Family in Essex celebrate Ukrainian Christmas with 'Homes for Ukraine' guests
Poppy Gibson, who lives in Benfleet, welcomed Yuliia and her 7-year-old son Daniil last year
Last updated 7th Jan 2023
A lecturer in Essex who welcomed a Ukrainian family into her home tells us they'll be celebrating Christmas Day today (Saturday 7 January).
Today marks Orthodox Christmas Day for lots of Ukrainians and millions of others across the globe.
Dr Poppy Gibson, who lives in Benfleet with her partner and three children, took in Yuliia and her 7-year-old son Daniil last year in April.
Since then, Poppy and Yuliia have created a children's book together, hoping to encourage children to be compassionate towards families fleeing Ukraine.
The lecturer and her 'Homes for Ukraine' guest wanted to do something to help children talk about the sensitive subject of the Ukraine war in schools.
Speaking about Christmas, the 33-year-old senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University told us: "Yuliia wanted to tell me all about the Ukrainian Christmas. She is going to be celebrating, and you won’t be surprised to know it’s going to revolve around food, which is a very big part of Ukrainian culture.
“I think Yuliia feels very settled here, which is amazing. I think she’s realising that although the war had this massive impact on her and Daniil’s life and they’ve had to move here to be safe, but that actually there are still things we can celebrate and there are happy memories that we can make as we try to move forward.
“We all had Christmas together, we showed Daniil some of our traditions. They got to celebrate that, so now it’s a chance for Yuliia to remind them of their Ukrainian heritage.
“After having their first English Christmas, it’s now a chance to remind them of all their special traditions. When Daniil first came over he was six-and-a-half, so that was all he knew. It’s really nice that Yuliia feels in a place to celebrate. It’s a chance for Daniil to be reminded of all those special things about his culture.”
Speaking about the e-book called 'A Home for a Ukrainian', Poppy said: "One night, I just thought I need to do something; I wanted to find a platform for Yuliia and Daniil to be able to share their voices so they could be heard and better understood.
"If we don't help share these stories about people whose status has become 'refugee' beyond their control, we will not be able understand their journeys and that was when I just wrote a few sentences in a Word document.
"Once I did that, I showed Yuliia and she got quite emotional - she was crying and I asked her, 'Do you think this is a good idea? I want to make sure you are happy' and she said it was a great idea."
The few words eventually turned into a draft for a book, with the Ukrainian words for the text being added in by Ms Ruban.
"I felt it was important for Ukrainians to be able to read the book and for English children to see the Ukrainian language written down as it is such an interesting language and it helps them understand and appreciate Ukrainians' culture and find out about the emotional baggage they may be carrying.
"My background was as a primary school teacher and I knew the importance of facilitating these big conversations sensitively in the classroom. In a country that embraces and celebrates diversity, being able to appreciate different cultures, and backgrounds, and helping refugees feel they can be proud of their heritage and share their country and language in their new environment."
Through a Twitter callout, an illustrator for the book was found - artist Terry Culkin - who offered his services for free.
The book has been published as an e-book this week, and is loosely based on Daniil's journey to the UK.
Poppy continued: "The whole experience has impacted mine and my family's lives and made us really think about what's important in life and be compassionate and empathetic.
"They were over in time for the Queen's Jubilee and we went to jubilee picnics, where we had afternoon tea and temporary Union Jack tattoos".
Dr Gibson said that she has plans to get the book published as a paperback too.
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