New Year’s Day in Ukraine
New Year’s Day has been one of the main holidays of the year for a long time. Different people celebrate New Year’s Day at different times and have different traditions. However, giving presents and sending greetings with good wishes are very popular in many countries. People say or write to each other, “Happy New Year!” or “Best wishes for a happy New Year!”
In Ukraine we celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1st. For this holiday people decorate their flats with New Year trees.
Children have New Year’s parties at their schools. They sing songs, recite poems, play games and dance around the New Year’s tree.
Pupils have their winter holidays after New Year’s Day. We also celebrate the Old New Year’s Day on the 14th of January.
New Year’ Day in Scotland
New Year’s Day is not as important as Christmas in England but in Scotland it is a great celebration. It is called Hogmanay in Scottish. Scotland celebrates New Year’s Day widely with a lot of music of bagpipes, the traditional musical instruments, and dancing in the street throughout the night. They organize parties and have much fun. At midnight they cross their arms, join their hands and sing “Auld Lang Syne”, a song by Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet. There are fireworks.
Soon after midnight, Scottish families go “first footing”, visiting the houses of friends and relations to continue the celebrations. There are some traditions that the Scottish people keep during this night. A First Footer must be a handsome boy or a man with dark or fair hair but not with red hair. The first-footer must bring a piece of coal, a coin, some bread and a branch of evergreen tree. They symbolize warmth, wealth, prosperity and happiness for the following 12 months. No one goes out of the house until the first-footer comes. A first-footer must be received warmly with great hospitality.
Auld Lang Syne
( literally ‘old long ago’ or ‘times gone by’)
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne my dear,
for auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
Christmas around the world
How much do you know about Christmas? Do the quiz to find out.
1. The tradition of putting up a tree at Christmas is from:
A Germany B Finland
2 2. In North America, children put stockings out at Christmas time.
Children in the Netherlands use:
A old hats B shoes
3 3. The poinsettia, a traditional Christmas flower, comes from:
A Canada B Mexico
4 4. Which name does not belong to one of Santa’s reindeer’s?
A Klaxon B Blitzen
5 5. In Syria, Christmas gifts are brought by:
A Father Christmas B one of the Wise Men’s camels
6 6. According to English tradition, Santa Clause lives at:
A the South Pole B the North Pole
7 7. Who isn’t one of the Three Kings?
A Baleus B Gaspar
8 8. At Christmas, tradition says to kiss under the:
A poinsettia B misletoe
9 9. Who is the author of a Christmas Carol?
A Mark Twain B Charles Dickens
110. How many reindeer has Santa got?
A ten B eight
(1A2B3B4A5B6B7A8B9B10B)
Christmas in Britain
Christmas in Britain is on the 25th of December. It is a family holiday. The British people decorate their Christmas tree with Christmas balls, angels and lights. They get Christmas cards from their relations and friends. They decorate their houses with the Christmas cards. Before Christmas they bake mince pies. Mince pies today are not made from meat as they once were, but contain raisings,currants, sugar, candied peel and apples. Also special Christmas food is made. Roast turkey. goose. Christmas pudding. mince pies, roast beef, nuts, oranges appear as the traditional Christmas dishes on the dinner tables of Britain.On Christmas Eve they leave big red stockings by their beds for presents. Santa Clause comes at night and leaves presents in the stockings or under the Christmas tree. Children can open them only on a Christmas Day. They pull crackers as well. There are little presents and funny paper hats in the crackers. All the family have holiday dinner. They eat turkey and Christmas pudding. There can be a coin inside a pudding. A person who takes this piece of the pudding with the coin will have good luck. In the evening children sing carols together and everybody has a lot of fun.
1.Name all the words which can be followed by Christmas
2.True or False
1. In Britain people decorate Christmas trees with Christmas cards.
2. Santa Clause puts presents into red stockings.
3. People open their presents on Christmas Eve.
4. There is turkey in Christmas crackers.
5. People eat mince pies after Christmas.
6. People sing carols at Christmas.
Christmas in Ukraine
On the 7th of January Ukrainian people celebrate Christmas. Christmas is a national holiday in Ukraine. Christmas in England and in our country doesn’t coincide because of two calendars. The Orthodox and the Greek Catholic Churches use the Julian calendar. The difference between two calendars is 13 days. That’s why we celebrate religious holidays 13 days later. The evening before Christmas is called Holy Supper. At this time all people get together at Holy Supper’s table in all the Christian families. When a first star appears in the sky, a family pray and taste 12 different dishes because of 12 apostles. The supper is without milk or meat. The floor of rooms is covered with straw and there is a sheaf of wheat which is called ‘Didukh’. It is a symbol of the Vertep where Christ was born. Ukrainian people sing songs about Christ which are called ‘colyadky’. Early in the morning they go to church. After church families gather together to have a holiday breakfast. They have fun and enjoy being together.
