A number of churches in eastern Europe don't celebrate Christmas until two weeks after the English celebration, so today, 6th January, is Christmas Eve in those places. Katharine's dad is from the Ukraine, so we have embraced the idea of a second Christmas. Christmas Eve is traditionally when families and friends share a meal which consists of numerous courses.
This year we had the meal a few days early so some of Lucy's friends could share it with us, and here they are. We are pleased to be able to share our meal with you!
In the Catholic Church, the 6th of January is a big feast too, we celebrate the Epiphany... the day the Wise Kings from the East who came to visit the baby Jesus. :)
Lovely capture, hope you all enjoyed the time together! :)
Oh wow, did you have numerous courses? What foods are traditionally eaten at the meal? Sorry for the questions but this is wonderful. Lovely shot to remember the occasion.
Thank you all for your nice comments, and for joining us at our Ukrainian Christmas meal.
Traditionally there were twelve courses and the meal would have lasted several hours. We do a reduced number of courses - and it's a challenge to finish the ones that we do. To manage all twelve I would need to stop eating around mid December to create the space for all the food. Courses include things like Borsch (beetroot soup), vereniki (mash potato wrapped in a dough mix) and holopchi (rice wrapped in cabbage leaves before cooking). Other things can be added into the recipes, but the tradition is to keep the food simple at Christmas.
I'm glad you could share our second Christmas with us. If you have any more questions about these Christmas traditions, I'm sure Katharine or I will be able to answer them for you.
Lovely capture, hope you all enjoyed the time together! :)
Thank you all for your nice comments, and for joining us at our Ukrainian Christmas meal.
Traditionally there were twelve courses and the meal would have lasted several hours. We do a reduced number of courses - and it's a challenge to finish the ones that we do. To manage all twelve I would need to stop eating around mid December to create the space for all the food. Courses include things like Borsch (beetroot soup), vereniki (mash potato wrapped in a dough mix) and holopchi (rice wrapped in cabbage leaves before cooking). Other things can be added into the recipes, but the tradition is to keep the food simple at Christmas.
I'm glad you could share our second Christmas with us. If you have any more questions about these Christmas traditions, I'm sure Katharine or I will be able to answer them for you.
Ian