For the Ukrainian people Christmas is the most important family holiday of the whole year. Ukrainian Christmas customs are based not only on Christian traditions, but pagan culture and religion. The Ukrainian society was basically agrarian at that time and had developed an appropriate pagan culture, elements of which have survived to this day.

A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church. Today the carol is represented almost exclusively by the Christmas carol. A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church. Today the carol is represented almost exclusively by the Christmas carol.

A Christmas carol is a carol (song or hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, and which is traditionally sung on Christmas or during the surrounding holiday season. Christmas carols may be regarded as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music.

Basically all Ukrainian Carols (Koliadky) are associated with the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Ukrainian carol most known in the Western World is the "Carol of the Bells", composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, and premiered on December 1916 by a choral group of students at Kiev University.

Ukrainian Christmas songs or carols have their origins in antiquity, as do many other traditions practiced at Christmas time. There are two main groups of Christmas songs in Ukraine: the koliadky, whose name is probably derived from the Latin "calendae" meaning the first day of the month and which are sung on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; the second group of Christmas songs is called shchedrivky, which is a derivation from the word meaning generous. The latter are sung during the Feast of the Epiphany.

Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (Ukrainian:; sometimes spelled Leontovich; Dec – January 23, 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, priest, and teacher of international renown. His music was inspired by Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian nationalist music school. Leontovych specialized in a cappella choral music, ranging from original compositions, to church music, to elaborate arrangements of folk music.

"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol composed by Mykola Leontovych in 1904 with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a folk chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk". Wilhousky's lyrics are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not. The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.

 The song appears in the th Century Fox film Home Alone as arranged by John Williams.  The song appears in the 1994 film The Santa Clause. A group of people are singing it near the opening of the film.  An a cappella rendition of the song, performed by the character Mr. Mackey, was featured on the episode Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics from South Park's third season.  The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song climaxes with a large bell falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker.  A skit the December 12, 1990, episode of Saturday Night Live purported to be an advertisement for the musical album A Dysfunctional Family Christmas. This included a parody of "Carol of the Bells" featuring Dana Carvey singing the lyrics "Leave me alone, just go away...".  The song appears in the th Century Fox film Home Alone as arranged by John Williams.  The song appears in the 1994 film The Santa Clause. A group of people are singing it near the opening of the film.  An a cappella rendition of the song, performed by the character Mr. Mackey, was featured on the episode Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics from South Park's third season.  The Muppets' 2009 parody of the song climaxes with a large bell falling on the increasingly frenetic Beaker.  A skit the December 12, 1990, episode of Saturday Night Live purported to be an advertisement for the musical album A Dysfunctional Family Christmas. This included a parody of "Carol of the Bells" featuring Dana Carvey singing the lyrics "Leave me alone, just go away...".

Presentation was prepared by Irina Gashchenko