Christmas past                                                    Viktorina Savelieva. December 2021

Christmas was not officially celebrated in Eastern Soviet Ukraine, but many families, even those who never went to the church, observed traditional customs, however - purely formally. In Western Ukraine, which until 1944 was a part of Austria-Hungary, Christmas was celebrated as magnificently as in Canada, but according to Orthodox traditions. In there happened our unforgettable Christmas story.

Christmas 1973

Geographical center of Europe, the Carpathian Mountains. On the end of December 1972 my 10-year-old son and I went there for downhill ski. This organized tour started in town Rakhiv. We celebrated New, 1973 year, visited a lot of historical places, many castles. There were many different entertainments, but climbing Hoverla, the highest mountain of the Carpathian Mountains, timed to coincide with Christmas, entered the treasury of unforgettable memories.

On the morning, January 6, the bus took us to the place we should put our ski on. Our first day destination was a a hut at the foot of Hoverla, from which we were separated by 12 km. downhill.

The weather was not good for such kind of hiking: wet snow. However, this and a rather gentle slope facilitated the upcoming descent. Then we were newbies. The skis and the weather were bad. But still, by 8 p.m. we were there, ready for the Christmas Eve. No electricity, no water, no heating. No electricity, no water, no heating. But: a wooden floor; a wooden sleeping platform with sleeping bags for all of us; long wooden table and a stove with utensils for cooking. Also: Christmas tree; decorations all over the hut; bags with costumes, foods, drinks, paper plates and cups. In our group were 5 locals, including 2 instructors, and they knew the Christmas traditions. Very soon we were dressed in dry clothes. Young men, including 10-year-old Sasha, were chopping wood, lighting the stove and melting snow in a large vat. The women were cooking the traditional 12 Lenten dishes, setting the table and dressing themselves up. We read a lot about Christmas Eve at Gogol's. But even now I can't believe if that unforgettable night was a reality. Especially, songs with a guitar in soft Ukrainian and a dance of two couples dressed in traditional costumes with bloomers, boots, ribbons, wreaths and aprons ...

It was difficult to wake up, but: Christmas !!!

We got out of the sleeping bags. The weather was fabulous, the sun was shining, the snow was shimmering and Hoverla was right before us in all its glory!

We are already at an altitude of 1828, the height of Hoverla is 2061 m. We climb the steep rocky slope to the top of Hoverla. Wow! Feeling of the summit, intoxicating freedom, the world from a bird's eye view...We rest, enjoy, take pictures and begin the descent. We do part of it in an alternative way (on our butts). After a two-hour skiing trip - dinner at the Berkut restaurant on the Yablonetsky Pass. However, this is already another, also vivid story.