What does Christmas mean when outside the window there is another language, different streets, and a different rhythm of life? It is like a breath of fresh air — a moment when even the air itself seems to speak differently, in the language of home. And when hundreds of children’s voices in America sing a Ukrainian carol at the same time, it becomes clear: borders exist only on maps. This feeling is made possible thanks to the Ukrainian diaspora. The Christmas concert at the Ukrainian-language school named after Lesia Ukrainka in Whippany is an event where tradition is not preserved in a museum, but lives, breathes, and grows together with families.
The Christmas concert brought together nearly three hundred children, parents, teachers, and guests at the Ukrainian Center — a space that for almost a century has remained a hub of Ukrainian culture and education. The event was held in a romantic-patriotic spirit, combining tradition, spirituality, and genuine emotion.
The celebration began with a joint prayer for peace and for Ukraine. After that, the space filled with Christmas carols and songs performed by students of different ages. The carols sounded sincere and bright, like bridges between continents, between the present and childhood, between America and Ukraine.
A particularly special moment was the appearance of Saint Nicholas. According to long-standing tradition, he entered not only as a fairy-tale guest, but as a symbol of kindness. Children’s eyes shone with faith, and their smiles were the best proof that the Christmas miracle is alive.
Sponsors and benefactors of the school addressed the community with welcoming remarks, emphasizing the importance of supporting Ukrainian education abroad. They thanked teachers and parents for their dedicated work, and the children — for their desire to learn the language and preserve national traditions. The school’s long-time director, Roman Brukh, congratulating everyone on the holidays, emphasized that a Ukrainian school in America is a place where a quiet but unbreakable love for Ukraine is born — one that is passed from heart to heart over many years.
This celebration became more than just a Christmas concert; it was a living testament to the fact that Ukrainian identity is preserved and flourishes even thousands of kilometers away from the homeland. It once again reminded us: as long as children sing carols in Ukrainian, as long as prayers are heard and tradition lives — Ukraine lives. And such gatherings are immensely important, like the embrace of home, like a promise not to forget who we are.
Author: Tamara Zaiats
