Australian-Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox Christians will celebrate the joy of Easter this weekend, but with the suffering of their homeland never far from their minds.
Many will attend church services on the evening of Saturday, 15 April and morning of Sunday 16 April, and bring with them Easter baskets to be blessed, an ancient tradition imbued with rich symbolism. The Easter baskets will be filled with Paska (Ukrainian Easter bread), pysanky (brightly painted, patterned eggs), sausage, cheese and other special foods. Beautiful embroidered cloths will cover the baskets until candles are lit and the food is blessed, to be shared later with family.
Church services will also be held on Sunday 16 April. In Sydney, at the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lidcombe, young children will perform Hahilky outside the front of the church. Hahilky are based on ancient ritual folk songs, sung in conjunction with ritual dances and games, and are performed in early spring, particularly at Easter.
“Easter represents the victory of life over death – the start of new life. It gives hope for the future,” said the Co-Chairs of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) Mr Stefan Romaniw OAM and Ms Kateryna Argyrou.
“For Ukrainian Australians, this message is particularly poignant as Ukraine continues to suffer from the untold destruction and devastation inflicted by Russia.”
Ms Argyrou’s mother lives in Kyiv and must deal with the threat of bomb attacks every day. Ms Argyrou also has six family members who are defending Ukraine on the front line.
“This Easter, I will not be able to hold my family close, but I will hold dear everything my mother and grandmother taught me about our beautiful Ukrainian traditions. It is this beauty, this unique Ukrainian culture that Russia is trying to destroy – something they will never be able to achieve. My thoughts will be with my cousins who will be marking their second Easter in the trenches, while they bravely defend Ukraine.”
“My thoughts are also with the 5,000 displaced Ukrainians, mostly women and children, who have fled Ukraine to seek safe haven in Australia. They cannot be with their husbands and fathers on this special day – a very difficult time for a family,” she added.
Click here for a list of church services around Australia
Image Source: Luba Petrusha, Wikimedia Commons
