The regional festival "European Extravaganza" was held for the sixth time in Shepetivka on May 23 on the square in front of the Mykola Ostrovsky Museum. The celebration of Europe Days has become traditional for Shepetivka residents and guests of the city. The festival is a great opportunity to get to know the cultural heritage of the European Union countries better, their values, and to demonstrate your unity with them.
The festival is organized by the M. Ostrovsky Regional Literary and Memorial Museum with the assistance of the Department of Culture, Nationalities and Religions of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Administration.
This year, on the European street, side by side with a tent set up by the Shepetivka Center of the Union of Poles in Ukraine, the Jewish and Armenian communities presented their folk traditions and values for the first time. National minorities presented the values of their peoples to the guests of the holiday.
— Our tent is called a sukkah, — said Rozaliya Freilihman, a representative of the Hesed Besht charitable foundation in Shepetivka. — Traditionally, this is a temporary dwelling. which is covered with green branches. According to the Holy Scripture, Jews celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. On the table, the attributes of the Jewish faith are placed. After all, religion is the most important value of our people, it concentrates both culture and traditions. For example, we demonstrate the Pentateuch, the attributes of the Passover holiday. And of course, we treat guests to kosher wine and matzo. People are satisfied. It is nice that our charitable foundation and the community joined the celebration of Europe Days.
Traditionally, the main participants of the “European Extravaganza” were students from Shepetivka city schools. The day before, on May 22, schoolchildren took part in the regional youth creativity competition “Europe through the eyes of the young”, which accepted photographs, drawings, newspapers, travel sketches (essays) “Traveler's Notes”, created by young people based on recording impressions from traveling around European countries. Winners were determined in each nomination, who were awarded certificates and gifts.
Ukraine is the only non-EU country where the European Community holiday is celebrated at the state level.
Iryna Pogrebnyak
Photo by Zinovy Freilikhman
