Twenty First Century Citizens

Khmelnytsky monument in Kyiv amk2013

The recent events in Ukraine have left me speechless lately.  Like many, I am astounded by the audacity of Ukraine's neighborhood bully.  And the constantly changing scenario fluctuates moment by moment.  So what is true?

Ukraine's relationship with her north eastern partner has been the source of much angst and bloodshed over the centuries. Her patient people have shared, collaborated and created a community of solidarity that stands on the principle of truth. The Ukrainian idea, while expressed in cultural artifacts, songs and dance, is truly about that beautiful ideal. There is a time for everything, for dancing, singing, weaving, planting, and harvesting, ...and yet a droplet of energy properly expended can change everything.

Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky Museum amk2013

Families love their children, children continue to care for their elders in a cycle of mutual love, care and concern - family values matter.  Even when a person departs this physical earth, the continued presence of the 'saints' who have gone to prepare a place for us lingers.  The smells, sights, sounds and remembrances of times past nurture the coming generations.  This is culture.

And so when new generations everywhere contribute improvements to science, communication, medical care and other needs, it is a direct response of care and love for the coming generations.  When a loved one's life is at risk, or in need, the family/community/nation steps in with assistance - we are all one interconnected family.  We may not always admit, but it has always been so. When the earliest travellers stepped into the world, they carried personal honor, truth and principles, trust and reciprocity as their "cultural baggage", and it included poetry, lyrics and histories that nurtured and sustained them through ethical challenges and dangerous times.

Shevchenko Museum in Kaniv amk2013

So when the principled actions of intelligent, patient people in Ukraine over these past months are assessed by the world media, the one consistent message is that these are a very informed and cultured people who care deeply about their land. No longer left in political, social and economic isolation, the twenty first century citizen of Ukraine is crowd sourcing, collaborating, and responding to a system that has cheated them of a real future for so long. Armed with the truth, it hasn't taken long for people to see when rules have been manipulated in a cheating game.  It is Ukraine's gift of patience and fortitude that has made them respond to the smell of tyranny, to stand witness to a manipulative bully, and to speak truth to the power which once held them ransom.

In these changing times, I hope the world continues to be ruled by love, truth and honest family values and that the Golden Rule applies to everyone, including Ukraine.  Who will stand to get the bully and his gang off the field?

Remember Being a "Super Uke"?

Growing up as a hyphenated Ukrainian-Something in the diaspora has meant being a part of a smallish community, scattered thinly among a widely diverse world population.  Gathering together for the comforts of community, my people settled in rural environments, moving gradually through town living to urban centres.  Seeking economic opportunity, it has been important to integrate into the dominant culture linguistically and culturally, yet a small uniqueness remains.  For me, the romantic vision of my ancestral homeland has meant keeping the language, cultural traditions and faith of my ancestors.  Singing together, feeling the common heartbeat, dancing on language inspired rhythms of the ancients, and wearing embroidered shirts that told of magic and mysterious times when the hearth mother was the source of all comfort - these form my early memories. 

I remember the exciting performance trips with dancers, singers and instrumentalists who would trek through a series of small rural venues - to hear the appreciative applause, to see the beaming faces of people equally thirsty for the romantic vision of homeland.  Growing up I realize how small, indeed, these places were - halls holding perhaps 150 to 200 people.  It was a lot of effort, time and care to put these kinds of shows together - even moreso because it was an extracurricular event.  Parental support, families involved, communities galvanized to support the young people in their desire to maintain their ethnic ties.

Even now, performers of all sorts travel from the diaspora to perform in Ukraine, seeking the appreciative recognition of our one-ness in culture and nationality.  Seeking the homeland makes you think differently though.  We in the diaspora live a smallish life of Ukrainian-ism.  Coming to perform in small venues in Ukraine, you get a taste of that small town embrace, but "wow"  it is great to be something big and wonderful too.  What a rush to see people, like yourself, who welcome you as their own - their own countrymen - even if it is a native/foreigner experience. 

I suspect that people in a huge country like Ukraine, with nearly 50 million people whose dominant culture has been Soviet have a different perspective on things.  Today, everyone is seeking the economic freedom to step confidently forward with family life.  Political, cultural and practical issues are adapting to the times.  Will they have a nostalgia for the romantic visions of yore?  Will they spend their extracurricular time on heritage, culture and traditions we have cherished so long?  Only time will tell. 

