LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (05/14/00)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

We bless the paska, not the Easter basket

Dear Editor:

Christ is Risen!

This letter is in response to Orysia Paszczak Tracz's April 23 article titled "About those Easter baskets." It may sound as if I am oversensitive to the spirit in which it was written, and I am. Why? because I think one important point needs to be clarified: we Ukrainians do not bless an Easter basket - we bless an Easter paska.

Any one who celebrated this tradition even once had their basket blessed. But every year it is the feast of Pascha, the Resurrection, which we celebrate, and it is symbolized by what is in the basket - not by the basket itself.

In her search for "So how and when - and why - do you bless your Easter basket?" she and any "hospodynia" who has a Ukrainian cookbook from which she follows a recipe to bake a paska, can find a simple, yet sufficient, explanation behind this custom.

In one of my books, "Ukrainian Easter" by Mary Woloch-Vaughn of Indiana, it states: "Historically, the Lenten period was a period of fasting ... to show their joy and gratitude at the end of this strict fast, people took to the divine liturgy celebrated Easter morning food which was to be blessed ... bread is symbolic of Jesus Christ, the 'Living Bread,' who 'came down from heaven to give life eternal to the word.' The richness of this bread both in ingredients and in decoration, is a reflection of the special meaning it holds."

Why is it a paska and not loaf of rye bread or a kolach or any other bread? Because Christ is the paska. He is the Paschal lamb, and He is the sacrifice; His sacrifice is for our lives and our salvation. So I ask Ms. Tracz, what meaning does a basket hold?

Also, Ms. Tracz is irritated by the "new trend" of "needlework-type servetky" with embroidered pysanky, pussy willows, churches and hahilky on them, along with the embroidered words of the Easter greeting, because "there is no need for additional symbolism or reinforcement," she is somewhat out of line. There is a need for additional symbolism and reinforcement. It is for this very reason that it is within our tradition to do and say things more than once. "Christ is Risen" is sung three times. We great each other with a kiss three times. In any one rendition of "Mnohaya Lita" we repeat the words more than once. These things are so important to us - doing them once is not enough. Is there anything wrong with an embroidered servetka that reinforces the celebration of the Resurrection? That is, after all, why we "bless baskets."

Again perhaps I am being oversensitive to the issue. However, knowing that The Ukrainian Weekly is widely circulated, especially among subscribers for whom this is the only source of information on Ukrainian traditions and customs, Ms. Tracz should have provided a more accurate response to her own question. It is no wonder that many non-Ukrainians and Ukrainians alike know so little about our rich heritage.

Indeed He is Risen!

Christine Hayda
Chicago

Disagrees with Kuropas over Gonzalez case

Dear Editor:

Myron Kuropas has written some great columns over the years, many telling us things we didn't know. He has always been a fighter for Ukraine and is a great asset to The Weekly.

But I beg to differ from his opinions on the Elian Gonzalez case. To sever the boy from his father and his four grandparents, and hand him over to his great uncle and adult cousin would be illegal, unjust and immoral.

Far from using "KGB tactics," the Justice Department spent months trying to settle the case peacefully. At first Elian's Miami family said they only wanted their day in court. When they got it and lost, they defied the law. They constantly kept changing their demands, often at the last minute, totally exasperating the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Justice Department officials.

Elian's "defenders" surrounding his great uncle's house openly talked of how they had purchased guns and would defend Elian. Remember, this is in a city where a Cuban radio commentator got his legs blown off for suggesting discussions with Fidel Castro, where the American flag was recently burned in Miami's "Little Havana," where there is a lot of contempt for democracy and the law.

The Elian case has been a big black eye to Miami's Cubans - in America and around the world - and I think it will eventually change two things.

For decades Cubans have been a very privileged immigrant group to the United States. Let an illegal Cuban manage to touch American soil and he is whisked to the Krome Detention Center, registered and released the next day. He is soon given a green card to work and is eligible for all kinds of financial, medical and social assistance funded by the U.S. government. If you are an illegal non-Cuban and manage to reach American soil you get a miserably different reception. This was all put into place by Congress decades ago, and it's time this policy was dumped. It has created a lot of bitterness.

Also worthy of the trash bin is the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba. It has allowed Castro to blame the United States for just about everything that is wrong in Cuba. It is a wonderful safety valve for him. In fact the Miami Cubans and U.S. policy toward Cuba have been a godsend to Castro. It and they probably have kept him in power.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans who hated Castro or hated the Communist life left, reducing the pressure for change inside Cuba. There are 800,000 Cubans here and they totally control Miami and Dade County. Over the decades they've send billions of dollars to relatives in Cuba, propping up its government. Castro never had a better friend than the U.S. government.

Yes, Dr. Kuropas is right, Fidel has won again - but not for the reasons he gave.

Bohdan Hodiak
Miami Beach

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries on a variety of topics of concern to the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities. Opinions expressed by columnists, commentators and letter-writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association.

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