Easter in England
People in Britain celebrate Easter every spring. Easter lasts for a week. The three most important days are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
On Maundy Thursday, the king or queen of England gives money to poor people. This tradition is very old. On Good Friday, people eat fish instead of meat. They also eat special cakes with a cross on the top. They call these cakes hot cross buns. On Easter Sunday, people eat a traditional roast dinner with lamb, potatoes and vegetables. The also give each other chocolate Easter eggs.
Easter is fun for children. They often decorate real eggs in pretty colours or make colourful hats, called Easter bonnets. In the past, there was a tradition to wear new clothes at Easter. Now women wear special Easter bonnets, decorated with ribbons, painted eggs, chicks, rabbits and flowers.They can also have an Easter Egg hunt outside.Parents hide Easter eggs in their gardens and the children try to find as many as they can and put them in their Easter basket. People tell their children that the Easter Bunny brings the eggs! Bunnies or rabbits, are symbols of spring as well as daffodils, spring flowers.
Easter is a wonderful celebration. It is lots of fun for all the family.
1 1. Match the days to the traditions:
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday ( give Easter eggs, eat hot cross buns, Queen gives money to poor people)
2. 2. Read again and find:
1. seven food items
2. the name of a game
3. the name of an animal related to Easter
3.Explain the highlighted words
4.How do you celebrate Easter in your country? Are there any similar traditions?
THE
ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD
English is the
second most widely spoken language in the world and it is the most popular. It
is the official language of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States of America, Canada,
Jamaica, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and it is widely spoken in
India. It is the language of international business and science, of aviation
and shipping, computer science, sport and politics. About one third of the
world speaks English.
VARITIES OF ENGLISH
As so many people speak English in so many countries,
there are many different “Englishes”. The best form of English is called
Standard English and it is the language
of educated English speakers. It is used by the Government, the BBC, the
Universities and it is often called Queen’s English. American English is the
variety of English spoken in the United States of America. It is different from
English in pronunciation, intonation, spelling, vocabulary and sometimes even
in grammar. An Englishman goes to the town centre to see a film while an
American man goes downtown to see a movie. If an Englishman needs a pen he
would ask you “Have you got a pen, please?”, but an American would say “ Do you have a pen?”. There is a list of the
most common words which are different in the two “Englishes”
TWO NATIONS ARE DIFFERENT BY ONE COMMON LANGUAGE
British
English
American English
Autumn fall
Bill check
Banknote bill
biscuit cookie
Car park parking lot
Chemist druggist
Class grade
Film movie
Flat apartment
Full stop period
Grilled broiled
Holiday vacation, break
Lift elevator
Lorry truck
Motorway freeway
Pavement sidewalk
Petrol gas
Taxi cab
Sweets candies
Toilet, WC restroom, bathroom
Trousers pants
Underground subway
Zebra crossing crosswalk
Boot trunk (of car)
Bonnet hood (of car)
Single one-way ticket
Return round trip
Railway carriage railway car
Rubbish garbage, trash
Rubber eraser
Wardrobe closet
Garden yard
Curtains drapes
Torch flashlight
Chips French fries
Tights pantyhose
Wash up wash the dishes
Wash your
hands wash up
Vest undershirt
Waistcoat vest
Pants underpants
The ground
floor the ground/first floor
Centre center
Metre meter
Theatre theater
Colour color
Travelling traveling
To sack/ to give
a sack to fire/ to give a pink stripe
He perished He
got a farm
He is
injured he’s down
Have a look take a look
Australian
and British English are similar, but there are some differences in vocabulary
and slang. Many terms, such as kangaroo, dingo, wombat and boomerang come from the
Aboriginal language and many others from
the Cockney dialect spoken by the first settlers, the Londoners.
