Ukrainian women in Poland unite to celebrate Christmas, for many it is their first Christmas away from home
Valeriia works in communications for Ukrainski Dom, which translated from Polish means Ukrainian House.
This evening, the foundation is set to host a Christmas Eve meal, or Holy Supper as it is called, at a theatre venue for 500 Ukrainian residents of Warsaw.Today, 6 January, is Christmas Eve for worshippers of the Eastern Orthodox Church which follows the Julian calendar. Christmas Day falls on 7 January.
Earlier this week her father phoned her to say that her grandmother’s house in the city had been damaged by a Russian missile strike. Russia continues to shell Kherson from its positions south of the Dnipro river. The women arrived in Warsaw at various stages since the start of the war, including Nadia Mironenko, a well-known artist and associate professor of art from Kharkiv who teaches the class.
"It’s hard to feel that it’s the [Christmas] holiday now," says Maria who adds that she and her partner decided to"celebrate it [Christmas] with Poland" on 25 December."We bought a small Christmas tree for the children. They are the future," she adds. "I hope that the war will stop," says Yulia who came to Warsaw two months ago with her son, having lived in Vilnius for the previous six months.This year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine - which broke ranks in 2018 with the larger Ukrainian Orthodox Church - gave its congregation the option of celebrating Christmas Day on 25 December.
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