The relatively large Ukrainian community in the United States has many traditions and customs, most of which stem from a feeling of Ukrainian nationalism. As Ukraine was being overtaken by Russia, Ukrainians were immigrating by the thousands to the US. Ukrainians moving to the new world were leaving behind a disappearing culture and moving to a completely different land. Immigrants were proud of their heritage, and many of the traditions that were started in America exist to preserve this heritage and to pass it on to future generations.

The Ukrainian Boy Scouting program is one such tradition. Ukrainians in America started this program in the early 1900's to train their young to return to Ukraine and drive the Russians out. This began as resistance to Russian rule over Ukraine. All boys and girls participate in this intermittently throughout the year, starting at age seven and continuing for life. Ukrainian Boy Scouts is very different from the typical American view of Boy Scouts, in that it involves a more rigorous wilderness-training program. This is because the program was essentially started as a military training program, and although it exists now only for fun and

Ukrainian debutante balls have many similarities to American debutante balls, but the differences are important. The Ukrainian version comes from Ukraine, but is still performed by Ukrainians in America. It originates from the days of arranged marriage in Ukraine, when girls at the age of sixteen would participate in these balls, and the young men who attended would speak with the father of any woman they found suitable hoping to arrange marriage. Today, sixteen-year-old Ukrainian women still perform the tradition, but to keep with modern values no marriages are arranged. The population of Ukrainians in the US is very close-knit, so the same group of people attends many of the same balls. These Ukrainian debutante balls are also different from American ones because while American balls are restricted mainly to wealthy families, Ukrainian debutante balls are a tradition performed by Ukrainians of all statuses, in Ukraine and the US.

The Easter tradition is again based on the valuable "life force" which is in an egg, which explains why families get the egg blessed. The egg game at the end of the meal reminds Ukrainians of agricultural life in the old world, and every Ukrainian child learns this when they are old enough to understand the tradition. Parents teach the story behind this game to their children so that they know something of the old world. Passing on Ukrainian history from generation to generation is a large part of the national pride Ukrainians feel.

Ukrainians celebrate Easter in a very specific way, both in Ukraine and the US. The day before Easter Sunday, each family weaves a basket. In the basket they put kielbasa, babka (special bread), hard-boiled eggs, one peeled hard-boiled egg, butter, and cream cheese. The family takes the basket to church on the night before Easter to have it blessed, and the priest puts holy water on the peeled egg. Easter day, no one eats until after church, and when they come home, the family divides up the peeled egg and eats it. Then there is a feast consisting only of the items that were in the basket, in larger quantities of course. After the meal, everyone takes one of the other hard-boiled eggs, and tries to break everyone else's. The last person with an egg has good luck until the next year. This originates from the "old country", when crops were the primary source of income, and the good luck was meant in relation to the growing season.

This program, along with a handful of similar programs, was started for various reasons. To begin with, Ukrainian youths had trouble adjusting to American society. "They (Ukrainian youth programs) are helping to solve some of the social problems of the 'second generation' that does not seem to be able to find its way into American society or does not feel at home there." Ukrainian youths were out of place in America with no sense of identity, and these programs made the adjustment less difficult. These programs also serve to maintain youth interest in Ukrainian heritage. "The adults are perplexed at the indifference of the American-born youth to such wo

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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)