Out of Sight; Out of Mind

By Denis Hlynka

 “Out of sight; out of mind.” No, I am not referring to the title of the 99^th episode of M*A*S*H from 1976, nor the second last episode of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series from 1997. (Actually that was titled “Out of mind, out of sight”.)

Rather it is an old saying (often attributed to John Heywood from 1562) that means “If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.”  As such, this saying is an apt description of the Ukrainian Canadian community.

I refer specifically to the ubiquitous calendar, the ones that come out at the beginning of the New Year sponsored by Canadian chartered banks, and by Canadian commercial companies used as promotional items to thank us for our patronage.  Of course, a good number of Ukrainian Canadian organizations have calendars too.

The problem is this. These calendars identify Canadian statutory holidays and critical dates.  This usually includes the basics: Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Easter, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Remembrance Day.

Most calendars add the Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah: Yom Kippur, Hanukkah.  Some calendars list the Chinese New Year, St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. More esoteric is St. Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24), though one of my bank calendars clarifies that this is only in Quebec.  Finally, I have in front of me yet another calendar (this time from a Ukrainian Canadian organization) that lists Martin Luther King Day, Lincoln’s Birthday, American Independence Day, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is interesting how American cultural events seep in, because no one is paying attention.

But wait! There’s more! We are told on our calendars that the Muslim month of fasting called Ramadan begins on August 21^st this year. Muharram (the beginning of the Islamic calendar) this year is on December 18. Another Canadian calendar I have in front of me lists Black History Month, Groundhog Day, and International Women’s Day (March 8). Purim (Jewish) and Holi (Hindu) are on March 10 and 11 respectively, while Buddha’s Day is on the first full moon in May.  National Aboriginal Day is June 21, and Clean Air Day is June 21. All of the above information I gained just by looking at the new 2009 calendars. (Interestingly, many of us only use online calendars. My online calendar is only a template, completely devoid of any mention of any significant dates. You fill in your own. )

Now, what about significant Ukrainian Canadian dates?  On the calendars I have in front of me, there is nothing. Ukrainian Christmas (January 7 according to the Julian calendar) is not listed, though it used to be. Traditional Ukrainian Easter [calculated date shares Orthodox Easter] does not merit an entry, even though that date is not fixed from year to year.  Malanka, our New Year’s Eve (Jan. 13) or New Year’s Day (Jan. 14 Julian), is not mentioned (though the Chinese and Jewish New Year’s are.) The Canadian government recently declared the fourth Saturday in November as national Holodomor day, but that cannot be found in any calendar that I have collected. Taras Shevchenko is missing, though he is often called “the Ukrainian Robbie Burns”. Robbie Burns Day is listed, and one calendar I have lists the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh. 

In short, whatever we claim to the contrary, we don’t count in the eyes of Canadians. Chinese, Jews, Muslims, East Indians, Aboriginals, Irish … all these are worthy of having one or more of their significant days listed.  We are not.

If you don’t believe me, pick up a handful of different calendars. Go to your banks, ask for a calendar, and then study it. Sometimes, with luck, you will find one with “Ukrainian Christmas” listed, but not very often.

Perhaps the most subtle way to destroy a culture is to simply ignore it. A culture that is systematically ignored does not exist. We need a concerted effort to add our holidays to the Canadian calendars so that we continue to be a part of the Canadian mosaic. In essence, these calendars have made us disappear. Everyone uses a calendar.  It is imperative that our calendars reflect our culture, not someone else’s.

So what do we do about it? How about a polite letter to the organization that sent you your calendar and ask that the events that Canadians of Ukrainian heritage mark be included as well, especially Christmas, Malanka and Easter. And I am not referring to Ukrainian events from Ukraine. I am referring to Ukrainian Canadian significant dates.  And be clear, it is not enough if our Ukrainian Canadian credit unions get it right.

Those calendars do not circulate amongst the general Canadian population.

And don’t let the banks tell you that no Ukrainian Canadians bank with them. Our non-visible minority status should not be held against us. It is important that these Ukrainian Canadian significant dates be put back into the Canadian calendar. Until that happens, as they say, we are “out of sight; out of mind.”

Denis Hlynka, Ph.D. is at the Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba as well as at the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies, University of Manitoba.