Today, the evening of Advent for the Ukrainian community organised by Panevėžys City Municipality was held in the Art Gallery.

"Every year we used to organise a traditional evening of gratitude, where we invited people who made the city of Panevėžys famous. This year is an exception. It brought the most difficult experiences to Ukraine and its people. The terrible war started by Russia forced them to leave their homes and end the year in a completely different way than the people of Ukraine could have expected at the beginning of the year. I understand that for most Ukrainians Panevėžys is a temporary home and they will rush home to their relatives as soon as the opportunity arises. I sincerely wish that it happens as soon as possible. However, today, we are all in Panevėžys. It is nice that the Ukrainian community has become strong and visible - a full-fledged part of our city. I hope that this evening will help to get to know each other even better, to get to know Lithuanian traditions, to forget a little the present situation in the Homeland and feel the festive mood", said Panevėžys Mayor Rytis Račkauskas.

Many war refugees from Ukraine currently living in Panevėžys feel lonely, so one of the main goals of this evening was to create an environment for those gathered where they could communicate, even if they forget their experiences for a while and feel the festive mood, care and love. During the event, the members of the Aukštaičiai Cultural Society introduced Ukrainians to the customs of the Advent period, Christmas Eve dinner, the traditions of setting the festive table, the spells of the magical festive night, etc. At the end of the event, symbolic gifts were handed out - a loaf of Lithuanian bread each, and gingerbread for the children.

The date of the event - December 19 - was not chosen by chance. Today in Ukraine, St. Nicholas, a Catholic and Orthodox saint, the prototype of Santa Claus. It is on December 19 that Ukrainian children celebrate St. Nicholas Day, which is an important part of their holiday traditions. St. Nicholas brings cookies and gingerbread to children on this day. They find the presents under their pillow when they wake up in the morning.