British English Australian
English
Afternoon arvo
Australian Aussie
Be all
right be apples
Bread damper
Chicken chook
Englishman Pom(mie)
Food tucker
Hello g’d day
Milkman milko
Postman postie
Sandwich cut
lunch
Shepherd stockman
Sweets lollies
Trousers daks
Canadian English
is different both from American English and from British English. It is said to
sound like American to Britons and British to Americans.. Canadians borrowed many
words from Canadian French, for example
bateau (flat-bottomed riverboat)and habitant (a French Canadian, especially
a farmer); from the native Indian languages came many terms like caribou and totem, and from Eskimo, Canadian English acquired(took)anorak (wind-jacket) , Inuit (Escimo), igloo, kayak and
others.
Australia
Taras Gorodetsky
was born to a patriotic Ukrainian family, on August 28, 1964 in Chervonohrad. His
father, who was a former intelligence agent of the Ukrainian Revolting Army,
was sentenced to 25 years in the Soviet camps of Kazakhstan and Vorkuta. However,
this did not hamper his creativity. Gorodetsky graduated from Chervonohrad High School №11 (now Gymnasia) with honors. He received a
degree in civil engineering from "Lviv Polytechnical University". Gorodetsky became interested in painting Easter eggs
in the late 1960s. He decided to learn this difficult art, and it was his
persistence and perseverance that led him to mastering ‘vizerunkotvorinnya’. He became one of the most influential and
respected pysanka masters not only in Ukraine but in the entire world. His
works, of which there are about two or
three thousand, are well-known in the U.S., Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic,
Poland and Russia. Gorodetsky was consumed with painting Easter eggs by the end
of the 1980s. The impetus for that was a trip to the Museum of Architecture and
Life in Pirogovo in 1992. The decline of this art form was a motivating factor
for Gorodetsky. When he realized that few people were engaged with Easter eggs, he
decided to make his contribution to the development of this art. When he saw that it worked, it inspired him to
further develop his technique. He also made great efforts to spread this artfrom throughout Ukraine by helping new learners. The success of his students
encouraged him. He painted on samples of the traditional Easter eggs, and later
he used his imagination to create more intricate patterns. He
was a well-educated draftsman, and it is said he
created the universe in his eggs and whoever saw them, could never forget them.
Museum professionals and private collectors considered it an honor to have the
works of Gorodetsky in their collections. The palette of his work is
extremely broad. His works are grounded in a harmonious combination of old folk
symbols. The use of half-forgotten symbols of Tripoli, Sokal and kosmatski
motives ... They were unbeaten in Taras
Gorodetsky’s creative performance.
Compositional elegance, extremely rich picture and color, advanced techniques -
these miniature masterpieces were very distinct.
Nataliya Vas'ko
Natalia Vas’ko was born on October 19, 1972 to an ordinary miner's family in the town of
Chervonograd where she spent her childhood and school years. Vas’ko became
interested in acting when she was a child.
For the sake of the local drama
group, she would get up quite early every morning before classes started.
Naturally, when she was in her last school year, the choice of the future
profession was made by Natalia Vas’ko very easily and without any hesitations.
Therefore, she went on to study in one of the educational establishments in Kiev as
soon as she received the high school certificate to pursue her career as an actress. In 1994
she graduated from Kiev State Institute of Theatrical Art named after
Karpenko-Kariy. Being already in the last year of studying, she began
acting on the stage of Kiev Theatre of Drama and Comedy, there she devoted five years of her career , and
then in 1998 she moved to Kiev Young Theatre, where she continues to work.
Vas’ko appeared on screens for the first time in 2003. She managed to perform as a presenter of a morning show on one of the leading Ukrainian channels ‘ Inter’. She began starring in films in 2003: her debut came with the supporting role in the film "The Spirit of the Earth." Ukrainian viewers know Vas’ko by the series "Return my love," in which she played the role of Tatiana Arkadyevna, the wife of an oligarch. The actress also starred in the series such as "Return of Mukhtar", "Swallow's Nest", the third season of "The Milkmaids of Hatsapetovki", "The Island of Unnecessary People" et al.
Taras Shevchehko
I would like to tell about the genius of Ukraine, the world famous poet, artist and deep thinker Taras Shevchenko. All his short dramatic life, he fought against the social and national oppression of his people and waked their consciousness.
QUIZ
The UK
Choose the right
item:
1. Great Britain
is separated from the continent by..
a. the North sea
and the Irish sea b. the North sea and
the English channel c. the Irish sea and
the English channel
2. It is washed
by …
a. the Atlantic
ocean and the Pacific Ocean b. the
North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean c.
the Arctic Ocean and the North Sea.