Ukrainian Language for Teens, Adults and Seniors

Some of my earliest memories have to do with connecting with family and honoring my ancestors.  By this I mean being Ukrainian in a North American culture, the photographic memory of my life is a tumble of embroideries, dancing, tastes and smells, traditions and events that brought family together. Holidays, embraces of young and old were all opportunities for conversation with and about those who were separated from us by time and distance.  Remembered by name, or by ritual, with laughter or tears, family stories and anecdotes never translated well.  Each time I heard the stories another layer of onion skin was removed as more profound and poignant meaning was revealed.  Simple words, but oh, so much more.

Like many North Americans of Ukrainian heritage, the language has adapted to my circumstance - and it is changing from generation to generation.  Actively engaging with the world, culture, history and tradition, I realize how rich having the language feels.  Communicating better is important for travel, for genealogical studies, for culture awareness, for understanding family and partners in life - and it has its own intrinsic value - it is positive and good.  

The Ukrainian Language Classes for Adults at St. Andrew's is a member of the International Heritage Languages Association.  Their interesting style of instruction, affordable classes, entertaining cultural arts experiences are all designed to improve language learning, reading and writing too.  Register alone, register with a friend,  register with your partner in life - enhance that deep feeling of togetherness with a Ukrainian language class this season! 

There will be approximately 24 classes from September 18, 2013 to March 19, 2014 on Wednesday evenings in Edmonton.  Check the site at www.st.andrews-uocc@telus.net.  or call 780-469-1463.

Calgary's Ukrainian Festival - June 1-2, 2013

amk2012

June 1-2, 2013 is almost here! Calgary's Fourth Ukrainian Festival is upon us!   It's becoming a magnet event with representation from across Canada and beyond!  Performers, vendors, guests - and a terrific opportunity to bump into long lost friends!!

With so many award winning Ukrainian dance schools and other performers on stage, it is a constant riot of activity - the kids love having an audience and of course - culture and tradition get loads of applause!  Come for the culture, the traditions, the excitement of community! 

Browsing the vendors guarantees you gifts and trinkets, but even moreso, a new vocabulary of ethnic gift giving.  After all, helping your children appreciate their roots, their heritage, is such an important part of their future too!

Calgary is genuinely fascinated with its roots.  From the mythology involving cowboy hat and spurs, to the reason why grandad was a farm hand way back in the early 1900's Calgarians want to know how our wonderful city came to be.  After the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede last year, we all see the value of connecting and creating, being a part of something that is bigger than ourselves alone! Coming to the Festival is just another way of "people watching", and appreciating their values, their interests, and their dreams!  We have a lot of "cultural capital" right here among community! 

You can enjoy the shows, meet esteemed and rising artists, performers whose talents may astound you, and possibly win a prize or two from the interesting sales booths that bring Ukrainian culture and the Ukrainian idea to eager purchasers.  Campaigning for heritage languages, folk culture, and public acknowledgement of the Ukrainian idea among Calgarians is simply a rite of Canadian passage. 

Wear your Ukrainian clothing!  Get the kids involved in the events!  Come for the shows and a meal!  Bring your camera, your cash and a good pair of walking shoes!  Enjoy the booths, comment on their wares and ask them to bring the stuff you need next time through, create a vibe with your family, friends and neighbors!  The Calgary Ukrainian Festival - version 4 - is bound to be a memorable event - will we see you there?? 

Don't forget the zabava, too!  Do  Zustichi!
Fourth Annual Calgary Ukrainian Festival!
Acadia Recreation Complex, 240 90 Avenue SE
http://www.calgaryukrainianfestival.ca



 

Healthy Transformations

Healthy living is about feeling love, happiness and belonging.  Ukrainian community celebrations in Calgary have traditionally been full of these!  And scientists know that these feelings are related to the good hormone levels, among them, the "mothering hormone" oxytocin.  Of course there are other hormones involved, things like dopamine and serotonin but the point is, these all enhance emotional bonding so necessary for a transformative experience in the world.  Transforming information received from social contact, and converting it into healthy, sustaining energy is that "interior decorating" plan we all undertake over time.

Ukrainian Calgary is more than just an idea for me.  It is a sense of place, of personal relationships, of friendship and family.  Participants in Ukrainian Calgary are processing information all the time. And because everything is new for newcomers, first impressions matter perhaps more than we think!  Aesthetics have a huge impact!  Familiar sights, sounds, smells all give an impression.  We know what we like, love and what attracts us.  We all recognize beauty, skill and craft.  Like connoiseurs, experience has taught us what is good and beneficial for our life journey.  Does Ukrainian Calgary exhude that sense of "home away from home" for newcomers?

