Luhansk Local Custom Tips by hunterV

English-speaking people can attend English learners' club at the State Regional Library in Sovietskaya Street.
www.library.lg.ua
The club members meet on weekends (at 2 p.m. on Saturday as a rule) and are always eager to meet guest speakers from many countries.
You can call 53 34 40 beforehand to know if they gather the next weekend.
They also invite English-speaking guests of the city as guest speakers to their meetings.
Have a look at the club's homepage:
"Hello" English Learners' Club

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Phone: 5334 40
Website: www.library.lg.ua/engl/hello.htm
Other Contact: East-Ukrainian English Club

East-Ukrainian English Club is a registered youth organization that works on the basis of Taras Shevchenko National Teacher Training University.
The university is in Defense Street (Oboronnaya ulitsa).

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The students often have Big Meetings at the auditorium and invite foreign guests of the city as guest speakers.
The meetings are held at about 6 p.m.
Why not be a guest speaker during your stay here?

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Phone: 53 88 12
Website: www.lgpu.lg.ua

If you are going to visit Ukrainian families at their homes, don’t forget to bring a gift or a souvenir with you, especially if it was brought from your homeland.
A bunch of flowers is a must in this case.
Be careful about the number of flowers in the bunch: it must be odd because according to our tradition an even number of flowers is present at the funerals or at the cemetery as a sign of mourning.

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Website: http://lugansk.netfirms.com

Traditionally we have fireworks display three or four times a year:
-on May 9,
our Victory Day
when we have a huge holiday to honor the Great Victory in the Second World War against the fascist invaders;
- on August 24,
our Independence Day
after a big holiday program in Theater Square.
The fireworks displays usually start at about 9 p.m. and last for about ten minutes.
They attract crowds of people both downtown and on the outskirts where people observe the fireworks from theit balconies or from the roogs of their apartment houses.

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We also have fireworks display on our City Day that is observed on the second Sunday in September.
The fireworks display usually starts at 9.00 p.m.
Crowds of people can be seen in Theater Square and Voroshilov Square where the fireworks display usually begins. People like to observe it over their heads.
You will not regret if your stay in Luhansk concides with one of these holidays, especially City Day.
The holiday programs are very busy and interesting and they attract lots of visitors who flood the city streets, squares and parks.

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We also have fireworks display on the last Sunday in August - Miner's Day, a big holiday for the inhabitants of the coal-mining Donets Basin.
Although there is only one coal mine on the outskirts of Luhansk, this holiday is very popular in the whole Luhansk region and in Luhansk.
The fireworks display usually concludes a big holiday program: sports competitions, shows, concerts in the main square.
The fireworks display usually attracts a lot of people to Theater Square from where it can be clearly seen. It can also be seen from many districts of the city and from uptown where we live. We usually see it from our balcony on the ninth fllor at 9 p.m.

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May 31 is the holiday of all school students and teachers:
it is the last day of studies that is called The Last Bell Day.
September 1 is our Day of Knowledge, the start of the school year at all schools.
These days are not days off nor they are ordinary school days.
They are days of outings and excursions for school students and special lessons for them which may be held at museums and in the open. These special lessons are called "First Lessons".
You would be a very special guest of these hoilidays if your stay in the city coincides with one of the holidays.
Youth Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in June. It is marked by young people's sports competitions, shows and concerts.
February 15 is Afghan War Memorial Day.
On that day the participants of that war gather near Afghan Memorial, make speeches, sing soldiers' songs and pay tribute to the victims of that war.

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I must say the rules of behavior in our churches are rather strict.
In Orthodox churches women have to wear kerchiefs or scarves over their heads and men have to take off their hats.
People usually stand in these churches. There are no seats like in Catholic or Protestant cathedrals. There are only several benches at the wall for the elderly people who cannot stand during the liturgy.
During the service you can also kneel on both knees for a change and for a short time.
It is customary to offer donations to the church. The inscriptions at donation boxes run, "for cathedral repair" or "for the common candle".
Besides, it would be good for visitors of our churches to have some change and offer some donations to the beggars standing at the entrance to the cathedral gates. They are mainly old "babushkas" who stand at the cathedral entrance gate and ask for some money in the name of Christ. Sometimes from three to ten beggars may stand there at the entrance gate and then a couple of others may stand at the cathedral door asking for donations in Christ's name... They cross themselves and always say, "God bless you" as you offer them your small donation.
You can only take pictures of the beautiful interior of a church or a cathedral if you have the dean's blessing for that. You have to ask the cathedral dean for his blessing to take pictures like I did. Just find out what his name is and, coming up to him, say,
"Please, Father so-and-so, bless me, to take a picture of the interior"
or something like that. The dean might also ask you why you need this or that picture.
Be resourceful enough and think of something solid as your reason of taking pictures, even if you only want to take pictures of the exterior.
Otherwise your taking pictures without permission might look and be considered by the parish and the priests as rather rude and intruding...
After you receive the necessary blessing, you can also offer a donation and put it into the cathedral donation box inside.
Good luck to you!

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Website: http://lugansk.iatp.org.ua/50let

You might be interested to read special rules for visiting Orthodox churches before going there.
I have discovered these rules recently myself and decided to translate them for you, dear fellow travelers, to avoid any misunderstanding when you set out to visit an Orthodox church.

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Rules of Behavior in the Temple

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- Come to the temple in good time for the beginning of the divine service;
- Enter the temple quietly and with reverence as to the God’s House,
the mysterious abode of the Heavenly King;
- Ladies can only enter the temple modestly dressed and with a covered head;
- Ladies cannot enter the temple in man’s clothes, that is, in pants;
- Before entering the temple ladies should wipe the lipstick. It is inadmissible to kiss sacred things with lipstick put on lips;
- According to the ancient custom men should stand in the right-hand part of the temple (opposite the Savior’s icon) and the ladies – in its left-hand part (opposite of the icon of the Mother of God);
- It is not allowed to walk about the temple and to light candles during:
· entering with a censer and reading the Gospel ;
· singing “Our Father” “Cherubs’ Song”, “Mother of God”;
- It is inadmissible to kiss icons, to purchase things at the icons’ shop, to light candles and to submit requiem notes during the service. It should be done before or after the service in order to keep the order during the service;
- You cannot leave the temple before the end of the divine service without urgency for it is disrespect and a sin before God.

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New Year is widely celebrated in our city.
We have a very tall New Year Tree (over 20 meters high) in front of the Russian Drama Theater.
There is a holiday program every day from the end of December through Christmas which is celebrated on January 7 according to the Orthodox calendar and till the Old New Year holiday that is observed on the eve of January 14.
There are a lot of Christmas traditions in Ukraine, too. But they are much more widespread in the west of Ukraine than here.
There is usually a Luna Park from Slovakia around the New Year Tree.
The New Year tree is usually dismantled on January 16 when all the New Year programs are officially over.

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