EDITORIAL (03/27/05)

EDITORIAL

An Easter like no other

This year our two Easters - Julian and Gregorian - are five weeks apart, which makes it somewhat difficult in this space to wish a happy Easter and to say "Khrystos Voskres!" (Christ is Risen) to those of our readers who will be celebrating Easter this Sunday, while other readers are still observing Lent.

However, we can speak instead in broader terms, of the Easter season that has begun for some and will soon begin for others. Easter, and the period leading up to it, represent a season of hope and of hopes fulfilled, as the Risen Christ brings salvation to all mankind.

This year's Easter, like no other before it, is special for all Ukrainians - wherever they may be. It is the first post-Orange Revolution Easter. As such, it brings a whole new meaning for the people of Ukraine and all Ukrainians around the world who care deeply about the fate of their ancestral homeland and their kinsmen in Ukraine.

For all of us, this Easter season is exceptional because we are celebrating the emergence of a new Ukraine after years of trials and tribulations. During this Easter season the people of Ukraine are filled with renewed hope for a better tomorrow. Indeed, all of us are filled with the indescribable feeling that, this time, the past is truly behind us; that Ukraine will find its way; that Ukraine has been reborn and has a bright future.

Easter has always been a time for our families and our communities to come together: in prayer before and during Easter, on Holy Saturday for the communal blessing of our Easter baskets filled with traditional foods, and on Easter Sunday for our family meals of "sviachene" (the blessed Easter food). It has always been a feast of great joy that unites the entire community in celebration. Our hope for Easter 2005 is that it will also be a time for the entire Ukrainian nation to come together to thank God for His blessings, and to pledge to work in unison for the common good.

Update on joint meeting of Congress

As this issue of The Ukrainian Weekly was being completed on Thursday, March 24, no invitation had yet been issued by the Office of the Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert, to President Viktor Yushchenko to address a joint meeting of Congress. (This information was confirmed by The Weekly via a call to the congressman's office.)

Thus, we call on our readers to continue pressing for an invitation to President Yushchenko. The phone number for Speaker Hastert is 202-225-2976; faxes may be sent to 202-225-0697.

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