Unit 5. Countries, People, Lifestyle » Стр.160 (7)

Write a letter to your English-speaking friend. Tell him / her about the Ukrainian culture and lifestyle. Dear Katrin, Thanks for your letter in which you ask me to tell about Ukrainian culture and lifestyle. Well, Ukrainian culture is so ancient and rich and multifaceted that even dozens of letters will not be enough to describe it. Volumes have been written on it, but nevertheless I will try to describe some of the traditions and customs of my people in every letter. I should say that in big cities people are forgetting traditions of their ancestors, though some enthusiasts are trying to revive them. For the larger part traditions are preserved in rural areas in central and western regions of Ukraine. So, there is a tradition among the young girls in Ukraine to tell fortunes on the night before St. Andrew’s day which is celebrated on December 13. There are many ways to tell fortunes and this is only one of them. Taking flour [борошно] from home girls gather at one of their fiends’ house. To make dough [тісто] they go to the river three times and bring water in their mouths. The cakes are baked in the oven and then put on a bench. Then the hostess lets a hungry male-dog in. Whose cake he eats the first, that girl will be the first to marry. Are there similar traditions in England? Write me soon. Olga.