Culture as а Factor of National Consolidation (on Examples of Slovenian and Ukrainian National Holidays)

Abstract

The historical and cultural features of creating public holidays of Slovenia and Ukraine during 1990-2016 are analyzed. It is focused on the question of how to implement the “culture of celebration” in the two post-socialist countries. The level of the nation consolidation is measured in terms of “independence”, “unity” that represented in the holiday calendars. The cultural and political components of national holidays that include the potential for democratic development of nations are conceptualized. The article deals with differences between two countries in terms of the presentation of the national cultural identity in their “cultural days”. The “cultural days” analyzed as a special form of the national consolidation. It is proposed to apply the Slovenian experience for Ukraine, in particular, to initiate the cultural holiday “Shevchenko days” as a celebration “Preshern Day”.

Key words: Nation, Identity, Statehood, Holiday, Culture, Memory.