Traveling to Kyiv at Christmas? Celebrate the most magical time of the year with Ukrainians! The official Christmas and New Year's celebrations on Sophia's and Kontraktova Squares will last from December 14 to January 19. The Christmas tree will be lit for the first time on December 19 at 19:00, on St. Nicholas Day. This is reported by the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration.
New Year's theme on Sofia Square is a well-known Christmas story about the Nutcracker. So, on December 19 at 17:00 the celebration will open with the Christmas parade, which will be held from the National Opera of Ukraine to Sofia Square. At the end of the parade the official illumination of the Christmas tree will take place. According to the organizers of the holidays, the company "Folk Ukraine", this year the Christmas tree will be decorated with 750 toys in the form of chocolates and 4 kilometers of garlands. The main characters of the fairy tale about the Nutcracker will be "guarding" the Christmas tree with the Ukrainian Cossacks. Thus, everyone will be able to dive into the magical world of the adventures of the Nutcracker and take pictures with his favorite characters. There will be four "kingdoms" - children's entertainment, gifts, likes and tastes - between which the Christmas Express will run.
The European Christmas town in Ukrainian traditions will be arranged on Kontraktova Square. This year's theme is traditional pottery made in the Poltava region. In addition, the residence of St. Nicholas will appear here and the Christmas tree decorated in ethnic style will be lit on December 19. The celebration program will include a walk of the star holders on January 7, performing Christmas carols, setting up Didukh and folk festivities; performance of folk groups. According to the organizer, visitors will enjoy a rich concert program, creative photo-zones, numerous food courts, souvenirs, sculptures-giants, illuminations, ice skating, roller coasters and more.