More than 100 Ukrainian children got the chance to celebrate Christmas in Aberdeen today at a party pointing to a remembrance of home.
Families flooded Rosemount Community Centre for the occasion, and were met by volunteers in sparkly festive jumpers and headgear greeting them at the door.
Enthusiasm was high and smiles wide as children dressed in their best chatted excitedly and rushed to join the fun.
Featuring party games, dancing, sweet treats and a visit from Santa and St Nicholas, it was most children’s ideal party.
However, for most of the 128 kids attending, volunteers at the Ukrainian Hub said it was probably one of the few moments they were able to switch off and have fun.
Chocolate and big smiles on faces
As children who have had to flee the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with their families, their lives have been far from easy.
They have left behind fathers, family members and friends and have tried to settle in an unfamiliar culture in hotel rooms or in other people’s homes all the while dealing with trauma.
Volunteer organisers who started the Ukrainian Hub at Rosemount Community Centre said the party was about giving them a chance to forget all this and to come together.
Through the hub, volunteers also organise a school club on a Sunday for the children to “give them a sense of home”.
One of the organisers, Valeriia Robins who has been in the UK for many years now, said the celebration was an opportunity for them to be a kid again.
“I just love to see their faces”, she said. “Smiling, giggling, with chocolate on their face.
“I love it because first when they arrived, they shared one tiny cookie between the whole class because they remembered sitting in a bomb shelter and they had no sweeties.
“So today we decided to put a feast on.”
The event was supported by Aberdeen City Council and received donations from several companies like M&S who donated food and also flowers for volunteers.
Recreating Ukrainian festivities
In Ukraine, Christmas is usually celebrated on January 7 but by that time in Scotland, all the festive decorations usually have disappeared.
So instead, the hub decided to celebrate St Nicholas Day, when in Ukraine, children would usually perform in a concert and Santa would come to school.
On the day of St Nicholas, children would receive a personal present under their pillow. To mark this at the party, St Nicholas was seen giving out gifts to all the kids.
The other two organisers behind the hub and event, Mariya Pavlova and Daria Shapovalova, said it was about trying to make them feel at home.
Mrs Pavlova, 30, said: “We’re trying to recreate that here as well so it’s quite familiar for them.
“I mean there’s obviously different traditions but the meaning behind Christmas is similar especially for those who are religious. It’s a family holiday and you want to spend it with your family and create that magical feeling for children.
“They’ve all had to move, they’ve all left something that’s familiar. Lots of them live in hotel rooms, they don’t feel settled. We wanted to make it special.”
‘We want to say we value you and your story’
The presents were all labelled with each child’s name and age on the wrapped gift. They said it was to make sure they felt valued.
Ms Shapovalova said: “We wanted to say we value you and your story and really make them feel like we appreciate their unique individuality.
“Everybody matters whether you were in a basement or bomb shelter. Or whether you actually came from Western Ukraine at the time when there maybe wasn’t much happening, it doesn’t matter.”
To find out more about the Ukrainian Hub, click here.
Conversation