Chapter 9. Christmas Eve. Dishes and traditions 🥂
My lovely people, you were interested in Ukrainian Christmas traditions, so let me tell you about some of them. First of all, there are 12 dishes that we prepared for the Evening as you already know.
The Christmas period is the time of fasting. It means that you can’t eat meat, milk, or milky products, eggs, and drink alcohol. But it’s okay to get fish.
The Maine dish
The main dish on the table is Kutia. It’s a sweet grain pudding that is traditionally served in the center of the table.
It is eaten with a honey sauce on Christmas Eve (bahata kutia) and Epiphany Eve (holodna kutia). It is one of the oldest of the 12 traditional dishes and is served to begin or end the Christmas and Epiphany dinners. The exact recipe and its use in ritual differed in the various regions of Ukraine.
Everyone should eat kutia on Christmas 👌 we have it in every region of Ukraine. It’s so important. But in some regions, children bring it to grandparents, and the hostess serves it on the table.
First, who can seat at the Christmas table is the Head of the family (father or grandfather). Before start eating, he throws a spoonful of kutia to the ceiling of the house. If kutia sticks, the harvest will be good this year.
If say true no one does it these days 😅 but back in the day, before russia destroyed Ukrainians, it was an important tradition. Because Ukrainians were good at an agricultural activity.
Didukh
That’s why we also have Didukh made of straw. This word from the old Ukrainian language means the spirit of ancestors. This is the symbol of Christmas. When the first star was in the sky, the Head of the family brings Didukh to the house with the words “Didukh to the house - trouble from the house“.
It is made with rye and wheat by all families. Didukh should stay under icons. You can’t just throw it away. You should save it. Also, it is a symbol of wealth and well-being.
Dishes
12 dishes are special for Christmas Eve. There are the Top of it:
Kutia - the main one
Varenyky - with potato and mushrooms. Varenyky are made from fresh dough and a variety of fillings, such as meat, potatoes, mushrooms, vegetables, fruits, cheese, and many more. Their fillings can be salty or sweet, lean or meaty. Recipes vary greatly depending on the region. The recipe is here - https://authenticukraine.com.ua/en/food/vareniki
Golubtsi - stuffed cabbage with rice or potato. I like to rise. The recipe is here https://authenticukraine.com.ua/en/food/golubci-s-himenko-ukrainski-stravi-3-te-vidanna-1960-r I used this video to learn how to cook it https://youtu.be/LCSIPqAkU9o
Different mushrooms (baked, marinated) and spice with mushrooms for varenyky. I am going to use this one (you can see how it cooks by watching, so easy). Here is an important ingredient- sour cream (smetana) - https://youtu.be/9QIvnFazLCY
Fish: baked or sold. No matter.
Pampuh. Hard to explain what it is. It’s like a sweet donut, but a Ukrainian version 😄
One of the important dishes on the table is garlic. We put one of them in the corner of the table. We believe that it helps to drive away the evil force.
Respect to the spirits
There are some empty plates on the table. For that relative who is already dead.
When everyone is done with the food, we don’t take away dishes and plates, because some dead relatives can come to eat when we will go to sleep ✨
That’s it! Thank you for reading. Hope it was interesting for you. Will be happy if you’ll share some of your traditions in the comments below 🖤
Next time I will tell you about how russia stills our Christmas and punished us for our traditions.