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Christmas Dishes T he custom s and trad itio n s of th e U krainian people have th e ir beginning in th e p re-C h ristian ag ricu ltu ral era w hen our ances to rs w orshipped th e Sun as god of th e h arv est and b ro u g h t him sacrifices of g rain and th e fu its of th e fields. E lem ents of th ese ancient p a g an beliefs are retain ed to th is day in th e Holy N ig h t Supper (S viata V echera). Like th e old fam ily g ath erin g s w hen sacri fices w ere m ade on th e hom e fires, to d ay ’s fam ilies g a th e r a t th e trad itio n al Supper table to p arta k e of th e fru its of th e fields, gardens and orchards. It is believed th a t th e sp irits of th e ancestors join th e fam ily a t th e table. The Supper-sacrifice is be gun w ith th e ritu a l dish -— ku- ty a, and is concluded w ith a com pote of dried fru its — uzvar. C hristian beliefs have added a new m eaning to th e Holy N ig h t Supper. It is begun w ith a p ra y er and ends w ith th e singing of carols in honor of th e C h rist Child’s b irth . B ut its basic ele m ents — th e trad itio n al dishes and th e ritu a l custom s — have rem ained unchanged. L et us tak e a closer look a t them . K u ty a has been caled “ God’s food.” It is m ade of cooked grain (w heat, m illet, or b arley ). The dish has an honor place on th e table, to g eth er w ith th e uzvar, cooked ground poppy seeds and honey. A t th e beginning of th e m eal th e head of th e household offers th e dish to each m em ber of th e fam ily and greets them in th e nam e of th e C h rist Child. B aked bread also occupies a place of honor a t th e Supper ta ble. It w as m ade in various shapes in th e d ifferen t p a rts of U kraine. Like k u ty a, th e bread served as a sym bol of th e fa m ily’s offerin g to th e god of th e h arv est, and in C hristian tim es it cam e to sym bolize th e C hrist Child. T he bread rem ained on th e table th ro u g h o u t th e th re e days of th e C hristm as holy days. One of th e oldest U krainian dishes is varenyki. T hese ta s ty dough dum plings m ay be filled with cabbage, buckw heat, prunes, jam s or poppy seeds. A l th o ug h potato-filled varenyki have become increasingly popu la r th ey w ere rarely m ade fo r C hristm as E ve suppers because th e p otato as a food w as u n known to our ancestors and was th erefo re not included in th e ritu a l dishes. The sam e m ay be said of hol- u btsi (cabbage ro lls). The popu lar rice and m ushroom filling is a fairly recent innovation be cause rice w as no t grow n in U kraine and had to be im ported. O riginally, holubtsi w ere m ade of pickled cabbage leaves filled w ith buckw heat, m illet or barley flavored w ith onions and m ush room s. Sim ilarly, borsch w as no t e a t en on C hristm as E ve in all re gions of U kraine. Cabbage and m ushroom soups w ere ju s t as popular, depending on w h at veg etable w as m ore abun dan t in th e region. However, borsch m ade w ith m eat bones was alw ays served on th e firs t day of C h rist m as. Because C hristm as Eve falls on th e last day of Advent, fish is th e m ain dish of th e Holy N ig h t Supper. W h ether it w as one of th e original ritu al dishes in th e pre-C hristian era is unknow n. H ow ever it h as been included in C hristm as Eve supper m enus fo r m any centuries, and is prepared in a v ariety of w ays -— aspic, baked, fried, or sim m ered w ith beans. D airy foods are forbidden on C hristm as Eve, so oil w as used in place of b u tter. The m ost widely used oil w as m ade from hem p seed. M any vegetable dishes w ere N A N E B I ZIRKA T ran slated from U k rain ian b y T etian a S h evch uk Lum inous lig h t is shining from heaven B espeaking Love D ivine fo r Men, S ta r of Salvation has now arisen : C h rist Child is born in B ethlehem , To join th e e a rth and heaven above — R e fr a in : P raise God, P raise God, fo r D ivine Love! Bless us, L ord Jesus, w ith g ift eternal, P o ur down your p erfect love anew, A nd all th e pow er of S atan ’s evil W on’t sep arate our h e a rts from you! Bless us th is day fro m heaven above — R e fr a in : P raise God, P raise God, fo r D ivine Love! 24 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ГРУДЕНЬ, 1968 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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