The first time I visited Ukraine was in 2001. It was an amazingly fun and educational bus tour led by Orysia Tracz of Winnipeg Manitoba. Since that time, Orysia and I have kept in contact. We’re part of an online group of people who write on Ukrainian themes, culture and history. Orysia is my go-to person for all things Ukrainian.
Orysia has been working on a number of projects and one came to fruition this fall in an absolutely spectacular way. She has published a book about Ukrainian Christmas traditions. This isn’t just any old book. It’s a visual masterpiece, chock full of full colour photos and images, printed lush on heavy gloss paper. I consider this the encyclopedia of Ukrainian Christmas traditions. Well written in an engaging anecdotal style, it invites the reader to dip in time and again. A new classic.
To give you an idea of the broad range of this book, check out this page on carols of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army:
