There has been much talk about the New Year in Ukrainian society recently. To be or not to be? To celebrate or not celebrate? What is appropriate and what is not? The New Year tree on the main city square, meetups with colleagues or friends, music and all such.
But after yesterday's massive attack across Ukraine, I don't know whether there is anyone in the mood for celebration. The largest number of missiles and drones for all time were launched on Ukraine. Russia used a combination of all available long-range weapons - 122 rockets of 7 different types, 158 targets in total. The Russians shelled Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Lviv and other cities. At the moment about 33 people are dead, 16 of them here in Kyiv so far, and about 150 wounded.
I could not sleep that night and I can confirm that it was deafening and scary, so yesterday I was feeling down all day even without watching horrible footage of the consequences. Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro declared today a day of mourning for the dead. It feels like a leap of time, the Feb 24th of 2022 again.
Either way, celebrating or mourning the New Year will come anyway. So...
There is no tradition of the New Year resolutions in Ukraine. And I have no idea whether the next year will be better or worse, or when the war will end and how. I am just happy that I still have my home and my family. And I want to say a big THANK YOU for all your support! 🙏❤️ May the next year be good for you and bring you good cheer, hope, peace and prosperity.
There is a poem for New Year's Eve that resonates with my feelings. It's "The Year" written by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
| What can be said in New Year rhymes, That’s not been said a thousand times? |  |
|---|---|
 | The new years come, the old years go, We know we dream, we dream we know. |
| We rise up laughing with the light, We lie down weeping with the night. |  |
 | We hug the world until it stings, We curse it then and sigh for wings. |
| We live, we love, we woo, we wed, We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead. |  |
 | We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear, And that’s the burden of the year. |
Take care and see you in 2024!
