We wish all people of goodwill a happy and peaceful holiday season no matter how they choose to celebrate the period.
This Christmas Sunday, we remember the people of Ukraine and their indomitable spirit. Our thoughts and prayers and money and political support and writings and speeches coalesce to help the people of Ukraine in their defense of their rights and freedoms and their national security in the face of a direct existential threat launched by a malevolent tyrant who cares not about the lives he extinguishes nor about the large expanse of our entire planet that he has attacked or is in the process of destroying.
Events this week include the extraordinary visit of the Ukrainian president to the US capital one day after he was on the front lines of his country’s defense against Russia. The event has surfaced history lessons like those from Churchill’s visit to Washington or the World War Two period of the Battle of the Bulge during Christmas. One can even think way back to America’s iconic past when George Washington led his army across the frozen Delaware River to attack the Hessian mercenaries in Trenton. I wonder if any of their descendants are now employed with Putin’s Wagner Group?
In Ukraine’s honor, we offer this Sunday playlist.
First, the Ukrainian Children’s Choir sings "Shchedryk" (“The Carol of the Bells”) in Grand Central Station, following their arrival in New York in November — https://www.instagram.com/p/ClmfAwSABMR/. They went on to perform at Carnegie Hall. Here’s a report on their trip and performance: https://youtu.be/rdR7rUsPNnA
Perhaps the music and voices of the Trans-Siberian orchestra and children’s chorus performing “Christmas Canon” can remind us of children in Russia, Belarus, and elsewhere who are suppressed and indoctrinated by Putin’s ilk. Their Christmas dream is not war, but peace. https://youtu.be/4cP26ndrmtg
This performance of the poem “We Will Never Be Brothers” by Ukrainian Anastasia Dmytruk (the first speaker in the video) gives voice to the spirit of Ukrainian independence and commitment to democracy.
https://youtu.be/Hk0GePZiMlY
As Putin’s aggression continues, only defiance (and international help) can preserve Ukraine and their chosen path of democracy. Ukrainian singer/songwriter Alex Kozar has rewritten the lyrics to the tune “American Pie” to honor the valor of his people and of Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “Ukrainian Pie” (cover “American Pie”), https://youtu.be/yDM5zp4v6to
Nobody voices universal hope for peace and light better than Peter, Paul and Mary did when they sang “Light One Candle” (25th Anniversary Concert), their immortal song for Hanukkah. https://youtu.be/h1cRXgDFiSs?t=17
We end our list with “One Day More,” from the 2012 film Les Misérables.
https://youtu.be/Sv-BxH3SVS8
We wish for Ukraine future Christmases not marred and disrupted by war but celebrated with the old traditions, fondly described and depicted here: “Ukrainian Christmas traditions,” https://ukraine.ua/visit/christmas-in-ukraine/.
To all readers and their families: we hope you have a Happy Christmas and please stay safe.
David R. Kotok
Chairman & Chief Investment Officer
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