On March 10, Ukraine celebrates the National Anthem Day – one of the three main symbols of the state, embodying the spirit of the nation, its strength, will and desire for independence.
The date of the celebration was not chosen by chance: it was on this day in 1865 in the city of Przemysl, during the commemoration of the anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s death, that a musical masterpiece was first publicly performed – a work by composer Mykhailo Verbytskyi to the words of the poet Pavlo Chubynskyi “Ukraine is not yet dead”.
The history of the Anthem began back in 1862, when at one of the parties of the poet-ethnographer Pavlo Chubynskyi, Serbian students studying at Kyiv University performed a patriotic song. It impressed Chubynskyi so much that in half an hour he created his own text, which became the basis of the future Anthem of Ukraine.
The Anthem is not just words and music. It is a symbol of freedom, struggle and faith in the happy future of Ukraine. It was sung by the Heroes of Krut in the last minutes of their lives in January 1918… It is the National Anthem of Ukraine that is heard every morning after the national minute of silence – as a tribute to the fallen heroes, as a guide to Ukraine fighting for its freedom and independence, as a belief in a bright future and a testament to future generations.
The National Anthem of Ukraine is the voice of a nation that will never surrender to the enemy and will always follow the path of independence and victory.
WE WILL LAY BODY AND SOUL FOR OUR FREEDOM,
AND SHOW THAT WE, BROTHERS, ARE OF THE COSSACK KIN.
Glory to our National Anthem!
Glory to the Heroes!
Glory to Ukraine!