Ukrainian Christmas Gingerbread “Panianky” Added to National Intangible Heritage List | Ukraine news

The tradition of baking and gifting Christmas gingerbread cookies, known as panyanky, has been officially included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements of Ukraine. This decision was made by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, with the tradition being especially actively preserved in the Kotelevska community in the Poltava region.

Oksana Doroshenko, a craftswoman and initiator of the research in Poltava region, notes that work on recognizing this tradition began back in 2019. As part of this project, ethnographic studies were conducted, expeditions to villages were organized, and the gingerbread-making technology was documented.

“A tradition is considered alive if it is passed down from generation to generation. We collected testimonies from older women, described the preparation process, and held local festivals. In 2019, the element was recognized at the regional level, but only now has it been officially included in the National List.”

– Oksana Doroshenko

The Christmas cookies called “panyanky” are made from simple ingredients: flour, water or milk, sugar, and ammonium. This tradition dates back to the 18th century and has local variations in each village, yet it retains a unified essence.

One of the distinctive features of panyanky is their pink glaze color, which was previously obtained from beet juice, as well as spiral-shaped ornaments symbolizing life force and the continuity of the tradition.

In the past, panyanky were an integral part of Christmas celebrations: they were given to carolers, decorated festive tables, and the patterns on them carried wishes of prosperity and health.

“This cookie does not need anyone’s permission to exist, but we live in times when our customs are under threat – war, globalization, changes in lifestyle. Therefore, it is very important to document each such element so that it does not become just a memory.”

– Oksana Doroshenko

Today, the tradition of baking panyanky is actively supported in the Kotelevska community of Poltava region, as well as in the Hrunsk and Chernechchyna communities of Okhtyrka district in Sumy region, and also in the Krasnokutsk and Bohodukhiv communities of Kharkiv region.

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