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U krainian Christm astide W ith the arrival of gradually cooling w eather and th e storm y and cold autum nal winds, our thoughts tu rn to the coming of Christm as, and, especially, to U krainian Christm as or C hrist m astide, as we are wont to call and cherish it. All of us, the oldsters and the youngsters, are eagerly looking forw ard to th a t Holy Day and are beginning to prepare for it, each in his or her own fashion. Some of us are getting our Christm as Club checks and are poring over lists of those of our relatives and friends who will benefit by th a t check. Others among us are planning trips as Christm as guests. Still others, and probably m ost of us, are planning to be the hosts, to those dear and close to us, some from near and some from afar. Yet, sometimes, we cannot help but think w hether all this excitem ent, hubbub and disrup tion of our ordinary behavior p attern before Christm as is nec essary. A fter all, Christm as stands for deep spiritual happi ness and love. In th e B irth of Jesus Christ, who came here to save hum anity, there is hidden an epochal event and m ystical power. In the face of this bald fact, all of our usual divertise- m ents, excitem ent and distrac tions connected w ith Christm as- tide pale into insignificance. Still, hum an nature is hum an nature, especially in the case of those of us who are Ukrainian, either by descent or birth. And so we continue to adhere to Uk rainian Christm as customs. Each one of these customs has a m ean ing attached to it, dating back to olden tim es. In essence they are quite a clear reflection of all the trials and tribulations of our Ukrainian ancestors. And all of them are w orth examining, th eir roots, grow th and development. And truly speaking, their roots are very deep indeed. Many of the present day U krainian Christm as customs date back to pagan tim es in the history of Ukraine, way back when Chris tianity was introduced into Uk raine. W ith the passage of tim e these ancient, prim itive and pa gan customs had the edge rubbed off them , for the hum an mind and heart became more alert and progressive. Nonetheless, the vestiges of those ancient pagan customs have rem ained among the U krainian people. As in the case of other Christian peoples, these customs infiltrated Chris tian customs and traditions and became a p art of them . The oc cult powers of pagan mythology, then believed to be such, lost th a t meaning w ith the develop m ent of Christianity, but still their so-called magical qualities were tolerantly accepted, ju st as a m atter of custom. Among some of these customs among U krainians pertaining to Christm as is the belief th a t dur ing the Holy Supper — th a t is Christm as Eve Supper, all mem bers of the fam ily should be to gether. “God save us” — people say — “wherever else you spend this night means th a t through out this entire year you will wander about this whole world.” How much care is then taken to have the whole fam ily be togeth er in observance of Christm as Eve. God forbid! No fam ily dis putes, a normal thing to be sure, are allowed on Christm as Eve and Day. Indeed n o t! For on th a t Christm as Eve and Day, one has to make peace even w ith one’s own worst enemy, and solemnly promise th a t during th e coming year th a t peace will rem ain un broken and inviolate, w ithin the household and outside of it. W hat a fine gesture this is as a first step tow ard the peace th a t Jesus C hrist preached. Aside from th e serious aspects associated w ith the Ukrainian traditional way of observing Christm as, there are also some of a humorous nature. Of tim es the housewife cannot recollect whom she m ay consider as her enemies or even her potential en emies. So w hat does she do? She simply stuffs up all the cracks and holes th a t she m ay find any* where in the household, and, in the process, whispers to herself some sort of an incantation: “ T is not the holes or cracks th a t I am sealing up, but the m ouths of strangers, to keep them shut up from uttering falsehoods against me and mine throughout the whole year.” The Holy Supper itself! It is replete w ith a m ultitude of po pular beliefs and superstitions. In a corner, close to the table, the husbandsm an sets up a sort of a home altar. Its center is a sheaf of wheat and oat stalks. A t its base are placed objects which are supposed to represent farm implements. The sheaf is sup posed to represent th e bounty of harvest tim e. It also is sup posed to represent the souls of departed, but not-forgotten, an cestors. T hat is why it is called the “Dyidukh” — a sort of a grandfather. All of this, combin ed, is supposed to be an augury of a good harvest during the coming year. City dwellers in the past or in the present, and by those are m eant Ukrainians, have not had НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ГРУДЕНЬ, 1961. 17
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