Having a Blissful New Year with Your Ukrainian Girlfriend

Spending New Year’s Eve with your Ukrainian girlfriend can strengthen your relationship by leaps and bounds.

The year is fast coming to a close and you plan to welcome in the New Year with all the enthusiasm and energy you can possibly muster. You’ve also been dating this beautiful Ukrainian woman for some time now, and are at the point where you can comfortably celebrate New Year’s Eve together - in Ukraine.

Not every country celebrates Christmas, understandably because it’s primarily a Christian tradition. But every country, save perhaps for yet undiscovered civilizations, adheres to a yearly calendar.

And while not everyone is on the same page on when exactly day 1 begins, they have their own unique ways of celebrating that day regardless.

New Year’s Day will be especially important for your relationship. On that day, most people make promises to themselves, which we call resolutions. And most well-meaning people have some sort of resolution about their romantic life.

In your case, being in a relationship with a foreign woman, your resolution carries more weight. Your promises carry more weight because of the unchartered waters you have yet to tread.

You have barely scratched the surface when it comes to cultural differences, personalities, values, and goals. But if there is any promise you need to make to yourself and to your partner, it’s that you should put your heart and soul into your relationship in the belief that it’s the best thing that has ever happened to the two of you.

Therefore, going into the New Year, acquaint yourself with the practices of her home country. At the very least, you should end up just having a really good time.

Working your New Year schedule

If you do plan on spending the New Year in Ukraine, here is some excellent news. You can spend the holidays both in your country and in Ukraine without any conflict of schedule.

While Ukrainians consider January 1st as a national holiday, they also abide by the Julian calendar, which has January 7 as Christmas Day and January 14 as New Year’s Day. If you really think about it, you can fully celebrate the holidays twice!

In Ukraine, almost two thirds of the population adhere to Orthodox Christianity, and therefore many of their holidays are based on Orthodoxy.

If traveling isn’t an issue for you, you could certainly work out a schedule that accommodates both the western holidays and the Ukrainian ones.

Have a heartful Malanka

Malanka is one of the biggest folk celebrations of the Julian New Year. It is celebrated in a Mardi Gras style with lots of parades, caroling, concerts, and public events. You definitely do not want to miss this even with your Ukrainian woman, as it can be the most fun you’ve had in years.

The first images of Malanka you are likely to see are flocks of people and children clad in colorful traditional outfits, bearing equally colorful lanterns and decorations. An interesting thing to note is that Malanka is like an all-in-one type of celebration, combining elements of Christmas cheer, Mardi Gras, and Halloween.

On one end, you could be part of a group of carolers, serenading from house to house, while being treated to copious amounts of food and drink. On the other end, you could dress up in the most Halloween-ish of costumes and take part in the many festivities around town.

A time to be with family

The holidays are a time for family. Whenever a man or woman brings home their dates for the holidays, it’s a testament to their faith in the relationship. Think about it: at any family event, people are going to be taking lots of photos for posterity’s sake. The less ex-boyfriends show up in family pictures, the better.

In other words, the mere fact that you’re over in Ukraine means that your girlfriend is thinking long term and that she is head over heels in love with you.

Family is a big thing over in Ukraine, and celebrating the New Year with them makes you, in some way or another, part of the family. You will get to partake in a feast of traditional food, like dressed herring, holubtsi (cabbage rolls), pampushki (potato balls with meat), cakes, breads, and much more.

Do note that while most of the western world celebrates January 1st with the biggest bang possible, the Orthodox holidays in Ukraine are celebrated solemnly.

Watch the fireworks

Recreate the magic of when you first met by watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve together.

Ukrainians typically celebrate with fireworks displays on January 1st, just like most other countries. This is an excellent time for you and your partner to take a walk towards the city square and observe the extravagant fireworks shows.

Take note, however, that it will still be deep in the middle of winter, with temperatures reaching as low as -10 degrees Celsius, or 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

Expect the town to be covered in white and lit up with the most vibrant of Christmas lights. Don’t forget to dress up in your thickest and warmest clothing. That being said, it’s hard to imagine a more picture perfect and romantic setting than that.

Make your resolutions honest and true.

Like any other country in the world, Ukraine has traditions that will never make it in a magazine or blog article. The one who can teach you best about these traditions are your Ukrainian girlfriend, her family and friends, and the country itself. So make your experience as immersive and educational as possible.

Begin your New Year with gratitude. There are so many lonely people in the world, and a great number of people in relationships are unhappy. But not you. You have what so many men around the world envy.

How many men wish they could be dating beautiful Ukrainian women? And you have her in a time and place that can only be described as heavenly.

The next thing you should do is create sincere resolutions for the two of you. If you’re thinking about putting a ring on that finger, put it to heart. But also make a resolution to get to know her and her culture on a deeper level. You’re already on track with the fact that you’re in Ukraine.

But if there is any resolution that you might want to make and keep, it’s to celebrate the next New Year’s Day, and the many after that, together with your lover.