I'm used to ironies but I don't think I've ever come across so many in a single case. Little Sky's Mom is Ukrainian born, where family traditions are still particularly strong.
'Mother Ukraine' is the revered national symbol and a healthy, well-cared for child is a traditional source of family pride there. I knew about that, and the 'Hunger Years" of deliberate, mass starvation that left such a scar on the national consciousness.
But there's more. Traditions and rituals have a very strong hold there, it seems. Coming up at Easter they'll be baking paska bread, it is very important and there's a little chant you have to sing to ensure it comes out of the oven well-risen. Part of it, roughly translated, goes:
' Holy Paska, be as grand and beautiful as the sun.....let all members of our family be healthy.
Let our children grow up as quickly as you grow.'
http://www.brama.com/art/easter.html
Perhaps a Ukrainian bakery in the US could be encouraged to bake some Paska in Sky's honour this Easter? A newspaper or two might want to write about that.
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Poor little Sky. He can't even be honoured at Provody (it's still widely practised) because he hasn't been brought home. What a burden on the family that must be.
http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages\P\R\ProvodyIT.htm
