs

Make Kutia, the star of Christmas Eve dessert, which symbolizes prosperity. The main ingredient is wheat berries, which you can find in the health food section of supermarkets. We bought ours from a local Amish bulk store.

Many Ukrainian Christmas trees have a spider or spiderweb ornament. Make a Ukrainian Spider Christmas ornament with pipe cleaners and a couple jingle bells. Comes with a printable poem to create a keepsake.

Christmas Traditions in Ukraine Notebooking Pages

The Christmas Traditions in Ukraine notebooking and journaling pages come in 3 levels to fit all of your students’ needs. There’s a large elementary lined one, a smaller elementary lined one, and a regular lined one.

There are a total of 21 notebooking pages in this packet.

These Ukrainian Christmas Customs printables would even work well for handwriting practice, by copying a quote about Father Frost, Saint Nicholas, or even the lyrics to the original Carol of the Bells.

More Christmas Traditions Resources

You may also want to try our free Christmas Symbols Lapbook, and free Christmas Customs Lapbook, and our larger pack of Christmas Around the World Notebooking Pages.