“Russia took a lot from us, but it won’t take our traditions”: Ukrainian refugees celebrate first Christmas in Poland

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in Poland are celebrating Christmas – which for Orthodox Christians falls on the 6 and 7 January – for the first time since fleeing Russia’s invasion last year.

The holiday is this year marked by the memory of those who remained in the country and those who had died as a result of the war. When asked about their wishes for the coming year, refugees spoke of peace and victory.

Many also expressed their gratitude for the help they have received from Poland, which has taken in more refugees from Ukraine than any other country.

In Warsaw, several hundred people attended a Christmas Eve meal hosted by Ukrainian House, an organisation focused on the integration of Ukrainians into Polish society and promoting Ukrainian culture.

Smaller collective celebrations were also prepared by Ukrainian communities in other Polish cities such as Przemyśl, Wrocław, Olsztyn and Toruń.

In Warsaw – which currently hosts around 100,000 Ukrainians – the spacious hall of the New Theatre was tightly packed with guests. Some were wearing traditional embroidered shirts, called vyshyvanky.

Ukrainian Christmas dishes, such as borshch (a beetroot soup), kutia (a sweet grain dish with wheatberries, poppy seeds, nuts, raisins, honey and sugar), potato varenyky (dumplings) and winegret (beetroot and potato salad), could be found on the several-metre-long tables.

Carolers dressed in traditional costumes sang Ukrainian and Polish Christmas songs.

“Russia took a lot from us, but it won’t take away our traditions,” said Ivanna Kyliushyk of Ukrainian House, opening the event. “I wish resilience and faith for all of us… I wish a peaceful Christmas, tasty kutia, and a victorious 2023.”

A minute’s silence was held to honour those who have fallen in battle and those “who died as a result of attacks by the Russian aggressor”. A prayer was also recited by two priests of the Eastern Christian rite, a Greek Catholic and a Ukrainian Orthodox priest.

In a speech before the prayer, the Greek Catholic priest, Roman Hladij, drew comparisons between Ukrainian refugees and the holy family, who had to flee to protect baby Jesus from King Herod’s orders of the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

“Herod is killing our children, our family members,” he said. “After this supper, take your phone, call those who are in Bachmut or somewhere else. Write to them. Show them that they are not forgotten. Understand that sitting in the trenches in a time like this is very difficult.”

One of the guests, Iryna Rabuch, a 26-year-old from Kyiv who came to Poland just days after the invasion began, said it was important to her to practice Ukrainian traditions with her compatriots.

“We can’t spend this Christmas with our family, so we celebrate it here,” she told Notes from Poland. “We talked with our family today, we wished them merry Christmas and wished quick victory for Ukraine, so we could come back home as soon as possible” – though she added that Poland has become like a second home to her.

Oksana Kosynska, a 55-year-old architect by education, shared this sentiment: “Poland and Ukraine are like sisters that are helping each other, and giving each other strength to keep on living.”

It was estimated in October that around one million Ukrainian refugees remained in Poland, 91% of them women and children. Poland also has a large Ukrainian migrant population from before the war, numbering over one million.

Poland has won praise for the welcome it has shown to those fleeing Russia’s war, with the US ambassador to Warsaw suggesting that the Polish people deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In an address to Ukrainians yesterday, President Andrzej Duda – who in August became the first name inscribed on an avenue in Kyiv honouring those who have supported Ukraine – expressed hope that “the traditional celebration of this Christmas will strengthen your faith in the victory of good over evil”.

Main image credit: Tomasz Pietrzyk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.