January 5, 2022
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Talk of the Town on Ukrainian Christmas L-R: Leah’s husband, Ross Demkiw, Leah’s daughter, Elyse Demkiw, and Leah Soroka. (Celeste Landry/ Submitted Photo)
haricots, pampushky, and compote (a sweet drink made using dried fruit). On January 7, people sometimes visit homes or they go Gladys Palahniuk, second on left in Christmas caroling. back row with her family. People shared what they do (Mara Palahniuk/Submitted Photo) for Ukrainian Christmas. Gladys Palahniuk who lives in Vegreville said she celebrates Rosanne Fortier Ukrainian Christmas. “I cook the 12 meatless dishes; I News Correspondent People who follow the Julian calendar celebrate the used no animals’ products in this food. For Christmas Eve, I put out a tablecloth with Ukrainian traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve on January 6 and cross stitches on the table and I place the braided bread Ukrainian Christmas Day on January 7. Some traditions which are followed are a meatless (kolach) in the center with a candle on it on the table. meal on Christmas Eve which is meant to honour the Also, I have the wheat (didukh) on a little side table and animals that were in the stable when Jesus was born. The I have a holy icon above it on the wall. This year, I will be celebrating on January 6 with my 12 meatless dishes represent the 12 apostles. son and his family will come over and on January 7, my The supper starts when a child spots the first star. The daughter and her husband will come down to visit,” reason that supper starts then is the star represents the wise men’s journey to find Jesus and that Jesus was Gladys said. Leah Soroka who is from Innisfree and lives in Kyiv, born. After this, an adult in the family brings in a sheaf Ukraine now said they celebrate almost the same way of wheat. The straw from the wheat is placed under the her family who is still in Innisfree observe the occasion. table which signifies the manger which Christ was born. “On Christmas Eve we make the 12 traditional meatless The main dish people serve is kutia which is sort of dishes. We celebrate with primarily our immediate famlike a tasty porridge made out of wheat. Other dishes that people eat are borsch, varenyky, perogies, holpchi, ily. There will be some Ukrainian Canadian families marinated mushrooms, herrings, white fish, and who will come and join us; those we call the orphans (Ukrainian Christmas bread (kolach), stewed cabbage, (those who don’t have a big family in Ukraine.) It is not
about as much about the gifts which we usually give on the Latin (Canadian) Christmas on December 25. It is mostly a quiet evening celebration. We go to the big cathedral which has bell towers and a 30 metre Christmas tree. We go there either Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, we usually just go out with friends. But this year, we didn’t make any plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is actually very quiet in Kyiv on January 6 or 7 where it is hard to even get a taxi. One of my memories of a past Ukrainian Christmas is my mother’s family who is from Two Hills where we used to go with my family on Christmas Eve. My grandfather would have a didukh (a sheaf of wheat) and he would get straw and put it under the table to represent the manger and we didn’t eat until we saw the first star. I remember one year, we were waiting for the star to appear but it was a cloudy night. So, eventually my grandmother said we could eat now, even if we didn’t see the star,” Leah said.
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