BONNYVILLE – The Ukrainian Orthodox church of Bonnyville and its members saw a shift in traditional celebrations this year, with Christmas falling on Dec. 25 instead of Jan. 7.
Genia Leskiw, a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox church of Bonnyville, explained that two years ago, after the war broke out, Ukraine wanted to distance themselves from the Russian Orthodox Church, so they changed their Christmas celebrations to a new calendar to mirror the rest of Europe.
“On Sunday, [Jan. 5] we celebrated the Epiphany, which we normally used to celebrate on Jan. 18 and 19. So now, the end of the 12 days of Christmas (the epiphany) all end on Jan. 6, whether you're Catholic or United or such,” said Leskiw.
Despite the date change, Leskiw said the church was filled with around 100 people who came to celebrate the eve of the Epiphany.
“We had the eve of the Epiphany at our church here at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Bonnyville. We had the blessing of the water and then we went downstairs and had the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper,” said Leskiw.
She said her family maintained traditional celebrations despite some rearranging in their schedule. They had the traditional 12 course meal, dressed in their Ukrainian clothing, had the three Kolachi (a traditional bread), and sang traditional songs together.
During church on Sunday, they did it all again with their community.
The 12-course meal is meant to represent the 12 apostles. It is also vegetarian, which Leskiw explained has some traditional significance.
“In the olden days, the farmer would be thanking his stock for what they had provided for them. So, everything on the table would be what the farmer had brought off his land including beans, grains, and vegetables,” said Leskiw.
“The tradition and the spirit felt alive on Sunday. I'm 74 years old though, and this is the first time in my 74 years of being on this Earth that I haven't celebrated the 6th and the 7th, so it’s an adjustment,” said Leskiw.
Leskiw explained that last year the Ukrainian Orthodox church of Canada held votes across the country, asking parishioners if they wanted to maintain the old calendar or whether they wanted to be in unification with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ukraine and switch Christmas to the new calendar.
“We didn't switch over last year. When you’re in a rural community and your priest has five to six churches and communities, to re-do your roster within a couple weeks' time is a daunting task . . . We in our Bonnyville and District churches chose to wait a year,” said Leskiw.