Ukrainians Get 2nd Holiday Taste
January 7, 2002
By ELIZABETH HAMILTON, Courant Staff Writer
(Hartford, Connecticut)

All of Christine Kolinsky's neighbors are finished with the holidays by now. Their Christmas trees are bare relics, banished to the curb. Their strands of lights, plastic Santas and holiday wreaths are down. Even their hangovers from New Year's Eve are a distant memory.

Not Kolinsky and her family. They celebrated their second Christmas Eve of the season Sunday night, along with about 200 other local Ukrainian Americans who observe the birth of Jesus Christ on Jan. 7 in keeping with the Orthodox Christian church.

Like most of the people at the Ukrainian National Home of Hartford, Kolinsky and her husband, Roman, also celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. It is the second observance, however, that they treasure most.

"We think about our parents coming to this country with nothing," Kolinsky said, her eyes welling with tears as she looked around the filled hall redolent of cabbage and sauerkraut. "They brought all their traditions with them. That's why we have to keep it going."

A big part of the tradition for the people celebrating Sunday night is the food itself. The kutia, a sweet wheat and honey mixture, that starts the meal. A vivid borscht. Varenyky and holubtsi, stuffed potato and cabbage. And Kolach, the Christmas bread.

The five courses served at the Ukrainian National Home were just a sampling of the full 13-course meal normally eaten for the Orthodox meal. Because of the number of people in attendance, organizers did not time the beginning of the meal with the appearance of the first star in the sky or place hay, nuts, money and garlic under each tablecloth.

But they did sing and speak in Ukrainian - something even those born and raised in the United States can do because they are schooled in the language, history and culture every Saturday at traditional Ukrainian schools.

For Yana Holovatska, who came to the United States 10 months ago with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, the celebration was a salve to her homesickness rather than a link to a distant culture.

"Without this community it would be harder," Holovatska said.

Dear RichC,

Khrystos Rozhdayetsia!

Thank you for that wonderful article and for the dynamic dimensions of ethnicity it brings across so forcefully!

Today is St Stephen's Day and my family basically celebrates the plethora of Stephens that we have and also commemorate those who have reposed.

My niece is "Sweet Sixteen" today and she is "Stephanie."

The Kyivan Caves Lavra has a much-venerated bone relic of St Stephen the Protomartyr and Archdeacon as well.

A Happy Nativity Season to all!

Alex

Slavim Yoho!

Thank God those folks are not Ruthenian Catholics, otherwise somebody would be standing over them tsk-tsking and telling them to get over themselves and just be Americans already.

Alex do you mean has or had? Do they still have it?

Thanx
Stefan

Dear Stefan,

Yes, they still have it and St Stefan is mentioned in the daily invocation service the Lavra uses.

Other relics include those of Sts. Volodymyr, Olha, Boris, Hlib, Ihor and, interestingly, the relic-body of one of the children of Bethlehem killed by Herod!

(I am responding here only since this is a religious question - I'm staying away from all others for now since I appear to be in the dog house).

Have a great day,

Alex