Many of Calgary's Ukrainian newcomers and others are quietly visiting "Ukrainian Calgary".  Impressed,  many are taken aback at the organizational vision and personal leadership of the pioneer generations.   Most are astounded at the love, purpose and cultural bonds of Ukrainian Canadians of three and four generations, much less the unity of purpose!  Satisfied with visiting?  Perhaps.  

The linguistic, cultural traditions of the first Ukrainian Canadians has become a small part of the Western Canadian way of life.  "Ukraina" exists here in every pysanka, every "Carol of the Bells", in every braided bread and embroidered sorochka.  "Ukraina" exists here in the dancers, onion domed churches, and pyrohy available in every grocery store.  But newcomers can call home, go on the internet, purchase online - anything they "need" is available for purchase. But can you get "mothering hormones" via email?

What next? Well, relationships have a way of evolving. Transformation is the dance of life. Meditation and spiritual life is but a start; lifestyle changes that stimulate youthful thinking involves having fun together; leading to stress management and positivity, which helps to gain the skill to make new connections. Youthful new Ukrainian Calgarians are looking for these in their new life in the diaspora. 

Is Ukrainian Calgary welcoming new energies, new ideas and lifestyle changes that could transform our dance of life here on the Canadian prairies?  What would a huge embrace of newcomers do for Ukrainian Calgary's future? What are your "interior decorator" plans for Ukrainian Calgary?





  

 

Sadochok Open House

Calgary is home to a wonderful Ukrainian preschool program! St. Vladimir's Sadochok has grown so positively over its 25 year existence! The program is again making strides in service and excellence in child care programming.

 
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 from 7 to 8:30 they are hosting a visit for fans and newcomers to feature changes that are making Sadochok one of the most sought after preschool programs in the city of Calgary. Sadochok is welcoming ongoing registrations, too.  

Sadochok is located just across the Bow River from Calgary's city core. With excellent parking, open air playground, gym and sunshine filled classrooms, this is a program for native speakers of Ukrainian, and those seeking an embracing introduction to the culture and traditions. They also have an innovative manner of addressing a variety of schedule needs.

For more information check
 http://www.ukrainianpreschool.ca

Shevchenko Bi-Centennial 1814-2014

uccab.ca

Every culture has its heroes.  They represent the highest ideals, the dreams of the common people.  Heroes struggle to overcome challenges we all face, and rise to a new plateau of understanding - rising above human experience and encouraging us to aspire to their heights.

Ukrainians have such a hero in the figure of Taras Shevchenko.  The bicentennial of his birth in 1814 is an event of exceptional nationwide importance.  This is perhaps even more so for the Ukrainian community beyond the borders of their ancestral homeland.  His creative legacy, the literary and philosophical underpinnings are note worthy.  But the manner in which his work has spurred the development of Ukrainian social and cultural thought in a European and global sense is something special to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate. His literary contribution to modern Ukrainian literature is huge!  Some believe it has shaped the trajectory of modern Ukrainian language!  The true genius of Taras Shevchenko is constantly being re-appreciated.  His Kobzar, the writings, poetry have been translated into the major languages of the world.  An appreciative world  audience considers him one of the greatest humanist writers.  He is also one of the most outstanding realist painters in the mid 19 century Ukrainian and Russian art.

It will soon be time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, in March 2014.  It is exciting to consider what his creative legacy will bring to the 21 century of Ukrainian diasporan thought!

Calgary is invited to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Annual TARAS SHEVCHENKO CONCERT this March 10, 2013 at Assumption Church Hall - check for details soon.


But in the meanwhile, you can check these sites for more about Taras Shevchenko - Bard of Ukraine.

Visit the Taras Shevchenko museum in Toronto through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ShevchenkoMuseum


Calgary's young people involved Ukrainian Youth Association CYM has presented lovely Shevchenko themed items recently -check this Youtube video of Shevchenko's Kateryna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK2vkjXd3FQ

Celebrating the Ukrainian Christmas Season

The Ukrainian Museum of Canada (Alberta Branch) will hold a special exhibit - Celebrating the Ukrainian Christmas Season - from Tuesday November 6^th until Sunday November 11^th at St. John’s Cultural Centre, 10611 – 110 Avenue, Edmonton. Admission by donation.

