12/20/2023
1️⃣2️⃣12 dishes for 💫🎄Christmas Eve
🫕Kutya
It is porridge from whole wheat grains with poppy seeds, honey and nuts. The grain in the corner symbolizes abundance and eternal life, resurrected life, and honey is a symbol of purity and God’s word. The poppy symbolizes martyrdom, innocent blood shed. Sometimes barley, millet and even rice are used for kuti. Dried fruits and sugar are also added to the porridge. Kutya is left for the whole night after dinner on the table for the souls of the dead, as it symbolizes union with God and the world of the dead.
🍲Lean borscht
Sometimes cabbage is prepared instead of borscht for Christmas. The traditional Christmas first course symbolizes the blood of children shed by King Herod. Mushroom soup is often served on Christmas Eve.
🥬Lean cabbage rolls
In different regions of Ukraine, cabbage rolls are filled with different fillings: rice with vegetables, rice with carrots and onions, buckwheat with vegetables, buckwheat with mushrooms, a mixture of buckwheat and grated potatoes. The name “doves” indicates a symbol - a dove that carries God’s love, symbolizes the Holy Spirit, beauty and power received from God the Creator. And most importantly, it symbolizes peace.
🍞Bread
Often on the table at Christmas they put home-made firewood, with garlic and peas. Peas symbolize wealth, and garlic drives away evil spirits. The bread itself symbolizes death and resurrection: the grain is thrown into the ground, it “dies”, but bears fruit, thereby “resurrecting”.
🥔Garnish
Usually stewed potatoes with onions and carrots are used as a side dish.
🥬Pickles
Mushrooms, sauerkraut, cucumbers, tomatoes.
🥒Sweet salads
It can be vegetable salads, salads with sauerkraut or vinaigrette.
🍄Mushrooms
Stewed, baked in the oven or in the form of mushroom gravy as a side dish, in cabbage rolls or dumplings. You can also use pickled mushrooms.
Fish
You can serve fish to the Lenten table, so it must be on the festive table - stuffed, marinated, smoked, marinated, baked, in the form of a salad or canned. The sign of the fish was the first monogram of Jesus Christ. Also, the first disciples of Jesus Christ were fishermen. All believers, disciples and Jesus Christ himself were likened to a fish, because they are safe in water, namely in the "water of teaching".
Dumplings
The filling can be cabbage, peas, potatoes or greens, as well as sweet fillings. The candy canes symbolize the saints in heaven who received eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ. A symbol of the holiday, joy, abundance and happiness that God gives.
Vareniks
They can be with potatoes, cabbage and even peas. On Christmas Eve, they are served with the simplest roasting. This dish symbolizes abundance and satiety. The Lord has appointed a person's place in the Kingdom of God, where he will live well "like a dumpling in butter."
Stewed fruit
Dried fruit compote to which honey or sugar is added. It is boiled in advance, left to infuse for 5-6 hours and served cold. Uzvar symbolizes birth, new life, namely the birth of Jesus Christ, and water is a symbol of cleansing the soul and body. From time immemorial, uzvar symbolized a good life, as dry and fresh fruits used in the preparation of uzvar meant fertility, and honey - a sweet life.
