CAROLING ACROSS CAMPUSES NATALIE BLYSNIUK As a member of Western Ukie Students Club for the last three years, I’ve had the pleasure of going caroling with our club multiple times. While sometimes the organization can be stressful, and keeping more than one car of people on track together while we go all over London can be tough, it’s always a fun experience. Every year, we get to explore the Ukrainian community outside
of the Western bubble. We’ve gotten to sit down and chat with interesting people, and simply bring a little extra Ukrainian joy into people's lives. My grandma also lives in London, and it’s a wonderful excuse for me to come and see her. This event always brings a little extra warmth into the bitter winter. We’ve also come away with some hilarious memories, and therefore some tips for those of you who hope to start a kolyada tradition in your USO–you should probably check that the house you’re singing at is the right house before you get through 3 koliadky and a vinchyvanniya.
OLIVER CHILDS Every year, the University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students Association goes around town carolling, both to raise money for the group’s activities and to spread the joy of Christmas in musical form. This year I came along for the ride, and it was to be my first encounter with carolling in any form, never mind carolling in another language for a holiday I’ve never celebrated. As the title indicates, I am not a Ukrainian. I don’t have a drop of Ukrainian blood in my veins, and I was actually born in England before immigrating to Canada at a very young age. I picked up Ukrainian classes at the university on a whim after getting tired of German and French, and I haven’t regretted a moment of it. I started with struggling to memorize a new alphabet full of funny-looking characters, and sixteen months later I was being invited into strangers’ homes to sing carols while wearing a borrowed Vyshyvanka. While I was horribly nervous as I shuffled my way up the icy steps to our first house of the night, my nervousness 6 UKRAINIAN CANADIAN STUDENTS’ UNION
quickly evaporated after we launched into song, and I was delighted by the warm welcome we received and the generous amounts of food and refreshments we were treated to. Here I was experiencing my first Ukrainian Christmas, and the fact that I was not at all Ukrainian hardly seemed to matter. People would immediately suspect it when I told them my last name, but it was always treated as a delightful curiosity. My worries of feeling out of place were unfounded, and the rest of the week flew by as we continued with our performances. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to make it to all them. My involvement with USUSA’s annual carolling tour meant that I essentially got to celebrate Christmas twice, and I am grateful that I was able to be a part of it. As an outsider looking in, there were a few things that struck me about Ukrainian Christmas and our Ukrainian community. I saw a holiday immersed in layers of tradition, full of different rituals and aspects that each have their own special meaning. I saw a holiday focused on family, Continued on page 7... VOLUME 61, ISSUE 02
