Source: Radio New Zealand
Valentina Manktelow with her children Zakhar and Slava. Ke-Xin Li
Seven-year-old Zakhar Manktelow has just met Ded Moroz and wrote him a wishlist.
“I wrote snowman, snow globe, Nintendo Switch, and Super Mario Kart game for the Nintendo Switch.”
Ded Moroz, which means Grandpa Frost, is the Santa known in Russian cultures. Zakhar, born to a Russian mother and a Kiwi father, was yet to see snow.
The wall poster translates to “Happy New Year”. Ke-Xin Li
But that did not stop him from reciting a 14-line poem in Russian. He explained what it meant in English.
“When you are waiting for Christmas, then it comes, then you get all your presents, and you build a snowman.”
While it is too hot to snow in Auckland during the Christmas season, a group of Russian-speaking parents like Zakhar’s mum Valentina Manktelow, were keeping the language and the traditional celebration alive for their children.
Plunket’s Russian playgroup had been gathering once a week for a year-and-a-half after Justyna Szarek, Plunket’s community services coordinator, started talking to some Russian-speaking parents who attended the Meadowbank playgroup.
Russian parents work hard to keep the Christmas tradition going for their children – meeting Ded Moroz is an important part. Ke-Xin Li
“One thing that’s really amazing about the Russian community is that they keep their language very strong.”
Born in Poland and raised by Ukrainian and Polish parents in Canada, Szarek said her mother kept the tradition for the family.
“We always had two Christmases, we had the 24th of December and January 6th and 7th. We had two sets of presents, two sets of dinners.”
Justyna Szarek, Annalee Hayward, and Daria Barbashina are behind the success of Plunket’s Russian Playgroup. Ke-Xin Li
Despite growing up away from her homeland, Szarek said she tried to pass on the tradition to her children, although not entirely successful.
“For example, on the 24th of December, we are not supposed to eat meat. It’s very hard to do that with a meat-eater in the family, but we try as hard as possible.”
Food is an important part of the playgroup, especially during festive celebrations. Valentina Manktelow
Keeping the playgroup filled with activities was Daria Barbashina, who was a mother of two young daughters, and the volunteer coordinator at the playgroup.
“Because my parents they don’t speak English or any other languages, and I want my kids to be able to connect with them.”
Barbashina said speaking at home was not enough in keeping the language alive, so the playgroup community played a critical role.
A meet-up at Plunket’s toy-filled site organised by Barbashina was usually scheduled with story time, sing-along time, arts and crafts, and water play.
Keeping the language alive is personally important to Daria Barbashina, pictured here with her daughter Sonya Uspenskaya. Ke-Xin Li
But the activities were more than just for the children.
“The kids would not celebrate (festivals) this way when they grow up because it’s from our childhoods. Many of the parents say it reminds them of their childhood when they were in kindergarten.”
At the Christmas celebration, Barbashina’s husband volunteered to dress up as Ded Moroz, who wears a long coat, long beard, has long hair and a magic stick.
“The dress is different too. Grandpa Frost has a long coat, long beard, long hair and has a magic stick. Just because Russia is a very cold country.”
A playgroup meet at Plunket is filled with indoor and outdoor play. Ke-Xin Li
Manktelow fully understood the appeal of the community.
Every month, the mother of two drove 45 minutes from Pukekohe to join the playgroup.
Married to a Kiwi, Manktelow had a strategy to keep the language alive for her children.
“We do one parent one language.”
She only spoke Russian to her children, while her husband only spoke English to them.
“Even when we are in an English-speaking environment, I only speak Russian to my boys and if I want their friends to understand what I was saying, I translate that again to English for them.”
She hoped by keeping the language alive for her children, they would be able to understand the Russian culture in the future.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
