Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner, south Florida style
Moving to South Florida from the north was an adjustment, especially around the Christmas holidays. But I still manage to hold on to many traditions that I grew up with, like Christmas Eve dinner (Svyati Vechir). Ukrainian Orthodox follow the Julian calendar, which is 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, making Christmas fall on January 7. Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 different meatless dishes and is traditionally eaten when the first star appears in the sky on January 6. The dishes vary from region to region, but should always include a bread of some sort (ours is always a flat bread called "polanecha"), salt, honey, garlic and pyrohy (that's varenyky for East and Central Ukrainians). Ours included split pea soup, mushrooms, stewed prunes, sauerkraut, parsleyed potatoes, lima beans, and kutia (a mix of whole wheat berries, honey, poppyseed, and ground hazelnuts). My grandparents were from the border between Lemkivshchyna and Boykivshchyna (on the Polish/Ukrainian border). There should be a white tablecloth (couldn't find it) and hay under the table (couldn't find any).
Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner, south Florida style
Moving to South Florida from the north was an adjustment, especially around the Christmas holidays. But I still manage to hold on to many traditions that I grew up with, like Christmas Eve dinner (Svyati Vechir). Ukrainian Orthodox follow the Julian calendar, which is 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar, making Christmas fall on January 7. Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 different meatless dishes and is traditionally eaten when the first star appears in the sky on January 6. The dishes vary from region to region, but should always include a bread of some sort (ours is always a flat bread called "polanecha"), salt, honey, garlic and pyrohy (that's varenyky for East and Central Ukrainians). Ours included split pea soup, mushrooms, stewed prunes, sauerkraut, parsleyed potatoes, lima beans, and kutia (a mix of whole wheat berries, honey, poppyseed, and ground hazelnuts). My grandparents were from the border between Lemkivshchyna and Boykivshchyna (on the Polish/Ukrainian border). There should be a white tablecloth (couldn't find it) and hay under the table (couldn't find any).