Ukrainians find solace in Christmas Eve celebration

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This article was published 05/01/2023 (718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Newly arrived Ukrainians found comfort in a traditional feast and new friends, all of whom shared in collective relief and grief, as they marked a major holiday far from their war-torn motherland Friday.

Sts. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral welcomed 200 newcomers to celebrate Orthodox Christmas Eve with carols and a 12-course meal.

Many of the participants, Kateryna Kashchak included, live in hotels and do not have a place to prepare a celebratory dinner.

Three weeks ago, Kashchak fled western Ukraine with her husband and their two young children because of power outages due to Russian attacks on their community, Deliatyn.

“Our trip was really difficult. We spent three days at the airport. We slept on the floor. Our flight was cancelled because of the weather. We were terrified. We don’t know what to do. We have no relatives here and we were really lost,” she said.

“But after we visited the church (in Winnipeg) and talk with the community, we understood we were not alone here and everything will be OK.”

Kashchak called the community supper a welcome distraction since many of her loved ones remain in Ukraine.

The basement of the McGregor Street parish was packed with participants dressed in vyshyvanka, festive blouses embroidered with flowers and other designs in blue, red and yellow thread.

They sang Ukrainian carols in unison — an activity that made members of the crowd teary-eyed — before dinner, which began with the breaking of bread, was served.

“In many cases, the families are divided… For many of them, it’s a very emotional time – especially, at Christmas, when you think so much of family. This is a difficult time for them, so we’re hoping that we can help them get through this period,” said Lawrence Huculak, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Manitoba.

Among the holiday menu items were borscht, fish and kutia, a traditional Christmas wheat berry pudding. The dessert table was overflowing with oranges and doughnuts dusted with icing sugar.

Sixteen-year-old Oleh Yemkov said he couldn’t pick a favourite item because he enjoys them all equally. Christmas, he said, is the best Ukrainian holiday by far.

“Christmas is a beautiful time to spend time with your family, time with your friends and there’s a special atmosphere. You’re always feeling happy,” said Oleh, who arrived at the cathedral early to help set tables and put out appetizers for his fellow newcomers.

The teenager said he is grateful for the last month he has spent in Canada, despite all the culture shock, because “there are a lot of nice people here, the city’s pretty good, and electricity.”

As he was preparing for the event, Rev. Ihor Shved said the group would take a moment to pray for all of Ukraine’s fallen soldiers.

“It’s our tradition to commemorate those who are not with us (on Christmas), especially those who have passed away last year. A lot of our parishioners have relatives who were killed in the war. It’s a sad year for us,” said Shved, of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral.

“I believe we need support and it’s always better if you’re in the community than sitting in a hotel, alone.”

Oleh said he would keep his friend’s father, who died on the front lines in 2022, in his prayers this weekend.

Since Russian forces invaded her home country late last February, Kashchak said there has been a funeral for someone she knows about every two weeks.

“It’s a very difficult time,” said the mother, who noted her family spent much of November using candlelight to survive and feeling as though they were living in the 19th century.

“We used to celebrate Christmas not only with parents, but with brothers, with sisters, with grandmother, and we went to our friends’. We sang carols. We can’t do it right now but anyway, we hope it will end. Today, we will do it here and hopefully next Christmas, we’ll be at home,” she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 36-hour ceasefire to observe Orthodox Christmas, but Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the move as a stunt by Moscow to buy time to reinforce its troops.

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces continued firing as the holiday season got underway.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie