On January 18 with nearly 100 in atten-dance, the Canadian Lemko Association (CLA) celebrated its traditonal Sviata Vechera Holy Supper at the Baby Point Lounge in Toronto. Father Andrij Figol, of the St Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church, led prayers at the family-oriented event some 30 of those present were under the age of 15. Andrij Rotko, current CLA president, welcomed the attendees, including Ukrainian Womens Organization National President Iryna Waschuk.

After a delectable dinner consisting of traditional dishes expertly prepared by Baby Point Lounge owner Ivanka Cholij and staff, dinner guests were entertained by accordionist Volodomyr Kokhanowsky. Later, children perfor-med koliady Ukrainian for carols - followed by a mini-concert that saw a group of teens play their banduras a multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument.

Who are the lemkos? According to the collection of lemko folk songs Ukrainski Narodni Pisni Lemkivschyny, lemkos represent a group of ethnic Ukrainians who live on both sides of the Carpathian Beskyds from the upper San River to the upper

Poprad and Dunayetz and the western UzhThe name lemko is derived from the Lemko dialect word lem, which means only or just. Furthest removed from the centre of Ukraine, the lemkos were often forced to bear the brunt of Polish and Hungarian oppression.

The CLA was established in Toronto in 1961, though at that time it was called the Organization for the Defense of Lemkivshchyna. The ODL was founded in the US in 1936. In 1972 the CLA bought a farmhouse and woodlot near Durham, Ontario, 140 km northwest of Toronto, which they have converted into a campground and where every August they hold their biggest celebration Lemko Vatra.

– Report by Petro Lopata