Ukraine is a European country situated in its East South, at the shore of the Black Sea. This territory was populated many centuries B.C. It was known by ancient Greeks and Romans. There are still remaineds of their settlemets here. Besides, it was well-known by Mongol Kings, Crimean Khans, TurKisk, Persians and other ancient cultures and tribes that wanted to conquer our land because of its geographical position and fertile soils. You can read more about Ukrainian history on my profile page:

http://my.englishclub.com/profile/Tanya22

Now, Ukraine is an  independent, rather well developed country that refused from the nuclear weapons and death sentence. Ukraine has always been called "The bread basket of Europe" and that is true till now. However, I would add it is "a sunflower oil basket" as well. My country is not only agricultural . It is well known due to its ferrow metals industry, pipes of great diameter, aircraft and automobile industry, bridge engineering , smartest hackers and very smart people. Ukrainians belong to the ethnic group known as the Slavs, who occupy the Eastern part of Europe.

Ukrainian culture is a part of East Slavic culture but it has also been influenced by some other cultures during different conquests and invations. However, it has saved its principle features till now. Today I want to show you the traditional Ukrainian costumes and to tell you about traditional Ukrainian food.

National costumes are different in different regions. On the left are the pictures of Eastern and Central Ukrainian clothes.







On the right are the people in the Western costumes playing national instruments.





These are the costumes of the highlanders who live in The Carpathian Mountains. The main features of all Ukrainian costumes are bright colors, different decorations like stripes, artificial frowers and, of course, Ukrainian hand embroidery which is famous all over the world. It is made only by hands, usually in red and black colors that symbolize love and grief. Such embriodery decorates not only clothes but also towels which are one of the main attributes of our culture. Besides, high red boots are an obligatory integral part of our national costume. Of course, nobody wears such clothes now. You can see them mostly on national singers, dancers, musicians and actors. Regular people sometimes wear it on some ceremonial events like Independence Day when we want to show our patriotic feeling and to state that "Ukraine hasn't died yet". Those are words from our National Anthem. In our everyday life we wear casual things like jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, etc. Most of women prefer to wear tight pants here. But we sometimes put on dresses, I mean mostly cocktail dresses and evening gowns if we go to the receptions, ceremonies, etc.

National Ukrainian Food

Ukrainian cuisine had been formed by the middle of the 18th century. Ukrainian national recipes were significantly influenced by neighboring Polish, Byelorussian and German kitchens. Such a late formation is related to the late formation of the modern Ukrainian ethnos. Ancient Russ cuisine impact on the Ukrainian one is hardly observed as a result of the Tatar-Mongol invasions, when the connection was lost for a considerable period of time.

Borsch (tomato soup with red beet and cabbage)





Ukrainian cuisine is very popular among other Slavs. Many dishes like vareniki and borsch are now considered as international. Modern Ukrainian cuisine’s traditions were formed in the 19th century together with Ukraine’s contemporary bordering. Despite this now we can see some specific distinctions among cuisines of Volyn, Poltavschina, Zakarpatye and Bukovyna regions of Ukraine. Thus, Ukrainian cuisine is united by several common principles of choosing food and cooking.

Vareniki (dumplings with different stuff inside: meat, country cheese, potatoes, stewed сabbages, fruits)





Ukrainian cuisine has also imbibed some traits of German, Hungarian, Turkish and Tatar. For example, the father of well-known vareniki is a Turkish dish dyush-var. Ukrainians borrowed German technique of meat chopping and Ukrainians call it minced meat.

Salo (pork's fat)



Ukrainian cookery was also influenced by politics of early national-hood formation period of Ukraine. Versus or athwart Turks, who do not eat pork due to their religion Ukrainian Cossacks were fond of this meat, moreover they have created a cult out of pork's fat. But at the same time they fully refused to eat truly "muslim" dish - eggplants.

Ukrainian national cuisine - Dinner is served



Ukrainian cuisine is marked by often use of eggs, flour and vegetables. The most popular vegetables are potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, red beet, carrots, pumpkins, corn. Ukrainian cuisine folk recipes actively use such spices as garlic, onion, caraway, mint, angelica, chilly pepper, savory, cinnamon and bay leaf.

Bon Appetite!