Nelia from Kharkiv in Slovakia celebrates Christmas twice – Domestic – News
Christmas is one of the most beautiful holidays of the year. However, while Slovak households are slowly over and eating the last desserts, Ukrainian families are still preparing for the holidays.
photo: Jana Vargová
Ukrainian Nelia and her daughter are celebrating Christmas in Slovakia this year.
They follow the Julian calendar, so Christmas Day will not be celebrated until January 5. However, the “real”, joyful and carefree Christmas will remain only wishful thinking this year.
Since February 24, 2022, more than a million people have fled to Slovakia from war-torn Ukraine. A little more than a hundred thousand of them asked us for temporary shelter. Among them is 39-year-old Nelia.
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“I am in Slovakia for a short time. I arrived only two weeks ago with my 9-year-old daughter. We come from Kharkov, we left because they started turning off the electricity there. We lived in the Lviv region for two months, and from there we came to you, in Košice,” describes her journey, a woman who stays in Ukraine mainly because of her wife, that’s why she was nearby, her 20-year-old second daughter, who studies psychology in Lviv.
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They found refuge in the retraining center of US Steel, which is in Medzev and other Ukrainian emigrants are also accommodated there. Nelia and her daughter like it here very much. “There are nice people here, so far we have everything we need. There are also social workers available, whose services we also used,” he says with a heavy sigh, since he lost his husband two months ago. “He died as a volunteer rescuing people from a burning house. The wall buried him there.’
Her mother-in-law was the first from the family to leave for Košice. “She is an oncology patient and it was very difficult for us to provide treatment for her in Ukraine. So we agreed that she will probably be better off with you. I must say that it is so. She has very good health care and is housed in the House of St. Lazar, who runs a Greek Catholic charity in Košice. When my husband died, we suggested we come to see her. However, the older daughter wanted to stay with my mother
Since Nelia is only in Slovakia for a short time, she does not yet have a job. She just made it before the holidays <. After that, he will receive 68 euros per month from the employment office. "I am helped by a charity that provided us with accommodation and meals for free. I don't even have a place to return to Ukraine, since ours was burned down. I don't know what will happen next. I have to recover from all this first. It's still very fresh. I definitely want to learn the language of the members so that I can be valid in this society.''
Christmas holidays have already started for them. This year they will be celebrated twice. They prepared a festive Christmas dinner for them in the hostel on December 24, and there was not even a program that evening. “I take it as it is. The food was tasty, although a little different from what we are used to at home, and the program included a beautiful carol that reminded me of my homeland. However, I know that here in Medzev we will also remember the Orthodox Christmas. Pork chops and pork should not be missing from the table. If they asked me to help them with some food, I would be very happy to join in.”
However, Nelia still has their other Christmas together in Kharkiv on her mind. “We used to build a tree on the fourth of January. Christmas Eve is on January 5. We usually put various gifts under the tree, but there are also tangerines missing. In addition to decorations, there are also various sweets for the tree. Our Christmas dinner consists of 12 types of food. Food symbolizes, for example, love, health, trust… For example, cabbage, potatoes, fish, garlic, honey, beans, pies, catfish or slivčanka are served.
Among other things, we also prepare Old Slavic food from wheat and honey. Our older daughter used to take it to her godparents. On the first Christmas holiday – the Christmas holiday, we sing carols,” describes the classic Ukrainian Christmas Nelia, who most fondly remembers the one when she was 30 years old. “At that time, the family gave me a medallion with a dedication on it, and they hung it on my tree. It was probably my best present. I would wish for all the gifts today, if only there would be peace. I miss my husband very much and my daughters miss their father.’
Nelia is in daily contact with her older daughter. “I hope she will be fine and I believe she will be able to visit us on the Orthodox holidays. I am convinced that all the bad things we are experiencing now will pass one day and we will continue to enjoy life. I will be happy if my younger daughter can find her place here and be happy. I have a very difficult task ahead of me. For my children, I now have to be both mother and father in one person, so that they don’t feel the loss as much,” he adds in conclusion.