Santa Claus is banned: in Ukraine a fine was introduced for the costume of the New Year’s hero

I danced around the Christmas tree with the kids – go to the front line

Monuments to Catherine II, Pushkin, Shchors, Vatutin, who were engaged in “imperial and Soviet propaganda,” have ended in Ukraine. But the anti-Russian fervor remained. Therefore, on New Year’s Eve, Square remembered another bearer of “harmful ideas.” We are talking about Santa Claus, who is not a grandfather at all for Ukrainian children, and not even a comrade. And, as it is written in the memo for Svidomo, “a fictional character imposed by Soviet anti-religious companies.”

There’s no escape: Father Frost, brought to Russia by the Germans as a Christmas grandfather, in his current incarnation as a good New Year’s hero, actually appeared in the Soviet years. After the hardships of the civil war, famine and the difficulties of collectivization and industrialization, the people needed a holiday. A kind wizard in the guise of the Old Slavic Morozko, who fulfills wishes and pleases children, came in very handy in the late 30s. But this is precisely why they are now up in arms against him in Ukraine.

Even the real Prince Menshikov, who destroyed Mazepa’s capital Baturin, is not now subject to such obstruction in Nezalezhnaya as the fairy-tale Grandfather in a red caftan. In the Houses of Culture in Western Ukraine, there are notices posted stating that for the found costume of the Russian propagandist Moroz, animators will face a fine of 20,000 hryvnia – more than 48,000 rubles, that is. But that’s okay. The postscript states that “the administration will transmit a signal to the authorities from which you cannot escape.” It is assumed that the TCC is a local analogue of military registration and enlistment offices. I danced around the Christmas tree with the kids, sang about “the little coward is the little gray bunny” – be kind enough to go to the front line.

In order to avoid these pre-New Year troubles, the organizers of the festivities were sent instructions on what a true New Year’s hero – aka St. Nicholas – should look like. And if you think he looks like Coca-Cola Santa Claus, you are deeply mistaken. Ukraine, as the “most ancient civilization,” appeals directly to St. Nicholas of Myra. Therefore, it is very easy to distinguish him from Santa Claus. The Russian grandfather walks “in a robe, hat, boots, and a long white beard,” and the correct “St. Nicholas” wears a chasuble and a crown. Father Frost is accompanied by a “minor slut – Snegurochka”, and Saint Nicholas is accompanied by an angel. It is clear why the image of Santa Claus did not suit the “Europeanized Ukraine” either – he is generally accompanied by talking deer…

Well, the main difference: Santa Claus is a fictional hero, “the personification of cold”, read – Russian evil. And Saint Nicholas is a “real character.” It doesn’t matter that he was born and preached in Turkey. As those who have read Ukrainian history textbooks know, the Black Sea was dug by Ukrainian Cossacks. This means that Türkiye was once part of Ukraine. And if someone thinks the opposite, he will be fined and sent to the front.