A long table full of decorated eggs, sandwiches and salads. For example, the Ukrainian refugees in Oosterhout celebrate their Orthodox Easter on Sunday afternoon. The holiday this year is fraught with the idea that family in their homeland is still in the middle of the war. That feels a bit crazy, says Ukrainian Mira. “We get pictures of our family who is still there. It is difficult but we feel good here.”
About seventy percent of Ukrainians call themselves Orthodox Christians. They calculate the Easter date in a different way and it is therefore celebrated at a different time. “It’s the most important holiday for us, along with Christmas,” explains Mira.
“An Easter cake with a Dutch twist”
More than sixty refugees are currently staying temporarily in the town hall of Oosterhout. To still be able to celebrate their holiday, a group of women dived into the kitchen together. In the middle of the long table is the showpiece of the brunch: ‘paska’. An Easter cake decorated with the Ukrainian flag, surrounded by twelve decorated eggs. “We always have this at home. The twelve eggs represent the twelve apostles, the cake is decorated by our children,” explains Mira. They also gave him a little Dutch touch. “It is decorated with sprinkles!”
Besides the cake, the women also made various salads. For example ‘olivye’, a potato salad. “We don’t normally do that specifically at Easter, but we wanted to do something special from Ukraine.”
“Great to try.”
Mayor Mark Buijs and his wife also sat down to taste the Ukrainian delicacies. “They do it differently than we do, only the eggs are the same. Great to taste, it’s a kind of cold dish”, he responds.
Until recently, civil servants were still working in the place where Ukrainians now live. “They’re here and I get to be their mayor a bit too, so it’s nice if you can join them at dinner on important days like Easter.”
Mira, who is eating next to the mayor, finds it special that he is seated. “He is close to the Ukrainians, which is very nice of him. In Ukraine, the mayor usually doesn’t visit people.”
