EDITORIAL

Our koliada

It's almost Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar as we write these lines. Most of us have probably completed shopping for gifts for our loved ones, our friends and colleagues, our kids' teachers and all those others on our lists. Whew! Aren't you glad THAT'S over?

But wait, are you really done with your gift-giving during this season of giving?

Have you considered, or even had the time to consider, a donation to your favorite causes and charities, whether in the field of education, or culture, or arts, or social services?

Many of our Ukrainian community groups, especially youth organizations, follow the venerable tradition of the "koliada." If you happen to reside in an area that is blessed with a Ukrainian community, some organizations will stop by your house - as carolers, or "koliadnyky" - to share the good news of this holy season and to ask for your support for their worthwhile activities and good deeds. These enthusiastic young koliadnyky merit your generosity.

Other organizations will mail fund-raising letters, or even send e-mails, seeking your contributions to their symbolic "koliada" during Christmastime. Why not consider giving them a little extra at Christmastime?

To be sure, there are also activist groups that deserve our support. Take, for example, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which has been fighting for redress for the first world war-era internment of Ukrainian Canadians and is in the process of placing historical markers at the sites of each and every internment camp in an effort to educate the public about a little-known chapter in history.

There are also the needy, and the deserving, in Ukraine.

The United Ukrainian American Relief Committee recently reported on the pages of this newspaper that there is a real need for more soup kitchens in Ukraine to feed the less fortunate, primarily elderly pensioners, in various regions of Ukraine.

The Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund is active as always in caring for the medical needs of Ukraine's youngest generations - its future.

The Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation, meanwhile, seeks to provide for the education of future leaders who may one day steer Ukraine in a manner that will make all of us proud.

And, of course, you can just look around your community - there are numerous organizations and groups that would benefit from your generous donations, whether that's an entity like the newly built Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey that aims to serve the broader community of northern New Jersey, your local parish or the Ukrainian school in your area.

Khrystos Rodyvsia - Christ is born! Let us praise Him with our offerings.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 24, 2006, No. 52, Vol. LXXIV

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