A Canadian wedding
Saskatoon- Friday, July 26, 2013
by:Timothy W. Shire
As a country and as a people, we have come to this land and we are successfully learning to share, not only the bounties of being Canadian, but we are also committed to sharing the cultures that are here, maintaining their own identity, but also making all of us more and more able to appreciate the true spirit of multiculturalism.
I was so impressed with the outstanding atmosphere in Winnipeg on Canada Day and it was clearly in the back of my mind as my niece in Saskatoon was wed on the weekend of July 13. Our family is as our name implies, an English family with my grandfather arriving here in the spring of 1912, while my grandmother's family, "Scots" had come to Saskatchewan just ahead of the railway. On my mother's side of the family, we were also English, having come to Saskatchewan about that same time. We grew up in a wholly Anglo-Saxon world, in south eastern Saskatchewan, but because my father was with CN, we were well aware of the Ukrainians who stretch out along the CN line from the Manitoba border to Edmonton. Two of my sons married into francophone families and my sister, who's husband is Polish, welcomed a Russian son-in-law, who grew up in Kiev.
My brother's daughter became involved in Ukrainian folk dancing with the group in Ituna and performed with them through junior high until she graduated. It was no surprise that she chose for her husband a Ukrainian man, who up until last year, danced with the Saskatoon Yevshan dance company, performing across Canada and indeed in the Ukraine and in Russia.
So it is that in marriage, we blend together in this country, it is the Canadian way, but it is also the Canadian way to make sure that we cherish the essence of the contributing cultures. Canada is not a melting pot where we are forming a conglomerate culture, instead we continue to celebrate the features that make Canada a unique and diversified society.
Shane Hrycan and Candace's wedding truly highlighted their root cultures, while at the same time, emphasised the shared culture that we build together.
The wedding was held in a typical Anglo-Saxon Knox United Church which was full, presided over by a minister and his wife who are from Prince Edward Island. Three hundred twenty-eight guests were on hand for the reception. At that wedding reception, the menu was roast beef with pirogues. Then on Sunday, at the gift opening brunch, we had pulled pork, pirogues and cabbage rolls. The traditional speeches at the banquet were interspersed with pop culture humour and the dancing was amazing.
After the traditional bride and groom dance, then with their parents, suddenly the dance floor cleared and the Yevshan dance company swept into the light and performed two breath-taking numbers. But, that was just the beginning. All of the bridal party joined in the traditional dance routines and were joined by the bride and groom with the floor filling with the wedding guests. The group and solo performances went on for most of the evening.
I was truly amazed, both spirit and participation. I asked my Russian nephew, a principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, if this would be like a wedding in Kiev and he said, indeed this is what happens at a wedding celebration only the difference, he added, was that the dancing here was at a much higher level. He explained that the main thing, was the joy and fun the dancers were having, that he said, is what this is all about.
As I made the videos of some of the dancing, which you can see here in the video clips, standing beside me doing the same thing was a Chinese couple, friends of the bride, in fact the bride had been a bridesmaid at their wedding. Directly across the dance floor from me was my son Andrew, also creating video. I have combine some of these clips to show you some of what went on.
I know that my wife and I, our three sons and their families appreciated being a part of this celebration. We all felt that we were a part of creating a life long partnership that would continue to expand our family and its rich blend. My Three grand daughters took part in the wedding by tending the reception desk then were included in the fun and dancing. They were there until long after midnight.
Oh yes. a great time was had by one and all.