Luhansk Local Customs

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You would have very special impressions 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. Graduation parties at high schools were usually held on that day or on its eve.
Now the school program is changing and the parties are held in late May.

February 15 is Afghan War Memorial Day.
On that day the participants of that war gather near Afghan Memorial (behind Luhansk Hotel), make speeches, sing soldiers' songs, lay flowers to the memorial paying tribute to the victims of that war.

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Note: the year doesn't matter for such events take place every year.
This is just an example how we celebrate in the city:
Festival program
for the residents of Luhansk
and guests of the city

December 25 – January 13: 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
Lenin Palace of Culture – New Year's Day Fairy Tale Party

December 26 – 27, 10 a.m. – City Cup in light athletics
“Dinamo” athletics hall, “Vanguard” stadium, Oboronnaya Street

December 27, Theater Square
2 p.m. – 4 p.m. – Gala party “Dedication of the City's New Year's Day Tree”
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. Children’s Holiday “Hurrah, Holidays!”
5.30 p.m. – 8 p.m. – “On the Eve of the New Year” holiday program;
8 p.m. – 10 p.m. – Entertainment program for the young people

December 28
10 a.m. – chess tournament
of the city executives and deputies,
Regional Chess and Draughts Club;

December 31, Theater Square
2 p.m. – 4 p.m. – City children’s holiday “Hallo, New Year!”
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. – sports holiday;
6 p.m. – 9 p.m. – “Happy New Year, fellow countrymen!”
holiday program;
9 p.m. - 9.15 p.m. – Fireworks display;
9.15 p.m. – 3 a.m. – young people’s holiday program

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This is the name of a new festival,
International Young People's Folk Dance Festival that takes place in Luhansk on the last week of April at the City Conference Center in Luxemburg Square.
In 2004 five countries took part in that festival: Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, China and Uzbekistan.
The festival program was very busy and picturesque. Lots of local groups and folk dance groups from the neighboring Ukrainian regions came to take part at the festival.
The festival was oranized by Barvinok young people's union of Luhansk.

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We have a brand new tradition: all the new streets and lanes have neutral and very nice names.
They are rarely called after people, only perhaps after some scientists or outstanding artists.
There is a large district on the southern ouskirts of Luhansk called Vidny ("Prominent District").
It consists of three parts: Vidny-1 (closer to the aiport);
Vidny-2 (out in the steppe :-);
Vidny-3 (medical university area).
I have noticed very beaitiful names in this district when we went to the election station of our district. We live close to Vidny and here is what I have found out.
New street names in Luhansk can rarely be found in any other city or town of Ukraine:

Chestnut Street, Strawberry Street, Cossacks Street, Crystal Street,
Forest Park Street, Memorial Street, Wheat Street, Chilly Street,
Rainbow Street, Christmas Street, Watercolor Lane, Picturesque Lane,
Maple Lane, Flower Lane, Lilac Lane, Bright Lane,
Decorative Street, Sunday Street, Aviation Street, Vanguard Street,
April Street, Warsaw Street, Academician Pavlov Street, Mikhail Bulgakov Street,
Andrey Rublyov Street, St.Basil the Blessed Street, Charls Darwin Street and many others.

I believe all those new names would have been unthinkable twenty years ago.
I guess it would be a riddle for any cab driver to find any of those streets unless you specify the district. You only have to say, "Vidny" and add the number, if your friends let you know before. Otherwise you would have to buy a city atlas and look for the desired street yourself or with the kind help of your local friends.

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There is a web site containing major Ukrainian graffiti, among them several from Luhansk.
You can see them in many corners of the city, if you are attentive and inquisitive enough.
Lots of concrete fences and walls of technical buildings have become "canvases" for local folk artists. We admire their works on the way to/from work.
Some of them are almost professional high-end street pictures, others are just combination of letters that are hard to read and are only understandable to their creators...
You can see this graffiti in Stadium Square that is also called Fair Square for many fairs are held here on weekends.
This graffiti reads,
Zaria – champion forever
Zaria is the local soccer club that is playing in the Premiere League now. Its colors are black and white. Hence the second picture.

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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.

Rules of Behavior in the Temple
- 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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At present there are three operating movie theaters in the city whose ads can be seen at bus stops:
- at the East End (October District):
“Mir” movie theater
at 33a Komarov Block;
Tel. +38 0642 47 43 96, +38 0642 056

- at the central district (Lenin District) there are two movie theaters:
1) “Cosmos” movie theater at 1B Lermontov Street;
Tel. +38 0642 53 83 72

2) “Looch” (“Ray”) at 16 Chelyuskintsev Street (next to “Good Zone” nightclub);
Tel. +38 0642 59 59 80

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This is an invitation to the Open Doors Day at Shevchenko National Teacher-Training University.

www.lgpu.lg.ua
The University Day is held traditionally on March 1 every year.
The diverse program includes a huge festival, meetings and concerts.
Such days are held by many higher educational establishments and schools of the city.