Celebrate in the traditions of our ancestry
Hear the songs passed along through the ages
A Ukrainian Church Choir
We welcome the established Choir of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church of Olyphant, Pa. as they beautifully harmonize the centuries old carols sung traditionally acapella style.
Let’s Sing Together !
Join in a carol sing a long. Sing with our parishioner group from St. Michael and St. Nicholas Churches. We will have books that you can follow along to. Let’s make it a full blown chorus of all present !
Celebrate Culture & Friendship
Plan to stay and mingle with others at a complimentary social after the concert in our church hall (lower level).
Shared Traditions
Many of our ancestors came to America in the early 1900s from a vast region near the Carpathian Mountains. This was an area of constantly changing geopolitical borders. Today on a map, their villages might be in Eastern Slovakia or Transcarpathian or Western Ukraine. There is a rich shared history and culture among people in this vast region, one that many neighboring regions can cross culturally relate to. And so, whether we identify as Ukrainian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Hispanic, or any other ethnic group or religious group, we benefit in learning from each other and enjoying the richness of each others’ arts, languages, foods, histories and traditions.
Christmas is about Jesus
Christmas is about Jesus – God’s love for us. It is as simple as that. It is also complex. It is the culmination of centuries of people waiting and yearning for the promises of a Savior. Of sacrifice, honor, loyalty, faith, and even stumbles along the way. Of the trust, openness to God’s call, and obedience shown by Mary and Joseph, and all who came before them. Yet all the work, fuss, and hurrying we engage in as we approach Christmas Day seems so far removed from “why” we do it at times. Christmas should bring us joy, but also peace in our relationship to each other but also to God. And this is why we are still singing our carols and experiencing the joy beyond the one day the world only celebrates. Because as Christians, Christmas is just the beginning!
St. Michael's Byzantine Catholic Church 