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Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies: Growing a Ukrainian Canadian Identity
While Canada is home to one of the largest Ukrainian diasporas in the world, little is known about the life and culture of Ukrainians living in the country’s rural areas and their impact on Canadian traditions.
Drawing on more than ten years of interviews and fieldwork, Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies describes the culture of Ukrainian Canadians living in the prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Despite powerful pressure to assimilate, these Ukrainians have managed both to preserve their sense of themselves as Ukrainian and to develop a culture sensitive to the realities of prairie life, creating their own uniquely Ukrainian Canadian traditions. The Ukrainian church, an iconic though now rapidly disappearing feature of the prairie landscape, takes centre stage as an instrument for the retention of Ukrainian identity and the development of a new culture. Natalie Kononenko explores the cultural elements of Ukrainian Canadian ritual practice, with an emphasis on family traditions surrounding marriage, birth, death, and religious holidays.
Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies gives voice to a group of everyday people who are too often overlooked, highlighting their accomplishments and their contributions to Canadian life.
Drawing on more than ten years of interviews and fieldwork, Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies describes the culture of Ukrainian Canadians living in the prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Despite powerful pressure to assimilate, these Ukrainians have managed both to preserve their sense of themselves as Ukrainian and to develop a culture sensitive to the realities of prairie life, creating their own uniquely Ukrainian Canadian traditions. The Ukrainian church, an iconic though now rapidly disappearing feature of the prairie landscape, takes centre stage as an instrument for the retention of Ukrainian identity and the development of a new culture. Natalie Kononenko explores the cultural elements of Ukrainian Canadian ritual practice, with an emphasis on family traditions surrounding marriage, birth, death, and religious holidays.
Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies gives voice to a group of everyday people who are too often overlooked, highlighting their accomplishments and their contributions to Canadian life.
336 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 9, 2024
Excellent! What I really like about this book is that it's about the everyday life and customs / rituals of Ukrainian people on the Prairies. It gives readers a sense of what it means to be Ukrainian and how it changes with each generation. My grandparents and great-grandparents came in the first wave of Ukrainian immigrants to the Prairies and my mother grew up in Saskatchewan so the book has special meaning for me. If you're interested in early Ukrainian settlement in Canada, this is a must read.
July 17, 2023
Not only very interesting but also gave me the language for a lot of feelings I've experienced being a member of the Ukrainian diaspora in a prairie province (albeit the 1/3 not focused on in the book). I wish I could have shared it with my Baba and Gigi.
September 12, 2024
Very helpful and detailed in helping understand prairie Ukrainian culture.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews