Three Ukrainians, two Christmases and a New Year’s Day

Christmas 2022 will be the first since the start of the war in Ukraine. How will Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Quebec or who have been living there for a while celebrate? The Press discussed this Z Rizdvom Khrystovym (Merry Christmas) like no other with Katia, Maryna and Olha, three students at the University of Montreal.

From the first of the twelve strokes of midnight, on New Year’s Eve, Ukrainians write a wish on a piece of paper, set it on fire and throw the ashes into a glass of champagne which they drink before the end of the twelfth stroke. Everything must be done in time to see his wish come true.

“At 1^er January 2022, I had written ‟Peace in Ukraine”, says Katia Sviderska. But my paper fell to the floor. I couldn’t drink the champagne with the ashes. When the war started [le 24 février], I thought back to this story and told myself that it was my fault. »

Katya laughs. Just a little bit. Just enough to remind that his failed wish is not the cause of this senseless conflict. It’s not the champagne’s fault; it’s Putin’s fault.

Arriving in Quebec in 2006 and a first-session master’s student in political science at the University of Montreal, Katia, 21, is used to spending Christmas with her mother, aunt and cousin celebrating Ukrainian traditions.

“We prepare the traditional dishes, we set the table. It is important to greet people properly. Hospitality is characteristic of Ukrainians,” she says.

But this year may be an exception, because Katia is thinking of going to Kherson to visit her grandparents. “As the city has been liberated, maybe I will go. It remains a question mark. It will depend on the state of the situation. »

Maryna Khrennikova, who arrived in Quebec in the spring of 2022, and her compatriot Olha Simoroz, in Montreal since last summer, are not planning such a return. They are also political science students at UdeM and alone in Montreal, they have other plans.

For visa issues, Maryna, originally from Kharkiv, intends to stay in Montreal. Olha thinks of perhaps going to Poland to visit an aunt.

“I have the impression of living in two worlds”, illustrates Olha, 22, whose parents are in Kyiv.

At least there is internet and telephone. The three Ukrainian friends intend to use technology to communicate with their loved ones. “I speak with my family every day”, notes Maryna, 18 years old and speaking excellent French spiced up with the expression “it’s cool ! “.

“I will also contact my family, but I don’t know if I will be able to talk to them for a long time because of the numerous power outages,” adds Olha. With the bombardments [les Russes ciblent les infrastructures énergétiques], you can’t always keep the connection. »

Reconnect with December 25

As a tradition since arriving in Canada, Katia and her mother call the family on December 31 at 5 p.m. Montreal time. “Because in Ukraine, it’s midnight,” she recalls. So we’re celebrating twice! »

Over the past few decades, Ukrainians’ year-end celebrations have fluctuated between Christian Christmas (December 25), New Year’s Day, and Orthodox Christmas on January 7 (Julian Calendar).

Nevertheless, she remembers her childhood when, on January 7, “the children sang little traditional songs (kolyadki) to the elderly in exchange for a little money”.

Ditto at Olha Simoroz. “When I was little, my mother told me that the first star I saw in the sky on the evening of January 6 signaled the birth of Jesus. I was waiting by the window to see him. It was also necessary that the apartment be well cleaned and that we have 12 traditional dishes, like the koutia, on the table. »

Since the independence of Ukraine (August 24, 1991), the country begins to celebrate Christmas again on December 25. It’s a way of distancing oneself from the Russian Orthodox Christmas. Moreover, on October 18, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church authorized its faithful to celebrate Christmas on December 25 or January 7, as desired.

If she stays in Quebec at the end of the year, Olha intends to go to the Orthodox cathedral of Sainte-Sophie for a liturgy. “Polish friends also invited me to cook pierogis [plat typique polonais] December 24,” she says.

“For me, it is interesting to know the traditions of Quebec,” says Maryna Khrennikova. So I want to do something with my French and Quebec friends to discover this culture. Otherwise, I’ll go to Katia! »

On this joke, the three young women laugh. Away from home or family, Christmas 2022 will be different, but it will be celebrated.