Saint Nicholas brings joy to Ukrainian youngsters in Wales

Luke James

Anna Koliubaieva, a 19-year old Ukrainian refugee living in Cardiff, still has fond memories of celebrating Christmas in her home country.

“When I was a child, you would go round to your neighbours, you would knock on the door and sing Christmas carols for them and they’d give you sweets or some money,” she said.

But her little brother Matvii was denied the chance to make the same happy memories by the full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian in February 2022.

“My brother is eight and, when we moved here, he was five years old,” added Anna. “He can’t remember so many things from Ukraine. I’ve noticed he’s started to lose some memories and traditions.”

That’s why Matvii and other refugee children in Wales received a special visit from Saint Nicholas, or Sviati Mykolai as he’s known in Ukraine, at the Ukraine Hub in Cardiff’s Capitol Centre.

Presents

The arrival of Sviati Mykolai was greeted with traditional Ukrainian songs by the children, who then received presents donated by local volunteers and enjoyed Christmas recipes from home like Kutia, a wheat grain porridge that’s sweetened with honey, fruit, nuts and poppyseeds.

Older children also staged a Vertep, a piece of traditional Ukrainian theatre performed as a way of chasing off the winter and allowing the spring to start.

“I think that our Ukrainian children have to have real Ukrainian fun and keep some of our Ukrainian Christmas traditions alive,” said Matvii’s mum, Olena.

“A lot of children came here when they were so small, so little. They couldn’t remember what Ukrainian traditions are and what a Ukrainian Christmas means. So we want to show them some Ukrainian traditions.”

The visit of Sviati Mykolai was organised by Labour MS Mick Antinow, who took part in similar events while growing up as part of the Ukrainian community established in Reading after the second world war.

“I invited a friend of mine who has done this in the community I was in,” said Antinow. The costume he uses is about 80 years old, it’s the one our parents used when we were kids.”

More settled

The Ukrainian community in Cardiff is also now starting to become “bigger and more settled”, said the Pontypridd MS. The hub in the Capitol Centre was initially established to distribute emergency supplies but has now been transformed into a cultural centre and library of more than 1000 books in Ukrainian.

But as the war drags on into its fourth year, Antinow says the situation is in many ways “getting harder” for refugees. “Nearly all cultural activity has a ring back in terms of what is happening with the war, protecting identity and raising money for aid,” he added.

“You’re talking mainly about women and children and some elderly. Many of them have family members who are fighting on the frontline.

“So the uncertainty gets harder and, after three years, people are tired. There is unpredictability as to what may happen with events in Ukraine, particularly in the Donbass area, and a number of people getting killed and wounded.”

Worried

While Olena Koliubaieva says she feels safe in Wales and “really grateful” for the support she and her three children have received from local volunteers and the Welsh Government, she is also worried about many members of her family who are still in Ukraine this Christmas.

“My husband’s mum is still in Ukraine,” she said. “She doesn’t want to leave Ukraine. It’s a big pain for us because we’re worried. It’s stressful every time you read the news.”

“Now every day, for more than four hours, Ukrainian people are without electricity and the weather in Ukraine is colder, sometimes in the winter we have minus 25 degrees.

“My sister, with her oldest son, is still in Ukraine because the son can’t leave Ukraine because he’s older than 18. Her youngest son is here and lives with my mum.”

There is no let-up in hostilities during the festive period. On Friday, one person was killed and nine were injured in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv which struck a number of European embassies. Ukrainian forces have since hit back with a missile strike on Kursk, which the BBC reported had killed five people.

There is even more uncertainty about what will happen in the New Year when Donald Trump is reinaugurated as president. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week urged a summit of European leaders to “keep supporting us and help engage the White House to strengthen their commitment to improving Ukraine’s air defence.”

Organisers of the event in Cardiff say that’s why it’s all the more important that Ukrainian children are able to once again spend a few hours enjoying celebrating Christmas traditions with their families.

“This visit is about more than just gifts,” said Helen McAdie, the lead volunteer at the Cardiff Ukraine Hub. “It’s about preserving traditions and showing the children that, even in difficult times, there is joy and hope.”

Read more: Many Ukrainian refugees in Wales ‘on the point of homelessness’

Mick Antinow is making another aid delivery to Ukraine in the New – year – donations can be made here