This film documents a series of Christmas events held by the Bradford Ukrainian community. It includes a St Nicolas (Svyatiy Mykolaiy) concert, a community Christmas meal known as Yalynka (Christmas Tree), and a Christmas carol concert. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) but does not include a credit to them. The language of the film is predominantly Ukrainian with occasional English. All the events on the film take place in the main hall at Bradford Ukrainian...

This film documents a series of Christmas events held by the Bradford Ukrainian community. It includes a St Nicolas (Svyatiy Mykolaiy) concert, a community Christmas meal known as Yalynka (Christmas Tree), and a Christmas carol concert. It was made by the Ukrainian Video Archives Society (UVAS) but does not include a credit to them. The language of the film is predominantly Ukrainian with occasional English. All the events on the film take place in the main hall at Bradford Ukrainian Cultural Centre. The film features first, second and third generation Ukrainians and many people are wearing their embroidered shirts and blouses (vyshyvanky). The film begins with the annual St Nicholas (Svyatiy Mykolaiy) play and gift ceremony. The play is performed by third- and second-generation actors. The stage is simply set with a window, an icon, chairs and a sideboard to suggest a house, where a young boy considers whether Mykolaiy will visit him. Mykolaiy does eventually arrive, flanked by angels. The gift giving then commences from the stage, with gifts handed to St Nicholas (Svyatiy Mykolaiy) by a team of helpers who read out the names of the recipients. Some of the recipients have been edited out because of the large number of gifts being distributed. After the final gift is handed out, St Nicholas (Svyatiy Mykolaiy) makes a short speech wishing everyone peace. The curtains close and the camera pans around the audience. This section of the film ends at 32 mins 16 secs. The next section of the film is the Christmas carol concert and starts at 32 mins 21 secs and is date stamped 08/01/1994. It begins with views of the stage which is decorated with stars and a Christmas tree and pans around to show the audience taking their seats. The first act is the Dibrova choir directed by Stefan Zamulinsky who perform Boh Predvychniy (God Eternal), followed by a poem performed by a second-generation Ukrainian girl and a Christmas greeting from an unidentified Ukrainian organisation. Dibrova then perform a series of carols. The concert continues with carols interspersed with poetry recitals and greetings from Ukrainian organisations. They include: a greeting from Stefan Jarotsky on behalf of the Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM); a children's choir accompanied by Maria Danylczuk on piano, who perform a Christmas song with live action from a four actors (all the children are third generation), followed by another carol and a poem performed by a young woman; a greeting by an unidentified man on behalf of an unidentified organisation (possibly Patriarch Rukh?); a performance by Dibrova choir; a greeting by an unidentified man on behalf of the Parent's Committee; a recital performed by a third generation young woman of a poem entitled New Year by Ivan Franko; a greeting on behalf of the Teachers and Ukrainian School by an unidentified second generation man; Dibrova choir including a performance of Shedryk (Carol of the Bells) at 1 hr 19 mins 30 secs); a greeting from an unidentified first generation man on behalf of Club Lyman). An unidentified man then makes a closing speech and asks everyone to stand to sing Vo Vyfleyemiy (In Bethlehem) along with Dibrova, who have remained on stage. The concert finishes at 1 hr 27 mins 28 secs and is immediately followed by the final section of the film. This last section shows the Yalynka Christmas meal and is date stamped 09/01/1994. The opening scene shows the hall set up with long tables set for dinner, and people taking their seats. There is a short opening speech by Andriy Chymera on behalf of the Parents' Association, followed by a short speech by Bohdan Sweryt, director of Bradford Ukrainian School. The priest leads the community in a prayer and the singing of Boh Predvychniy (God Eternal). The community then take their seats and there is footage of people eating, queuing for food, food being served, and scenes from the kitchen including washing up. The language in this part of the film is a mixture of Ukrainian and English. The next scene is a concert performed by the third-generation Ukrainian school children. It begins with a choir singing carols, followed by a play where a group of angels share the news of the birth of Jesus with shepherds. After this is another performance of the song with live action from the four young actors which featured in the carol concert. The choir sing Boh Predvychny (God Eternal) and the Andriy Chymera makes a closing speech thanking for the community for attending and announces that a disco for the children will follow shortly. This section finishes at 2 hrs 9 mins 29 secs.