Exhibit hours are:

Tuesday November 6: 9:30 am – 9 pm with official opening program from 7 pm – 9 pm on Tuesday

Wednesday November 7: 9:30 am – 4 pm

Thursday November 8: 9:30 am – 8 pm

Friday November 9: 9:30 am – 4 pm

Saturday November 10: 9:30 am - 4 pm

Sunday November 11: 12 noon – 4 pm

For more information please contact the museum at 780-441-1062, email info@umcalberta.org or visit www.umcalberta.org

Christmas Card Art Contest

UCC Christmas Card Art Contest

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is taking enormous strides to help promote and celebrate Ukrainian Canadian artists. As part of celebrating the 2012 Christmas Season, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is calling for submissions of an original image to be featured on the cover of the UCC's 2012 Christmas card. Submission Deadline:  Friday October 26, 2012 Design Submission:  PDF format emailed to marta.tkac@ucc.ca . Tagline: 2012 CHRISTMAS CARD CAMPAIGN SUBMISSION UCC National is looking for the submission of an ORIGINAL IMAGE ONLY which, if chosen, will quickly become recognized as the face of the UCC 2012 Christmas Card. The winning artist will receive an honorarium of $1000.00 in addition to artistic recognition by the community. Images must express the Christmas theme in a visually resolved and captivating manner. There are no limits to how many submissions an artist can submit, however please ensure a high quality of imagery. Images may be manipulated to fit dimensions of card, thus consider the dimensions of 4 inches by 6 inches, 16 cm by 24 cm, or 20 cm by 20 cm as a guideline. Click here for more information.

PLAST 100th Anniversary

Kat Owad's photo of Daria Storoschuk and Michael Kyzmyn September 22,2012
 

After the lovely evening of celebrating PLAST's 100th anniversary, Stanichna Marusia Ilnysky and a pantheon of able leaders in the PLAST Calgary group must be feeling remarkably satisfied. What a great time!

The Saturday celebration began with a Divine Liturgy at St. Stephens's Ukrainian Church, followed by a PLAST gathering that honored the littlest scouts, down to the Founder of the International Scouts Movement Lord Baden-Powell, Ukrainian leaders Tysowsky, and honored the recently reposed Oleh Kandyba of Toronto too. It was a very moving event, that all the participants are sure to remember for a while. PLAST leaders from Toronto, and Edmonton's groups were able to participate, as were guests from Kyiv, and across Canada. Grandparents, aunties and uncles all enjoyed the event!

Picture perfect moments included the 100 hands who helped to light the ceremonial vatra in the hall, tableau vignettes of PLAST's history, and an operatic version of Cinderella in Ukrainian acted by PLAST Calgary's parents and instructors. Just so generous and fun!

The banguet meal was delicious, and the generous support from clergy at St. Stephen's made for a perfectly rounded out evening. Proud parents walked the tired little ones out of the facility in a haze of Ukrainian folk songs, folk tales, Ukrainian humor, and community unity. Diakuyou and congratulations to PLAST on their first 100 years of cultural/educational work with Ukrainian youth, here in the diaspora and in Ukraine.

 



Summer Camp for Calgary's Ukrainian Scouts - PLAST

Such a refreshing summer for a Scouts Camp - Ukrainian Alberta style.  Whether it is the youthful program, the enthusiastic leadership, or the almost "extreme" scouting they have been able to coax out of the teens, for a lot of good reasons, the Ukrainian Scouting movement has captured my admiration. 

Storoschuk

The Ukrainian Scouts - Plast, is the same organization as SCOUTS CANADA, with Baden Powell as the founder.  The Ukrainian Scouting program begin a hundred years ago, then travelled with the post WWII immigrants to all corners of her diaspora community.  Plast Ukrainian Scouts has been in Calgary since the 1980's, and it is indeed a wonderful program for personal development and community involvement. Though a small center, Calgary PLAST has grown, in part because of the influx of new people, but also because it has embraced children of old immigrant families such as mine. 
Weekly activities are like scouts everywhere, with lessons about the world, crafts, sports, charitable works, and cultural activities.  The summer camps are flat out amazing.  The director of the summer camp for the younger children, (held this year at Camp Bar-vi-nok at Pigeon Lake, Alberta) Roman Storoschuk of Calgary, told me they had a fantastic leader to camper ratio this year, the children had lots of care and attention at the water, and during the sometimes tricky crafts activities.  They were pirates this year!



