On Christmas eve as the first star appears, the table is set and the mother places a [kolach] the braided bread with a lit candle on the table. The father brings in the [didukh] a sheaf of wheat and places it near the table on a stool in the corner. It signifies the presence of the deceased members of your family. A lit candle is also placed in the window to welcome any strangers or homeless. The table is set with twelve dishes of food to represent the twelve apostles. A bowl of [kutia] — that is wheat and poppy seed mixed with honey is the main dish and one only reserved for Christmas. Christmas eve is a day of fast with no dairy products or meat being served. The onions are fried with vegetable oil that is used on the perogies, cabbage rolls and fish. A honey sauce is made for the poppy perogies and the fruit ones. A fruit compote made of a variety of dried fruits is a favorite. Fish and mushrooms are a delight. A big bowl of borshch differed with each household according to the region the family came from. It could be of beets, sour cabbage, vegetable or sweet cabbage. My grandmother always made a mushroom borshch. She cooked dried beans and mushrooms then added fried onions. I still make it every Christmas, it is our delicacy. Before supper the family says a prayer and sings a carol ‘boh predvichny’ which means ‘GOD ETERNAL’. Then, after supper the father mixes some candy and nuts in the hay under the table to keep the children busy and happy for the rest of the evening, while the adults caroled, then went to church for midnight mass. Author: Sonja Pawliw Note: The City of Yorkton Archives is always seeking photos of the celebrations of the early pioneers of this region. In the absence of original photos, we asked Sonja Pawliw to do an illustration of the Ukrainian Catholic Christmas festivities. This edition of History Corner originally ran in the Jan. 6, 2010 edition of Yorkton This Week.
