Ukrainian Independence Day holds double meaning this year

Events and flag raisings are taking place across Canada on August 24th, a symbol of Ukrainian Independence Day and, this year, a way to say thank you.

Maritimers celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day on Thursday with multiple events and flag raising. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

“We wanted to make it about Ukraine, about its resilience, its bravery and courage, which has shown to the whole world that our spirit will be no matter what, but we also wanted to extend gratitude to everyone who stepped in and helped,” said Nataliia Haidash with the Ukrainian Club of Moncton.

On Thursday, despite the flag raising taking place mid-day, Moncton’s city hall square was a sea of blue and yellow.

The hour long event was filled with speeches and Ukrainian music and dancing to help mark Ukrainian Independence Day for the community that is gathered here in Canada and the country that’s currently fighting.

“It’s a bursting day for my homeland so it’s always, always feels like a huge holiday, significant holiday, but I think that it started to get this special meaning after the beginning of the war because we know that here we can do so much,” said Haidash.

“We can gather safely, we can do this event, we can have kids dancing and don’t worry that Russian missile will cut it short.”

Maritimers celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day on Thursday with multiple events and flag raising. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

The flag raising was just the start of festivities in Moncton, an entire evening dedicated to Ukraine is taking place Thursday night at the Starving Artist Gallery.

Haidash says any money raised through out the night, will go to support the Ukrainian army.

“Ukrainian Independence was not something that was given to us and that we can take for granted,” said Olha Khaperska, the Nova Scotia Branch Vice President for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

“We’ve been fighting for centuries and unfortunately this is not the first time we have to fight for it again.”

Halifax had a flag raising first thing Thursday morning and this weekend was supposed to mark the first ever East Coast Ukrainian Festival, which is hoped to unite communities in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. However, the weather forecast has postponed the event until late September.

“For the event itself, we will have basically everything that showcases our culture,” said Khaperska.

“We will have Ukrainian food, we’ll have perogies, we’ll have borsch, and we’ll have some baked goods. We will have live performances and there will be performances from Halifax and from New Brunswick, some families singing and musicians just sharing their talents with us.”

She adds the entire event will be a volunteer run fundraiser with raffle tickets, prizes and something for everyone to enjoy.

“Given the illegal war that Russia has started in Ukraine, it’s very important to show that we are our own people, that we have our own culture, that we have our own traditions and we have full rights to be in safety and peace on our own land,” said Khaperska.

Here in the Maritimes, communities that have welcomed Ukrainians fleeing the war, also feel the significance of this Ukrainian Independence Day.

“I don’t think anyone who has worked with the Ukrainians, just in the last couple of years, has been untouched by their plight and the challenges that they’re going through, but also the resilience of the people and their hopes for the future,” said City of Moncton Mayor, Dawn Arnold.

She says the amount of Ukrainians, and young families, at this years flag raising was a big increase from years past.

Maritimers celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day on Thursday with multiple events and flag raising. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)

“We feel very thankful that Monctonians have come together to welcome Ukrainians in such huge numbers and to see them here today, the young families that are all around, it’s very powerful and we feel very honoured that Moncton can be a refuge at a really challenging time like this. So it’s a difficult day in a lot of ways.”

Haidash says if there is a silver lining to the current tragic events, it is the sense of community and support that’s been found here in Canada.

“We think it’s incredible how they supported us and we always try to involve them in all our other events because it’s means the world to us,” she said.

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