And the program is delivered in a refreshingly sweet and nurturing kind of Ukrainian language that makes every family happy.  Kids songs, child friendly skits, silly camp routines, campfire activities, all in Ukrainian. 

When the little ones advance to the teen groups, they take an oath to the Ukrainian "idea", not a political nor ideological oath. It is such a sweet and romantic "love for my ancestral home" promise that I believe every politician in Ukraine should take this oath.  It could even change the politics a bit!

In any case, if you are interested in a fabulous Scouting program, delivered in Calgary in Ukrainian, consider the contacts below.

http://plast.ca/about/about-en/index.shtml

The Circle of Time

Just who is God?  Billions of people throughout time believe God is the Universal Creator, the One from whom we came, and to whom we will eventually return. So God is home.  Living in our physical body therefore is a time of intense separation, often sporadically in communion with the One, but more commonly in yearning for union, or reunion.  Being born, nurtured, living human lives, we all have moments when we search for meaning, for purpose.  But maybe, just maybe, this yearning is purposeful? Perhaps our life journey is designed precisely in order to enhance the yearning for home?

Imagining is really important!  It's a way we open the door to discovery.  Poets find unique, creative ways to share their perceptions.  Scientists watch the world, and their analysis helps explain how things work and how new things could work.  Even historians piece together memories of events and try to make sense of it all.  So what does it all mean?  Why are we here? 

 the circle of time, the wreath of evergreen, the vinok

Even in the deep recesses of time, the hands of our forefathers pointed to the earth and sky, tenderly caressing the shapes and figures of the animate and inanimate, trying to understand the relationships that bound, and which do not invite. Their awareness, the considerable energy they spent trying to survive, meant checking on the sun, moon, stars, water, earth, and planets.  Observing all the clues they could gather in the natural world they used scientific processes! 

They passed their revealed truths on their children, their tribe, their people. They explained themselves through their art, their language, songs, architecture, myths, and folklore. They poured their life-experiences into artifacts which expressed the hopes and dreams they had for their children, with the fervent plea that this codex of knowledge would ensure their progeny's survival. It was all about survival. Or was it in anticipation of something greater?

While immediate survival was crucial, essential to this journey was that one was headed somewhere, and that somewhere was better than here, and understanding would come "over there". And their future children would benefit from a code of thought, a method of expression, valuable intellectual inheritance symbolically encoded in its physical artifacts, myths and language. How does one understand this inheritance? How can one use this intensely hopeful message from the past?

When you look at the art, weaving, pysanky, embroidery, pottery, carvings, and tools that come from the Ukrainian heritage, even if they are stylized and seem contrived, they are actually remnants of that amazing past.  These are the collected hopes, dreams and yearnings of people, who much like us, wanted the best for their children, for their progeny, the future.  That's why if you read the symbols and signs, there is actually a lot of faith bound up in the code that is our culture.  Information that some person, a long time ago, felt was essential for survival, has been passed from hand to hand, being replicated in each successive copy of some artifact in history.

It dawned on me recently, all these messages are yearning to be understood, begging for a receptive mind to see the person behind the art form.  And the ultimate goal is to heal that sense of intense separation from the One.  That has to be the most amazing thought.  These hands were all speaking to the future about faith, hope and yearning for God!

The next time you see or participate in any aspect of Ukrainian folk culture, consider the "artist".  What did the "artist" intend?  Then, with humility, consider that the art has survived thousands of replications and is still beautiful, still holds meaning, still yearns for the One!!  Vichnaya Pamyat' Eternal Memory! of them, for us, for our future. 

Alberta Summer Ukrainian Dance Programs 2012



Chelsie Dowler/Rocky View Weeklly

Ukrainian dance sisters, Kassidy and Kierra Bayda pose in costumes they wore at the Southern Alberta Ukrainian Dance Festival, March 17, at Bert Church Theatre. http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20120314/ACV0302/303149955/0/acv

Both my daughters participated in Ukrainian dancing, but it seems I missed the Southern Alberta Ukainian Dance Festival this year!  In the past I recall great performances, super adjudicators, family and friends all there to pass on a love of Ukrainian dance, a love of Ukrainian culture, the community of Ukrainian friends!  Even now one of my daughters' friends is a girl she danced with a while back. 

