How wonderful to receive a package of Christmas cards for Defenders from Vivian, a German Postcrossing friend!

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Vivian has been “looking for ways to help and show Ukrainians support.” She was surprised to find a notice on Postcrossing about Postcards to the Front.

“As a postcardlover myself, I know that a special message can make your day,” so she “absolutely loves the idea of encouragement through postcards.”

Over a million Ukrainians have sought shelter in Germany – compared with Canada’s intake of less than 200,000 – and Vivian is “really proud that my country is helping… .”

She is also intrigued at hearing the Ukrainian language spoken on German streets and recently read that the Ukrainians “want to speak their own language and cherish their own cultural heritage. That’s why I wanted to write something in Ukrainian,” she explained about her cards.

Vivian chose to include in her message one simple sentence in Ukrainian, wishing Happy Holidays. Her hope is that Defenders will see the effort to write in Ukrainian as an indication “that we care about them and their culture.”

A good point, as Ukrainians have been fighting to preserve their culture for generations.

As others, Vivian is keenly aware that Defenders have been away from family and friends for a long time, and that the situation “must be very sad and dangerous.”

Rather than feel helpless, Vivian said, “if you are like me and can’t fight in this war yourself, I think that writing a postcard is the least thing you can do. [T]he Defenders,” Vivian emphasizes, “are fighting for democracy, so they are not only fighting to protect their own country; they are protecting everyone who is living in the free world!”

And, she believes that “everybody can write a postcard; it’s a very easy thing to do. It’s so important to show the Defenders that they are not alone, that we think about them and show them our support!”

So, while we can’t all do big things to support Ukraine, we can remind our politicians that we do support Ukraine. And, we can also write a handful of postcards.

Vivian “hopes the Defenders will be happy about all the loving and warm messages they will receive. I imagine them telling their families that so many people in the world support them. That Ukraine is not alone. We are here!”

(Photos by Vivian)

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If you need some postcards to write, let us know. We’ll send you a few. Free! Just email us at postcardstothefront.canada@gmail.com Before writing your cards, check our Tips page, as well as Ukrainian phrases you can try.

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NOTE: Please do not send any more Christmas / New Years greetings. We are past the cut-off time for getting them into care packages for the holidays.