A Christmas Tale
Forget the things of life for a moment,
Rejoice in your happiness and praise the Lord!
Can you hear?.. A carol is flying above for you to hear.
My sister and brother, come and meet the dear guest right now!
These lines of Bohdan Lepky became an epigraph for a small but very interesting, in our opinion, publication, A Christmas Tale, the collection of carols, hymns, songs, and poems about humanity’s eternal feast. The book was produced by the Opillia NGO which had been collecting rhymed folk texts in order to help as many people as possible to know better local customs, broaden their outlook, spiritually enrich themselves, as well as to promote the revival of folk traditions and rites. Yet, what made this activity of ours not only extremely useful but also very special was the fact that Opillia presented texts full of such specific feelings typical of our nation as innate well-wishing and heartfelt hospitality. The humorous verses were cleared of offensive terms for other peoples, such as zhyd (Jew) and moskal (Russian)...
“On the other hand, we introduced such new characters as the Ukrainian job-seeker and swindling innkeeper,” says Vasyl Laba, Opillia board of directors chairman. “Many things have changed today, and there are still a lot of Ukrainians among smalltime swindlers, as well as among all those who will make no effort to build a new Ukraine, bring our citizens together, and make our hearts full of kindness and nobility rather than of wickedness and coarseness. We are also confident that if a nation cherishes its traditions, it will gain unity and spiritual strength.”
Rhymed texts is one of the oldest examples of Ukrainian poetry which are handed down from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, from parents to children, and have become the true heritage and treasure of our song-loving nation. Every locality, including Opillia, has its own way of reciting greeting verses, carols, and hymns. Although the lyrics and tunes may be augmented and changed, the basic core remains the same: a firm belief, hope, love for the Almighty, and mercy toward one’s neighbor. (Incidentally, Opillia is an ethnographic region embracing 12 districts of Lviv oblast as well as the Halych and Rohatyn districts of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast and six districts of Ternopil oblast.)
While the lyrics of vertepy (religious songs) are of common occurrence in this kind of publications, children’s carols have been printed here for the first time, as have the Christmas-related poetic texts by our contemporaries. All this will undoubtedly be used for staging Christmas plays in schools, daycare facilities, amateur societies, and households.
Yet, while A Christmas Tale is a collective oeuvre, Modern Vertep, also to be published by Opillia, has a specific author — Oleh Makar, teacher of ethics and Christian morals. In fact, the young pedagogue has drastically revised the list of characters. Leaving intact the Angels and Shepherdesses, he introduced the Sichovy Strilets (Western Ukrainian national soldier of 1918-1920) and the villains Racketeer, Terrorist, Soothsayer, Alcohol-and-Drug-Abuser, Gossip, Gigolo, and Psychic. No doubt, this book could trigger not only a public debate but also great public interest.
The Garden of God
Angel-winged shepherds and shepherdesses are walking across the field.
The sky is studded with stars as bright as people’s eyes.
Ukraine is singing carols, the sun is shining in praise of God Almighty;
The Son of Man is preaching a sermon.
The Lord God greets the New Year with promises of ten radiant strokes of luck and freedom.
Ukraine, Ukraine! We are your little children.
God was born in the hay to speak to you.
We will carry you forth in time and we promise today
To be worthy of Taras so that the Garden of God is in eternal blossom.
