Christmas menu.

Christmas menu.

Christmas menu in Russia had a ritual character. A great variety of mea meals, like roast goose, roast piglet, home-made sausage, galantines were prepared.

In Russia and Belarus meat meals, mainly pork was a must on the New Year's table. The phenomenon of "kolyada" originally meant products made of pork that were prepared for Christmas and New Year's. Every family had to lay in the pork that was later cooked all along "myasoed" - the period until the start of Lent.

The Christmas Eve was called "shchedryj vecher" ("large-handed evening") in Russia or Svyatyvecher ("holly evening) in Ukraine. The name originated from shchedraya kut'ya(a kind of porridge prepared from soaked whole berries of wheat, usually with raisins and seasoned with honey and). This was the main meal to break the fast and the first course served at the Christmas Eve dinner .

Kut'ya is a ceremonial meal of east Slavic peoples (Ukrainian - kutya, Belarus - kuts'tsya), prepared for Christmas. New Year, Holy Theophany and funeral feasts as a dish of remembrance. It symbolized the continuity of life, fertility good ties between the generations of the family and promised welfare and abundance for the family.

The Christmas menu traditionally consisted of 12 meals to glorify 12apostles: kut'ya (or sochivo), studen' (jellied meat), bourride, home-made sausage, ham, ham roasted in dough, cold boiled pork, lamb rack with cereals, roast piglet, stuffed roast piglet, roast goose with apples, duck with sauerkraut, bliny, buckwheat bliny, rye bliny, home-made bread, Russian gingerbread, Tulskij gingerbread, Russian tea.

The warming Christmas drink was sbiten', ia hot winter Russian traditional drink prepared from honey mixed with water, spices, and jam. Adults drank it alcoholic - with read wine, beer vodka or brandy substrituting water.

The Christams table was ususally the center of each home and was not cleared for 12 days till Bogoyavlenie (Holy Theophany) just in case guests or carol singers drop in.

A bunch of straw was out under the table cloth as a symbol of Christ's birth on the straw in cowshed in Vifliem.

In Ukraine and Belarus there was a tradition of "babina kasha" (literally granny's porridge). Children visited grannies and treated them with kutya, 2-3 pies or kalach (small white loaf). In their turn "baba" treated then with different sweets, booblik or gingerbread, made presents or gave money as a gift.

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Wash the cracked wheat berries (kernels) in cold water and soak overnight. The next day, bring 6 to 8 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt and simmer the wheat for 3 to 4 hours, until the kernels burst and the liquid has thickened. Meanwhile, scald the poppy seed and drain it, add honey, put this mass to the wheat mixture and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more. Add chopped walnuts in the end. Raisins and other dried fruit can be added to taste. Serve cold.

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