3. Between Great
Britain and Ireland lies …
a. English
Channel b. the North Sea c. the Irish Sea
4. The largest
island of the UK is made up of …
a. England and
Scotland b. Ireland, England and
Scotland c. Scotland, England and
Wales
5. The climate
of Great Britain is …
a. very
cold b. warm and temperate c. mild and temperate
6. The surface
of England and Ireland is …
a. flat b. mountainous c. a vast plain
7. The longest
river in Great Britain is …
a. the
Thames b. the Severn c. the Trent
8. The United
Kingdom includes …
a. Northern
Ireland and the Isles of Man b.
England and Scotland
c. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
9. It is never
too … in summer or too … in winter
a. warm …
cool b. hot … cold c. rainy
… windy
10. The
important … are London, Cardiff, Glasgow.
a. ports b. cities c. districts
11. The full
name of the country is …
a. Great
Britain b. England c. the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
12. It often … in England
a. snows b. rains c. cool
The USA
1. The USA is
located on the continent of …
a. South
America b. Central America c. North America
2. The USA is
the … country in the world.
a.
fourth-largest b.
fifth-largest c. third-largest
3. The USA is
bordered on the north by …
a. the Atlantic
Ocean b. the Gulf of Mexico c. Canada
4. It is washed
by …
a. the Atlantic
Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico b. the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of
Mexico c. the Atlantic Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean
5. Washington
was named in honour of the … whose name was George Washington
a. fifth
President b.
first President c. last President
6. The official
language of the United States is …
a. American b. English c. German
7. Congress
consists of two Chambers …
a. the House of
Lords and the House of Commons b. the
House of Commons and the Senate c. the
House of Representatives and the Senate
8. … is
the head of State and Government
a. The Prime Minister b. The President c. The Queen
9. The USA is …
a. a federal
republic b. a parliamentary
monarchy c. self-governing state
10. People of … live in the United States.
a. one
nationality b. different
nationalities c. different origin
11. The capital
of the USA is …
a. New York b. Washington c. London
12. The full
name of the country is …
a. America b. the United States c. the United States of America
Canada
1.Canada is the
United States neighbour to the…
a. south b. east c. north
2. Canada is
located on … of the US except Alaska.
a. north b. south
c. east
3. Canada is
washed by …
a. the Atlantic
Ocean and the Arctic Ocean b. the
Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean
c. the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
4. The capital
of Canada is …
a. Ottawa b. Toronto
c. Montreal
5. The official
languages of Canada are …
a. English and
German b. English and Indian c. French and English
6. … are the
original people of the North, Central and South America.
a. English and
French b. Indians and Eskimos c. Canadians
7. Canada is a
self-governing ….
a. federal state b. independent state c. federal republic
8. Formally the
head of the stare is … of England.
a. the
President b. the Prime Minister c. the Queen
9. The Canadian
Parliament is made up of …
a. the House of
Commons and the House of Lords b. the
House of Commons and the Senate c. the
House of Representatives and the Senate
10. The most
admirable sight which attracts tourists from all over the world is ….
a. the Niagara
River b. the Great Lakes c. the Niagara Falls
11. All parts of
the country have … in winter.
a. cold
weather b. warm weather c. hot weather
12. The Niagara
Falls are on the Niagara Falls between …
a. Lake Erie and
Lake Huron b. Lake Ontario and Lake
Erie c. Lake Huron and Lake Ontario
Australia
1. Australia is
situated in the southwest of the …
a. Atlantic Ocean b. Pacific Ocean c.
Indian Ocean
2. It is
washed by …
a. the Pacific
Ocean and the Indian Ocean b. the Atlantic Ocean and the
Indian Ocean c. the Pacific
Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
3. The federal
capital of the country is …
a. Sydney b. Canberra c. Melbourne
4. The official
language of the country is ….
a. French b. Australian c. English
5. Australia’s
climate is relatively …
a. warm and
wet b. dry and warm c. dry and cool
6. Australia is
situated in the … hemisphere.
a. south b northern c. western
7. Winter in
Australia is from … to ….
a. December …
February b. March … May c. June … August
8. Spring
in Australia is from … to …
a. June …
August b. September … November c.. March … May
9. … are represented
on the national emblem of Australia.
