Різдво та Маланка: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Winter holidays in Ukraine, including the most colorful ones, Koliada and Malanka, combine ancient pagan and later Christian traditions. The rituals, costumes, and texts of carols vary not only between regions, but sometimes even within the same village. In Soviet times, the church, and thus all these holidays, were banned. Carolers and malanka players were detained for performing ritual songs. As a result, in most regions of Ukraine, the authentic tradition of celebration was interrupted for several decades. Today, it is gradually reviving or continuing in places where Soviet bans could not fully reach. Watch our documentary series to see how we have seen Christmas and Malanka in different regions of Ukraine over the years.

Series details

• Title: Різдво та Маланка
• Format: Documentary
• Language: Ukrainian
• Genres: Travel, History
• Premiere date: 2018-12-21
• Final broadcast date listed: 2024-01-07
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: YouTube
• Typical episode runtime: 25 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 67204

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2018-12-21; final listed air date 2024-01-07.

Source and licence

Adapted from Різдво та Маланка on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.