Christmas In Ukraine
by Julia Iiyina and Svetlana Balinchenko
To say about Christmas, I must admit that in our country, especially in the East where I'm living, it's religious character is not very distinct. For us this holiday us not so great and full of customs & details as New Year, if to say about the presents and the measure of celebration. But we like this holiday as a day when everything is unusual because we have a beautiful weather as a rule. The covering of sparkling snow, which is of blue and rose shades somewhere, lies like a precious carpet and full of stars sky, not black but violet, seems to be made of think and fragile porcelain. I like Christmas Night not only for the beauty, which is beyond being described, but for the Christmas Tree. But as we celebrate it on the 7th of January, Ukraine Christmas Tree is a tree which was decorated for New Year Day (the 1st of January). There are several main customs and a great number of individual features, taking place in the concrete family. The first rule is that Christmas supper should be served with candles, small decorated branches of fir-tree. Usually we have twelve dishes on the table. This number symbolizes happiness and it may be meat for wealth, fish for health, nuts as a symbol of family and fertility, honey for sweetness in our difficult like and of course, every woman tried to do her best and she cooks something unusual and special for such an occasion. There is a custom to eat nothing before the first bright star in the sky, and after its appearing all the family can have supper. The sky is usually clear on this day and it is my father who likes to be the first to notice the first Christmas star. And you can imagine how disappointed we are when unfortunately the sky is cloudy. The supper begins with traditional dishes. They are “kutya” and “uzvar”. The former is a porridge of wheat with honey, sweets, raisins, the latter is a special kinda of stews and fruit, made of dried apples, pears, plums. As a rule, children visit close relatives and treat them to these dishes. On such an occasion we become a little bit superstitious and there is a custom that first person to visit the family should be a man or boy, woman's coming is considered to be a bad sign. Sometimes people pretend not to hear somebody's knocking the door in the fear of misfortune. And as I'm girl, it's rather unpleasant for me to be and unfavorable sign. Young girls like this night as a chance to know their future. I want to describe you the most popular and interesting method of it. This method gives a splendid opportunity to learn, rich or poor your future bridegroom will be. Girls take a large pot filled with buckwheat and put different rings there. Before this they decide what every ring would mean. The most precious means a rich well to do person, the plainset one stands for a student etc. Then every girl close her eyes and take some buckwheat in which then may be a ring of concrete meaning. Another tradition is to gather together and all the family had a beautiful opportunity to communicate and rest in the warm atmosphere of comfort and cosiness. So, everybody likes Christmas in spite of his age, nationality, religion and turn of mind. |
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