a. The emu and
the kangaroo b. The koala bear and the
emu c. The possum and the dingo
10. Australia
has winter when we have …
a. autumn b. spring
c. summer
11. The emu
is a large bird which …
a. can fly and
runs well b. cannot fly but runs
well c. cannot run well but flies well
12. Australia
includes …
a. 5 states and
2 territories b. 6 states and 2
territories c. 6 states and 3
territories
13. The king of
Australian animals is the
a. the
ostrich b. the lion c. the kangaroo
New Zealand
1. New Zealand
is …
a. an
independent state b. a parliamentary monarchy
c. a federal republic
c. a federal republic
2. It is
situated … of Australia.
a.
northeast b. southeast c. southwest
3. New Zealand
consists of … and several island groups
a. 4 large islands
b. 5 large islands c. 3 large islands
4. The capital of New Zealand is …
a. Auckland b. Christchurch c. Wellington
5. The Maori
population still speaks …
a. English b. Maori c. French
6. New Zealand
has a … climate.
a. temperate wet
ocean b. warm and dry c. warm and wet
7. There are …
native animals in the country.
a. many b. a lot of c. few
8. Among the
non-flying birds the most interesting is …
a. the emu b. the kiwi c. penguin
9. Formally the
head of the state is … of England.
a. the
President b. the Prime Minister c. the Queen
10. The
Parliament consists of … only.
a. one
House b. two Houses c. three Houses
11. …. is the
head of the government.
a. The
President b. The Prime Minister c. The Queen
12. English is
the … language in New Zealand
a. official b. state c. universal
Taras Gorodetsky
Taras Gorodetsky
was born to a patriotic Ukrainian family, on August 28, 1964 in Chervonohrad. His
father, who was a former intelligence agent of the Ukrainian Revolting Army,
was sentenced to 25 years in the Soviet camps of Kazakhstan and Vorkuta. However,
this did not hamper his creativity. Gorodetsky graduated from Chervonohrad High School №11 (now Gymnasia) with honors. He received a
degree in civil engineering from "Lviv Polytechnical University". Gorodetsky became interested in painting Easter eggs
in the late 1960s. He decided to learn this difficult art, and it was his
persistence and perseverance that led him to mastering ‘vizerunkotvorinnya’. He became one of the most influential and
respected pysanka masters not only in Ukraine but in the entire world. His
works, of which there are about two or
three thousand, are well-known in the U.S., Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic,
Poland and Russia. Gorodetsky was consumed with painting Easter eggs by the end
of the 1980s. The impetus for that was a trip to the Museum of Architecture and
Life in Pirogovo in 1992. The decline of this art form was a motivating factor
for Gorodetsky. When he realized that few people were engaged with Easter eggs, he
decided to make his contribution to the development of this art. When he saw that it worked, it inspired him to
further develop his technique. He also made great efforts to spread this artfrom throughout Ukraine by helping new learners. The success of his students
encouraged him. He painted on samples of the traditional Easter eggs, and later
he used his imagination to create more intricate patterns. He
was a well-educated draftsman, and it is said he
created the universe in his eggs and whoever saw them, could never forget them.
Museum professionals and private collectors considered it an honor to have the
works of Gorodetsky in their collections. The palette of his work is
extremely broad. His works are grounded in a harmonious combination of old folk
symbols. The use of half-forgotten symbols of Tripoli, Sokal and kosmatski
motives ... They were unbeaten in Taras
Gorodetsky’s creative performance.
Compositional elegance, extremely rich picture and color, advanced techniques -
these miniature masterpieces were very distinct.
In his free time Gorodetsky enjoyed travelling to
the Carpathians, climbing its slopes, passing mountain rivers by canoe, radiating vitality and
strength.
Taras Gorodetsky also took an active part in the cultural life of
Ukraine. He was a member of the first and second International Congress of
pysankariv, as well as a jury member of
the International competition of children's Easter eggs (Ivano - Frankivsk,
1996).
Taras Gorodetsky put
a piece of his soul into each Easter egg. Striking
compositional refinement, drawing diverse and unmatched color, exceptional skill
performance of Gorodetsky, according to experts, can not be confused with
others.
On September
26, 2006 the outstanding artist of pysanka passed away but the star of his work has
been shining brightly in different countries up to now. The book "The
World in Eggs of Taras Gorodetsky" showed that the high aspirations of the
soul do not know decay, artistic masterpieces destined to a long life. These
works of art are on a par with the creative achievements of famous Ukrainian
pysankariv as Oksana Bilous, Julia Burko-Romanishyn, Svetlana Deysun, Tatiana
Zatserklyana, Sofia Zyelyk, Joahn Snihur, Inna , Alexander Chorniy...
