In honour of all Canadians of Ukrainian heritage, here’s a lovely story from Winnipeg. To get everyone in the festive mood, here’s a classic SCTV video from the Schmenge brothers. (Yes, we know they’re reportedly from “Leutonia” but don’t be a Grinch and just play along!)
Update: A Ukrainian Christmas Carol h/t Hans Rupprecht
For those who celebrate Orthodox Christmas.
Ukrainian – З Різдвом і Новим Роком
Russian – С Рождеством и Новым Годом
I feel half-honoured 🙂
My wife is half Ukrainian/half English, which makes her Ukelish – lucky her dad wasn’t Italian or she’d be a Ukulele… And she got the day wrong (thought it was yesterday!
Oooh, I’m Ukelish too! I thought I was the only one of my kind, alone in the universe… like Leela, the one-eyed alien on Futurama… *sniff*
I’m 1/4 polish and 3/4 ukrainian…try to figure out what that makes me… LOL
rmgk> a Poluk?
Enjoy your Christmas Paska.
Yes, Merry Christmas to all of the Ukrainians here! Thanks to you, I can keep all of my Christmas decorations up longer! My 12 days of Christmas have just ended, whereas yours have just begun. So, please don’t mind me while I continue to celebrate alongside you!
Hark the herald angels sing! Glory to the newborn King!
My wife and I just returned from the annual celebration of Ukrainian Christmas put on by our friends. It is something we look forward to every year and they do it in true tradition and grand style.
A very merry Christmas to all of our Ukrainian friends no matter where you are.
Chrystos Rosdyvsya!
Actually, it’s Christmas according to the Julian calendar.
I have no Ukrainian blood in me, but me, my Serbian friends, Romanian friends also celebrated with me.
I know Ukrainian is a shorthanded way for explain the difference between calendars, but Ukrainian is a nationality, not a religion.
Actually, I forgot. There were some Russian friends who also celebrated Christmas.
My late mother was from Belarus and my late father was of Cossack ancestry.
Neither were Ukrainian, yet they also celebrated Christmas according to the Julian calendar.
In any event, I hope everybody had a good Orthodox Christmas day, especially those Church of Rome adherents of Ukrainian ancestry.
Messed up this year in my plan to get Ukrainian Christmas off and just got back from a long day at the hospital. At least there’s still a few Christmas trees up in the hospital and it snowed today so for at least one of the Christmas’s I celebrate there was snow.
Always had a schizophrenic Christmas season as my father was Ukrainian, and Orthodox whereas my mother was Croatian and Catholic. Hence the compromise my parents reached was to celebrate both Christmas’s. I guess I’ll just have to celebrate Нови Рок, according to the Orthodox calendar, in 6 days time.
I am of Serbian & Belarus heritage and it is Orthodox Christmas.
We have the best religion!
When you pay full price for your Christmas gifts we get 30% to 80% off.
When you throw your Christmas tree out we pick it up and put up in our house. sometimes it’s decorated.Sweet
We get another day off that must be observed by our employers.
When we screw up on our New Years resolutions, we have another New Years to make it it right.
Yes, we all eat cabbage rolls.
“The peace of God, Christ is born”
I guess I should have added a few more nationalities that celebrate the Julian calendar Orthodox Christmas. I apologize for that. The main point being yesterday was the celebration of the Orthodox Christmas.
In any case, like batb, we leave our Christmas decorations up and the lights on until the day after the Orthodox Christmas to keep the festive mood going for those participants.
Thanks Hans for the Ukrainian Christmas carols. I learned something new, that the carol Christmas Bells has a Ukrainian origin.
And for others – a new beginning and future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnI66WiQOQI&feature=uploademail
When I was a kid growing up mom put the tree up on the 24th and would have taken it down today the 8th.
Merry CHRISTMAS all!
…and to all you muslims JESUS forgives you and this your opportunity to convert.
It takes the Ukrainians to show the rest of Canada what multiculturalism should be all about – appreciating other’s culture and celebrating it without trying to impose their culture and language on others. Kudos to all Ukrainians and Merry Xmas.
All of which explains to those who don’t know, why trying to do anything work related in Russia or most of the FSU anytime between Dec and Feb is not going to happen, unless its vodka or celebration related.
S Novym Godom
wait a minute this can’t be right. I thought you had to be isolated, up north, in a community only accesible by air to have a rich cultural heritage.
That was shot in Edmonton of course.
Man I miss real humor like this.