Hey
all, Cesya here. Merry Christmas Eve! I’m so glad I got this spot
on Brea’s “25 Days of Christmas” blog event. And what better
way to kick off Christmas Eve than to share my family’s Christmas
Eve tradition with all of you.
So,
as all of you know (or don’t know) I’m Ukrainian, Italian,
German, Russian, and Dutch but mainly grew up on the Ukrainian side
of traditions. Before my time, our Christmas Eve wasn’t until
January 6th
but as the times moved on it was celebrated on December 24th
with all other religions. Since the changing of our Christmas Eve,
our Christmas celebration goes from December 24th-January
6th
(Feast of the Epiphany). The Christmas Eve Supper or Holy Supper
(Ukrainian: Sviata Vecheria) is a very family oriented time. It’s a
time dedicated to God, family, and ancestors. Dinner doesn’t begin
until the first star appears in the sky. This star is believed to be
the Star of Bethlehem and symbolizes the trek of the Three Wise Men.
The table is covered with two tablecloths, one for the ancestors of
the family, the second for the living members. In the old days hay
was laid out under the table as well as under the tablecloths to
remember that Christ was born in a manger. The table always has one
extra place setting for the deceased family members, whose souls,
according to belief, come on Christmas Eve and partake of the food.
This year our table will have two place settings, one for my
grandfather and one for my grandmother.
Now
it’s time for our twelve-course meatless meal. There are twelve
courses in our Holy Supper, because according to the Christian
tradition each course is dedicated to one of Christ's Apostles.
The
first course is always unleavened (flat) bread and wine, which
represents Christ’s body and blood. It’s the main dish of our
whole meal. The next course is honey which represents a sweet year to
come. Then on to garlic which represents the ending of an old year.
We’ve combined the first three courses and eat our bread with the
honey and garlic on top and drink the wine with it. The next course
is our soups: Cabbage and Split-Pea. The foods to follow in the
remaining courses are prunes, fish (crab, shrimp, and tilapia),
mushrooms (cooked in onions and butter), pierogies (homemade), salt
and pepper (yes, they’re considered a course), and our desserts are
assorted fruits and nuts.
So
now you have my Christmas Eve traditions. I hope you learned
something new! And I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a safe and
Happy New Year!
I love reading about holiday traditions, especially when they deal with food! Thank you so much for sharing. I'll be making sushi in another week!
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