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- Ukrainian Woman - GOD ETERNAL (Boh Predwichny) Christmas Carol God Eternal to us i s born: He came down from above To reveal His perfect Love, And to save the world. In the city of Bethlehem, Christ was born on this day, To show us the Perfect W ay; Redeem man from sin. Heavenly angels sang His praise, Shepherds knew first of all, Kings, then creatures great and small, The glory of His Name. The three kings came to Beth lehem ; Myrh and gold and frank i n- scence, They laid down with obeisance, And they worshiped Him. Let us all praise God with song: Bowing low to our Lord. Praise Him with each deed and word, Praise God in His Son. Translated from Ukrainian by Tetiana Shevchuk НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ГРУДЕНЬ, 1966 Christmas Traditions Marie Halun Bloch’s new book once again takes us to Ukraine. As the story unfolds we are walking along the banks of the Dnieper where young Damian is practing swimming. In time we become acquainted with the boy who so typically represents mod ern Ukrainian youth. Damian lives in the midst of two worlds. One is the world of family tradi tions as personified by his grandmother and the memory of his parents. The other is the bright, garrish world of the Komsomol — his friend Ihor’s luxurious apartment and the professional swimming lessons which he receives at the sports center. The boy faces an inner struggle. He sees the door to that “other” world open before him. All he need do is to break with the “old” remnants of faith and tradition. The drama of Damian’s inner struggle unfolds against the background of the Christmas season in Ukraine. Although, of ficially, all seasonal preparations are supposedly designed to wel come the New Year, many people in reality observe Christmas. This cannot be done openly. Par taking of the Holy Supper on Christmas Eve and attending re ligious services is expressly for bidden the Soviet people. Even food becomes especially difficult to obtain at this time of the year. Several week before the holidays flour all but disappears from the stores to prevent people from storing supplies for future use. In the midst of these Christ mas preparations Damian makes his choice as tension increases between his two worlds. The So viet regime attempts to instigate the youth to attack the church es where the faithful gather to pray. This brutal denial of man’s basic human freedom — the freedom of worship — becomes unbearable for Damian. The con flict within his own conscience suddenly resolves itself and Da mian chooses his world — the world of his grandmother and his parents, a world of hope and trust in a better future. Christmas! It unites people of good will in a common bond of charity and its inspiring message of love lights the hearts of men even in the midst of suffering and persecution. Even the third generation which has never known the solace of prayer feels the power of Christmas. Let us remember this power. Here, in the Free World, we can observe Christmas freely and food is easy to obtain, but we have lost something of the true Christmas spirit. In an attempt to be even most vital element of Christmas — its beautiful tradi tion. Tradition is the very es sence of Christmas, the source of childhood memories, the recollec tion of the joys and anticipation we once knew in the Christmas season. How unfortunate that for many of us nothing remains of the Christmas tradition save the recollection of one or two carols and a lighted candle on the supper table. For the sake of our children we must make every effort to bring tradition back into Christ mas. It will serve to reinforce our ties with the land of our forefathers and will attest to our love and respect for our rich and ancient culture.
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