The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church hosted its annual Christmas Festival on Saturday. Parishioners and community members gathered for music, food, shopping, and other festivities.
Musicians singing Christmas carols in both Russian and English immediately drew a large crowd as people arrived. Children joined in with the singing, and families gathered in circles for folk dancing.
The church was founded in 1952 by Russian immigrants. In 1957, the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church gifted the chapel building to the group, on the condition that they move it to a new location. A two day trip commenced, and the congregation successfully lifted and transported the chapel. Since, the church has resided on Crane Street, and the Christmas Festival has been a long-standing tradition for more than 50 years.
The event was organized by the church and its sisterhood, and has become a staple of its community. “We have some visitors who have been coming for this event for 40 years,” Anna Richter, one of the organizers, said.
The church is a diverse community with parishioners of primarily Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, and Mexican nationalities. The festival serves a critical role in bringing together the community, especially amid the divisive and stressful Russia-Ukraine war.
“After the war broke, it [was] really hard and involves an emotional and moral aspect too,” Richter said. “We’re happy that we found something that unites people.”
The event sported a variety of fresh and traditional food. Families laughed and talked as they ate the church’s Classic Russian savory favorites like piroshki—hand pies, and golubtsi—stuffed cabbage rolls, along with sweet cakes and pastries. The church offered a variety of flavors of piroshki, including cabbage, meat, and potato. Frozen portions of the dishes were also sold for takeout.
“We’ve been cooking these piroshki for over 10 weeks. Our league is very hardworking. We made over 1,000 yeast piroshki and about 900 puff pastry piroshki,” Richter said.
Around noon, a puppet show began in Russian, attracting dozens of kids. Under a tent, there was a crafts table where kids could paint Christmas ornaments and bead jewelry. There was also a petting zoo with chicken and goats, as well as a pony enclosure, where children could go on rides.
Marina, a participant in the festival for close to 30 years, enjoys coming to the annual event. Her favorite part is the dancing. “My friends and I bring the folkloric traditions to this particular festival, and so we bring the joy of seasonal dancing and singing,” she said.
The festival also invited local vendors to sell their wares in booths. Tables of hand-made crafts, paintings, crocheted animals, and other goods had a steady stream of customers.
The Nativity Orthodox Church fostered community bonding and fun with its annual Christmas Festival, making it an event that many look forward to each year.
