"Нині Рождество Божого Дитяти" - Lemko-Ukrainian Christmas Carol

Christ is born! — Glorify Him! (Khrystos sia rozhdaye! — Slavimo Voho!)

performance: Молодіжний хор "Осанна"

The Lemkos are Ukrainian (Ruthenian) highlanders from the Carpathian Mountains, known for their unique genetics and culture. In the late 1940s, over 150,000 Lemkos were forcibly deported by Polish pro-Soviet authorities to Soviet Ukraine or western Poland. These deportations aimed to destroy their communities and polonize their homeland in southeastern Poland, often through the use of transfer camps. Only 5% of Lemkos returned, with their lands and homes taken over by Poles. Many Lemko Byzantine churches were converted to Polish Roman Catholic ones, erasing much of their cultural heritage.