Ukrainian Christmas traditions, from a friend

judsoncarroll4

My friend is Russian Orthodox. The country is basically half Catholic and half Orthodox. The national holiday is the Catholic Christmas...so she celebrates two Christmases! I'm sure she won't mind me sharing her traditions:

"Yes we do have some national traditions and family traditions for the Christmas days. 

On the 6th of January all the family is usually gathered around the table.

Ukrainians have a 12-dishes tradition, we cook 12 lenten dishes (for a each Apostle) for the Christmas Eve and 12 dishes for the Christmas dinner that include dishes from fish, pork, beef, turkey or chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, etc.

On the Christmas Eve, when the family finished the repast, we do not remove food from the table. We serve it again and leave food on the table until the morning or at least until late late evening. And you can always come back and eat again what you want. And if someone comes unexpected, he or she will be welcomed and asked to share dinner with the family. Men usually stay to talk and have some drinks and go to bed at late night, so the table is always served for them too. We sing songs, lough, drink and eat a lot. 

And, it is some kind of respect for ancestors, we believe that our dead ancestors visit the family on the Christmas eve to bless us and share the meal with us, their offspring. They stay with the family until the morning. So, that is why the table is supposed to be served." 

She also sent me a pic of last year's gingerbread house.... AWESOME! Of course, she speaks 7 languages, is a great artist (painter) has a masters degree in engineering and metallurgy, and is the daughter of a renowned classical musician. So, I'm always in awe of her!