Locals get ‘EuroMaidan’ update

Parishioners and guests of the North Port’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, St. Mary’s, had a rare opportunity last Sunday to hear a first-hand report about the “EuroMaidan” in Kyiv, and to have their questions about it answered by someone who was there. EuroMaidan is the massive continuous demonstration at Kyiv’s central independence square, Maidan Nezalezhnosty, since Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych reneged on the often-repeated promise to align Ukraine with the European Union and, in the last minute, refused to sign the association agreement in November.

    The speaker was Petro Rondiak, one of the several very successful American-born businessmen in Ukraine who, with his wife Olya and three children, came to visit his parents, Mrs. and Col. Roman Rondiak, USA (Ret.) of Osprey. Petro Rondiak, who moved around a lot as a child due to his father’s U.S. military career, after working at Raytheon, an aerospace systems supplier, went to Ukraine in 1995 with his wife to run the retail operations of a recently established Ford auto dealership. Eventually, the dealership added Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Porsche to the original Ford brand. Rondiak supports a local school for children with disabilities, the International Women’s Club of Kyiv, as well as the Lions and Rotary clubs of Kyiv.

    The presentation took place after Sunday’s divine liturgy (Mass) at the Parish Center. Rondiak, who himself had spent a lot of time in the Maidan, gave a firsthand description of his own experience as well as an overview of the “inside” of the EuroMaidan, and answered questions of the interested audience.

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    Ukrainian Christians in Ukraine, Greek Catholics and Orthodox, and many outside of Ukraine, including here in North Port, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, and today, Synaxis of the Most Holy Mother of God, is the second day of the Christmas holiday.

    While Ukrainians have adapted many Christmas traditions from other countries, there are many ancient, strictly Ukrainian traditions which are growing in popularity after having been suppressed for decades by the atheist Communist regime. Some of these traditions are singing carols in public squares and going house to house; “vertep,” which is either a sculpture composition of the cave where Jesus was born, or a theatrical play; and “didukh,” a sheaf of different grains, symbolizing wealth, placed in the corner of the living room, right under the icons and close to a loaf of bread. The didukh was the Ukrainian take on a Christmas tree, which was not common in Ukraine until relatively recently.

    “Svyata Vecherya,” Christmas Eve supper with 12 meatless dishes, and the tradition of sharing the meal with the less fortunate (“the more people you help to feel the joy of Jesus’ birth, the more joy will come back to you next year”) are the other two traditions now becoming more and more popular.

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    More about the year 2014: This year will give use five unique “supermoons,” an event when the moon is very close to Earth and appears on the horizon as a huge disk, even though the distance between Earth and the moon decreases only a bit.

    The next supermoons in 2014 — the first was on Jan. 1 — will be on Jan. 30, July 12, Aug. 10 (appearing larger than all the others) and Sept. 9.

    Atanas Kobryn covers the Ukrainian community for the North Port Sun. He can be emailed at atanask@aol.com. 

 

Our Neighbors — The Ukrainians

 by Atanas Kobryn