Monday 7 January 2013

Happy Ukrainian Christmas!

Chrystos rodyvsya, Christ is born! Today is Ukrainian (Orthodox) Christmas according to the old Julian calendar. This year My Rare One and I are celebrating by attending a performance of Edmonton's own Ukrainian Shumka Dancers. "Shumka" means "whirlwind" in Ukrainian and you can see why that's a fitting name in this short retrospective of Shumka's 50+ year history --



The event we're going to see is Clara's Dream -- a Ukrainian folk ballet based on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. It's an international co-production which also involves the Virsky Ukrainian State Folk Ensemble and dancers from the Kyiv Ballet. Should be good!


A perogy or two may also be consumed.

40 comments:

Sulky Kitten said...

I think that type of dancing is very exciting to watch. Hope you enjoyed it.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Admittedly, that looks really fun.

So... is Ukrainian Christmas celebrating the birth of Ukrainian Jesus?

DEZMOND said...

It is also Serbian christmas too. Happy holidays.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i am polish and we always celebrated this when i was young. we got tangerines and apples in our shoes. not as fun as xmas but it was still a celebration. i am a sucker for any chance to party! and i or 2 perogies might be eaten. who can stop at so few? i live in the land of perogies! our baseball team has perogie mascots!

Anonymous said...

how exciting!! I LOVE perogies!!!

laughingwolf said...

merry xmas!

while in edmonton, i went to see them several times... incredible!

Elsie Amata said...

What a blast! Have fun. I used to go see Nutcracker as a child.

brandi said...

~christmas blessings to you and yours...looks like it will be quite a show~

Adam said...

cool dancing

turquoisemoon said...

Looks fun! I had to look up what a perogy was...Yummmm!

Jeanne said...

How Fun! :0) Exciting and exhilarating! A wonderful way to start 2013.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

What a lovely treat and the dancing looks amazing. We have friends who are Greek and we will be going to their house this evening for Christmas. I love it. Last night we had Twelfth night celebration....now on with the Carnival on Feb. 12. Always something to look forward to. Oma Linda

My Grama's Soul said...

Have fun....you two.

Jo

mxtodis123 said...

Oh that does sound like fun and a great way to get out of the doldrums. Enjoy and be sure to tell us all about it. It has been years since I had a perogy. I love them.
Mary

Unknown said...

I'm glad you marked this Debra. My Polish and my Serbian friends celebrate this day.

And yes, you can do as you please with the pics of HRH. I hope I did her Royal Magnificence justice!

Jane said...

I'd love to see this! Have fun :)

Southpaw said...

Very cool! I love in the video that they show the old footage and then the new footage.

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

This is fun! I love that kind of dancing. I'd go just for the perogies :)

Birdie said...

My aunt is Ukrainian and can that woman cook! Perogies, roasted meats, borscht, pyrizhky, cabbage rolls, sausages. Oh, my! I have no idea how she stays so thin. She also embroiders the shirts, paints exquisite eggs and does ceramics.

Lois said...

I think... it will be a perogie night at my house too!!! Yumm. My husband calls this 'little Christmas' he is French Canadian. I don't think the French Canadian's ate perogies, though.

yellowdoggranny said...

every Westfest we have Ukrainian dancers..well not every one, but they show up every now and then.ha

The Dancing Crone said...

Have fun - it looks wonderful! Enjoy those perogies!!

Kal said...

I always say the same thing to my Mother when we see the Shumka dancers...."I could have been a DANCER! I could have been a SHUMKA dancer. I would have jumped higher than anyone else ever did...but my Mother didn't love me enough to put me in Ukrainian dance classes".

Here response is that there weren't any classes near where we lived.

Then I go on some rant about how much I love the red boots.

Workingdan said...

I should celebrate this day. That way Christmas would come twice a year! No wait! What am I thinking...Christmas makes me miserable!

Sara said...

Perogies and Ukrainian Christmas. Pure joy! :)

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Happy Ukrainian Christmas! We shall have perogies to celebrate!

Magic Love Crow said...

Thank you, I am Ukrainian ;o) My mom makes the best perogies ;o) I use to Ukrainian dance and so did my brothers! They did all the jumps and kicks, everything. So much fun ;o) I hope you are having a great time at the ballet ;o)

Magic Love Crow said...

I forgot to tell you, my teacher, from the 1980's, use to dance for this ballet ;o)

Guillaume said...

Christmas in Ukraine? Cool! I am still on my post-Christmas blues.

Unknown said...

Happy Ukrainian Christmas to you too!

:)
Nike O.
www.eighthundredsqft.com

Riot Kitty said...

You are so up on all of the holidays! I love pierogis. I don't even need a holiday to eat them :)

Introverted Art said...

My hubby's ex was from the Ukraine... unfortunately made me hate an entire nation ;-)

Magaly Guerrero said...

Even the poster looks like a blast. I bet you'll have fun, fun, fun!

Yvonne said...

I always learn something here. Fun stuff! There is a Greek festival in Corpus Christi and I have not been in years. Maybe 2013 is the time to return and enjoy!

CraveCute said...

This is a great post! I love Christmas so anything to extend it is wonderful!

MILEX said...

I really love it

Mistress Maddie said...

Do we receive a Ukrainian egg , or is that Easter? And did someone say perogy??? I could live on those suckers! In the fall, I went to a Polish festival here, and the little old Polish ladies made the best homemade ones, I ever did have!

Rue said...

I hope the play was fun - it sounds amazing! Wishing we had more of a Ukrainian community here (or any, that I could find.) A friend of mine, before she passed, used to make Kutya for Ukrainian Christmas. I always think of her at this time of year.

SUZY8-TRACK said...

I went to a school run by Ukranian nuns, but I don't recall if we closed the school for the holiday or if only the nuns took off.

Hindustanka said...

Hello! Happy to find some Orthodox related post in your blog :)) And the ballet..mm...it must have been gorgeous! would like to see that mix of classical and traditional :)
Your new follower,
Anna:)