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UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS UNDER SYMBOL OF SEED Since ancient times Ukraine has widely been known for its fertile soil and rich agriculture. Our forefathers who lived on the cen tral Dnieper River, had been growing ibarley, followed by rye and wheat which plants attached them to the Ukrainian land. No wonder these plants constituted the heart of their agricultural work and of mode of life. The wheat-ear, the seed, the stalk — these are the symbols of the earthly fruit that has carried oi> our humans through many cen turies. Hence various ceremonies of our ancestors are linked to the seed, to the fruits of divers sorts. We have no information on this from prehistoric times. However, from the remains which have labor, they appreciate their at tainments and will be ever ready to defend them against usurpers. Each movement requires a cli mate oJf indfeipendende if it is meant to grow and progress.. There is one organization nam ed Democratic Federation of W o men, formed in 1945 at the initia tive of communist circles at Par is, whose objective is well known — to mobilize the women of the countries of the Free World to as sist in communist activities, though they might not openly manifest themselves as such. The communists are thus trying to de ceive the uninformed. But this (stratagem is failing more and more in its propaganda as well as in its achievements. Only to men tion that the Democratic Federa tion of Women, in spite of its •faultless by-laws, has recently lost its consultative status in the United Nations. We ought to establish this crit erion once and for all that there can be no possibility for free fem inist movement within a totalitar ian country,. Every act or appear ance of a human being under to talitarian regime must serve that regime absolutely, completely and exclusively. L. B, passed to -our Christian way of life we may infer the cult of seed and its significance. The Ukrainian Christmas is likewise expressing this cult. The principal dish on Christmas Eve is “kutya” (boiled wheat with poppy-seed and honey). W e may infer that in distant past it used to be prepared w ith tbarley, that first agricultural plant. The husk is removed from the grain (soak ed wheat is pounded in a bag), and then the seeds are cooked. Here after the ground popipy-.s»eed is added and combined w ith honey. This dish is served first as the most important. It is a relic of a ceremony when our ancestors af ter having gathered the crops, had been arranging a celebration in order to partake solemnly of food together w ith all family. Still “kutya” is not all the grain presented at Christmas. The head o.f the family, while getting ready for the supper, puts in the corner a large sheaf tied up w ith straw- •band. This is a “didukh,” the sym bol of the clan. Like a tied sheaf Christmasi is supposed to gather together the whole family. The ears in the sheaf are supposed to picture those deceased, living and not yet born. Even now the custom of a s s e m bling all members of the fam ily at the Christmas table is maintained. A plate w ith “kutya” is being left at a window for the deceased members of the family. After the supper is over the godson or god daughter bring the dish to their sponsors. In a village a farmer .gives “kutya” even to cattle in the stable,. He also takes it to the woods so that the animals may, too, taste it. This i:s a ceremonial dish which is meant to bring on this day all living creatures to gether. During the Christmas supper the ihead of the family performs another function linked to “ku- tya.” He takes a spoonful of this dish and tosses it up to- the ceil ing while repeating appropriate words. This is certainly a survival of some ancient custom which has been handed down in its entirety. The people are telling fortunes after the number of seeds remain ing on the ceiling, saying that so many new' swarms of honeybees will come to- the bee garden, or something of similar kind. But even this custom became extinct since the tim e the U krainian far mers had started to whitewash their houses, inside and outside (in olden times log cabins were built which required no coat of clay or lime). The seed reappears at the New Year celebration. The boys visit ing the homes in a village are scattering the grain about the floor (this is not unlike the cus tom, in the western- countries, of throwing the rice over the newly weds). This relic of ancient times is to express a hope for fecundity. As the contact of man w ith the soil progressed, the quantity of customs increased. M uch of -it has been handed down to us in- Christ mas observance, like disguising, leading animals, caroling.. H ow ever, we do not mean to go into this problem here. And the basic Christmas ceremony has always been linked to seed — this ancient source of our food. Therefore the Ukrainian Christ mas possesses such a charm all its own. In roaring cities, amid con tinuous traffic, it takes us back to our old country, to peaceful tranquility of our agricultural past. And every year, while w el coming the new-born Christ, o-ur forefathers are remembered through observing those ancient customs iby all Ukrainians scat tered the world over. Dokia Humenna.
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