New Year’s Eve is celebrated on January 13 by those communities which follow the old Julian calendar. Ukrainian communities in Canada and across many parts of the world celebrate this ritual moment with various performances. In Vegreville, the community leaders organized a three-part performance during the dinner-dance evening.  In the first part of the performance, the costumed youth presented themselves as Malanka (a male dressed en travestie), Vasyl’, grandparents, a policeman, a goat, bear, horse, devil, and others. Malanka represents the new year. In the second section of the performance, the performers dance a hopak-like dance, with standard familiar Ukrainian staged-dance steps. In the third section, the costumed performers each go into the audience to take a member of the community into the dance.

This event is strongly ritual, communicating strong linkage with profound moments in time (the New Year), profound connections with Ukrainian identity, and profound interconnections as community.