In some ways,
Taras Gorodetsky can be compared with the composer Vladimir Ivasyuk or actor
Joahn Mykolaichuk. They had a spark of God, all of them worked selflessly, all
were great Ukrainians. However, Taras Gorodetsky’s "weapon" was
different, it turned out to be a peaceful Easter egg.
A Good opportunity
for learning "phenomenon of Gorodetsky" was presented at the
Ukrainian festival in honour of his memory, which was held on September 24-25th
in Chervonohrad. It was well-organized, people came to that festival from
different parts of Ukraine and visited the grave of the great master. They went on an interesting tour
"Decorative and Applied Arts of the Sokal district," and the most
interesting was the "round table" on " Taras Gorodetsky: Master
and Man" - in the context of Ukrainian and world culture. Nataliya Vas'ko
Natalia Vas’ko was born on October 19, 1972 to an ordinary miner's family in the town of
Chervonograd where she spent her childhood and school years. Vas’ko became
interested in acting when she was a child.
For the sake of the local drama
group, she would get up quite early every morning before classes started.
Naturally, when she was in her last school year, the choice of the future
profession was made by Natalia Vas’ko very easily and without any hesitations.
Therefore, she went on to study in one of the educational establishments in Kiev as
soon as she received the high school certificate to pursue her career as an actress. In 1994
she graduated from Kiev State Institute of Theatrical Art named after
Karpenko-Kariy. Being already in the last year of studying, she began
acting on the stage of Kiev Theatre of Drama and Comedy, there she devoted five years of her career , and
then in 1998 she moved to Kiev Young Theatre, where she continues to work.
Vas’ko appeared on screens for the first time in 2003. She managed to perform as a presenter of a morning show on one of the leading Ukrainian channels ‘ Inter’. She began starring in films in 2003: her debut came with the supporting role in the film "The Spirit of the Earth." Ukrainian viewers know Vas’ko by the series "Return my love," in which she played the role of Tatiana Arkadyevna, the wife of an oligarch. The actress also starred in the series such as "Return of Mukhtar", "Swallow's Nest", the third season of "The Milkmaids of Hatsapetovki", "The Island of Unnecessary People" et al.
The actress admits that her beloved
daughter, Julia (who studied in the same Chervonohrad school) and her mother are her main critics. Speaking with her daughter, visiting theaters and museums are the favourite pastime of the actress.
Natalya Vas’ko is one of the most gifted and
professional actresses in Ukraine. She has starred in more than fifty films.
While pursuing her career, the actress had to overcome many obstacles. During hard times, Vas’ko held many different jobs to support her family. However, Natalya Vas’ko couldn’t
help thinking about acting. The actress did her best to make her dream come
true.
I would like to tell about the genius of Ukraine, the world famous poet, artist and deep thinker Taras Shevchenko. All his short dramatic life, he fought against the social and national oppression of his people and waked their consciousness.
He was born into the family of a serf peasant in the
village of Morintsi. In his childhood, he took a great interest in drawing
pictures and writing poems.
When Taras was 14 years old, his master took him as a
house-lackey to Vilno (Vilnius). Here, for the first time in his life he heard a
foreign speech.
Later, his master took Taras to Petersburg where Karl
Bruillow, a Russian artist, noticed his talent and bought him out of serfdom.
Shevchenko studied at St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1839-1845). In Ukrainian
Art Taras Shevchenko is a representative of romanticism and critical realism.
As an artist, he was a good portrait-painter. He painted some of his self-
portraits, portraits of actor Shchepkin, Haldridge, Maximovych – the Ukrainian
scientist and first rector of Kyiv University.
However, his main calling was poetry. He wrote his
poems in Ukrainian and his prose both in Ukrainian and in Russian. In 1840 he
published his first book “Kobzar” and a year later – ‘Haidamaky’, a historical
poem about the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian peasants against the Polish
lords in 1768.
In 1844 the poet wrote his satirical poem ‘A dream’
for which Nicholas I exiled him to the Kazakh steppes to serve as a private in
the army.
The poet’s grave, as he willed, is on a high Dnipro
bank in Kaniv, not far from the village where he was born.
To honour the memory of this great man of Ukraine, a monument to Taras Shevchenko was erected not
only in our town Chervonohrad, but also in other cities throughout the world.
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