The story goes this way.  My daughter and her friend were the silly girls in Ukrainian dancing, couldn't stop talking.  Had fun!  Enjoyed the learning, but really enjoyed the company.  So they danced into their teens, but couldn't remember when they met.  My daughter was looking at photos from when she was very little.  Turns out this friend was a little girl from my daughter's first Ukrainian dancing lessons, when she was a preschooler!  Turns out that the friendships you make through Ukrainian dancing are frequently the ones that follow you through life. 

If you haven't yet filled your August with Ukrainian Camp ideas, here is another one that is sure to please your young Ukrainian Dancer!!  ALTANETS'!  For summer dance workshops featuring exceptionally qualified dance teachers from Ukraine, this is Alberta's tops!  Teachers are members of this Canadian Ukrainian Dance Academy (http://www.cudacademy.com/) with a proven dance curriculum, and leveled programs for growth in dancing ability!   Alberta Ukrainian Dance Association (http://www.abuda.ca/) again presents its annual Ukrainian Summer Dance Program.  Workshops to improve technique, learn about the dance styles of various regions and styles, and learn about the Art Form that is Ukrainian Dance in Canada!!

Meeting other Ukrainian dancers from across Alberta and the provinces of Canada, enjoying Ukrainian dancing together - what fun!  The cultural program includes crafts, songs, and fun activities to help dancers capture the Ukrainian spirit in a Canadian setting! 

WORKSHOP #2: OVERNIGHT CAMP
CAMP OSELIA, LAKE WABAMUN, AB
AUGUST 5-10, 2012
INSTRUCTOR: VOLODYA MAKAROV
PRICE: $395



Hope Springs Eternal





My embroidery

Our daughter just moved away from the comforts of our home in Calgary, and into a new life far away from the embrace of the familiar - her community, friends and family. As parents, we know the human journey involves change, and her place isn't really that far from home. But if you look at it as another emigration from the "homeland" it takes on a hugely different significance.

The ancestral homeland of Ukraine sits at the crossroads of many important travel, economic and political influences.  It has been so, since forever, it seems.  So, with international opportunities beaconing from every corner of the globe, Ukrainians, like every other people, have chased, emigrated, resettled, re-acclimatized, and re-assessed their "cultural inheritance".  I mean that quite broadly, though.  " Pobutove zhittya" is probably a better descriptor than "culture", but even that needs explaining.

In this particular context I am defining culture as "everything people can pass on to ensure their progeny thrive in the future".  So when helping pack some of her things, we had to anticipate her needs, in the short term, and perhaps longer.  Then to look at all of our collected stuff, and consider what would be hers to inherit. Besides the coffee maker and towels, what could we give her to sustain her, comfort her, and prepare her for life - for it happens without our invitation.  Change happens, but somebody recently told me, it is the small stuff that reveals what a person is made of.  If so, what truly authentic messages will her "stuff" reveal about her ancestral inheritance?  About us, her parents, grandparents, great grandparents?

I was speaking with a cousin in Winnipeg, and she suggested that every child of hers would have a newly embroidered pillow, for the living room sofa.  Taking a traditional pattern, going monochromatic with the color scheme, graphic and modernly finished.......

One of her grandparents gave her a painting referring to home-ie. Ukraine. A montage of events around church, the sights, smells, and spirituality a thousand years or two in the making.  Memories of blessing baskets, eating kutia, that kind of thing.

Another family member wanted to send jars of borsch.  Food, they say, is the most tenacious of the cultural elements, because it hangs around in the memories of home, comfort and love.  Actually, my daughter makes better varenyky than I do, but nobody makes better jam than baba.

And, knowing how much fun it can be to move big bulky stuff, I sent pysanky which can sit in a bowl on the counter to remind her of the many hours we sat together dreaming of what the future would bring. The "masterpiece in the hand", the "ikon of the universe" may prove to be a conversation piece, perhaps someday someone will ask what the whirls, crosses, circles, deer, wheat, and flowers signify?

What does a family give their child who is leaving, not just an airplane trip away, but a world away, like my great grandparents did over a century ago?  What "stuff" sustained them to the degree that many generations later, we still identify with their journey? Many Ukrainian immigrations ago it was said that a person could survive with two books in hand, the Bible and Taras Shevchenko's Kobzar!   How about your family and the travails that have brought them to their Ukrainian Calgary adventure?  What really important message is hidden in the gifts you will leave in your packing trunk?