Kiev General II

Monday, May 16, 2011

We happened to be in Kiev right on St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 19th) which we didn't even know about until we passed Independence Square and saw a concert going on and kids everywhere. On St. Nicholas day, parents and relatives put candy, toys and other treats under kids' pillows. But only if they've been good all year. This was also the first day of the winter festivities. It felt just like Christmas. There were over a dozen St. Nick's running around in full getup with beards... and for a small fee you could take a photo with one of them. Across the street from the concert stage and Christmas tree was a small Christmas market with decorated wooden stalls selling treats and gifts. It wasn't as big as some of the ones we saw in previous countries but nonetheless it was a Christmas market. 

-Yuriy

This hedgehog monument (made out of hundreds of screws, very sharp) is from a popular Ukrainian cartoon, "Hedgehog in the Fog" by Yuri Norshtein. He was so popular that they even put him on a postage stamp in 1988. The short cartoon won quite a bit of awards including the most recent in 2003-- 1st place in Tokyo's "All time animation best 150 in Japan and Worldwide". We posted the video below, if you feel like watching it.
The famous Dnipro River.
Statue of Volodymyr overlooking the Dnipro River.
   

11 comments :

  1. This is the best post ever! I'm a little sad that I wasn't aware of the wee hedgehog statue beforehand. I love Hedgehog in the Fog. I hope you don't mind, but I want to blog about your Kyiv posts/photographs!

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  2. It must be so fun to revisit these photos - a great way to extend your trip into your real life :)

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  3. Ezhik v Tumane!!! What a wonderful cartoon. What street is the statue on in Kiev? Would love to visit.

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  4. how fun to be there for that event. i remember that day well in school back in Russia.

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  5. what a perfect moment to be there - during St. Nicholas Day!

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  6. That's odd... St. Nicholas Day is on the 6th of December. I wonder why it's the 19th in Ukraine. That hedgehog is so cute, ha!

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  7. I didn't see the original cartoon until after a more lively colorful cartoon derived from the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me-TtGalB0A
    There are a couple of more from this format online :)
    Hope you enjoy!

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  8. It looks gorgeous there, thanks for sharing!!

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  9. Kiev looks amazing! Love how you guys captured it!!!

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  10. Kiev looks amazing! You guys captured it so well!!!

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  11. So strange that I should stumble onto this blog today. I spent 2010-2012 in Ukraine teaching English! I was in Kyiv for St. Nicholas' day in 2011 and saw Yanukovych speak in the Maidan! We practically crossed paths. I love reading your posts about Ukraine and the rest of your travels. I've found a new fun blog to follow!! :)))))

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