Christmas is a bright and custom-rich holiday that adults and children look forward to every year. A beautiful decorated Christmas tree, lovely gifts, melodious Christmas carols, a delicious meal, a huge Didukh and mysterious fortune-telling are all elements of the celebration, without which it loses its charm. Every country in the world has its own traditions for Christmas. In Ukraine, they are also individual and authentic, but no less interesting than in any other corner of our vast planet.
Preparation for the holiday
It began during the autumn harvest. It was then that the festive Diduh was harvested - a sheaf of hay tied with a ribbon, which was decorated with various cereal crops: wheat, oats, rye. The most beautiful spikelets were chosen, the hay should have been soft and fragrant. Before the start of the holiday, before the New Year, they tried to complete all the most important household affairs: they prepared feed for livestock, whitewashed the house, whitewashed the ceilings, painted chimneys and stoves.
The traditions of Christmas celebrations in Ukraine have their own unique zest. For example, the head of the family bought new things for his wife and children, as well as new dishes. Women gathered in the evenings and with the help of wax collected in their own apiary, made beautiful wicker candles, which later on Christmas Eve decorated the table and the room. Special prayers and conspiracies whispered over them, so that they would gain miraculous power. Young boys and girls, in turn, learned carols, sewed ritual outfits and made a nativity scene.
Christmas Eve
On the morning of January 6, the whole family got up with the first roosters. The hostess took seven logs, which she put aside for seven weeks, and carefully stacked them in the oven. It was on them that it was necessary to cook the main holiday dishes - kutya and uzvar. According to tradition, at Christmas in Ukraine they were lit with a "living" flame, for this they used the flint or the old method: a spark was cut out with two bars of wood. Only in the 20th century did matches begin to be used, but in distant villages the custom of "live" fire has survived to this day.
The owner of the house with the first rays of the sun opened all the doors and windows in the house, even the gates of stables, cowsheds and barns. It was believed that the god of prosperity and harvest walked around the earth at that time and looked into those yards where he was welcomed warmly. They sprinkled cattle with poppy seeds in order to ward off evil spirits from it. Men before the festive fasting dinner brought Diduh into the hut, after sprinkling it with water collected from the first morning dawn. A prayer was sent over a sheaf, asking God for health and wealth this year.
Cooking dinner
It was a special ritual in which not only women but also their husbands and children took part. According to tradition, at Christmas in Ukraine (in English - Christmas Eve) the main dish was kutia. For its preparation, crushed and soaked wheat was taken, as well as water collected before sunrise. After the kutia was cooked, nuts, honey, poppy and raisins were added to it. As for the Uzvar, it was made from dried fruits harvested in the fall: pears, apples, plums.
Necessarily had to be present on the table and a whip - a pie with a filling. On top of it laid a small loaf intended for the souls of dead ancestors. Then the hostess baked fasting rolls, cooked cabbage rolls with mushrooms, dumplings with potatoes and other dishes in new dishes. In total, there should have been 12. All the festive dishes were laid out on a table covered with an elegant tablecloth, in the corners of which lay cloves of garlic - he guarded the family from various evil spirits, as well as from evil and the evil eye.
Diduh
After the table was set, the head of the family and his eldest son brought Diduh into the house. At the doorstep they were met by a mistress with a lighted candle in one hand and with a snare in the other. According to tradition, at Christmas in Ukraine, children installed Didukh on pokut covered with hay. After this, the baby ritually rolled around on the floor, so that animals in the household were not translated.
Diduh in ancient times was an analogue of a modern decorated Christmas tree. He is a symbol of Christmas, therefore he always occupied a place of honor at the head of the table. Traditions of the celebration of Christmas in Ukraine indicate that the Slavs who lived in this territory believed in the miraculous power of Didukh. They believed that after reaping the souls of deceased relatives dwell in him.
After the solemn movement of Didukh from the barn to the house, it was forbidden to do any homework. The girls even carried brooms and rags to the streets so as not to give in to temptation. For three days people had fun and relaxed. The only thing allowed to do was look after the cattle.
Lenten Dinner
When all the rituals and rituals were done, family members dressed in elegant clothes and eagerly awaited the appearance of the first star in the night sky - only then could you sit down at the table. The whole day before this, people fasted — they didn’t eat anything, they only drank water — therefore this was a particularly welcome moment.
What are the traditions for Christmas in Ukraine associated with the Holy Evening? First, according to custom, the head of the family was the first to sit at the table. Further in seniority are others: parents, wife, children. Before sitting, the people present blew on chairs, so as not to accidentally crush the spirits that could sit on them. Secondly, the owner must read a prayer, after which it was possible to have a meal. First they tried kutya, then all the other dishes in turn. All this time in the middle of the table stood a cane and a lighted candle stuck into it.
It was believed that if poor people come to the house for dinner, it’s fortunate. A good sign was tossing a kuti to the ceiling with a spoon: people believed that the ritual would bring a rich offspring to cattle, and, accordingly, prosperity.
After dinner
According to tradition, at Christmas in Ukraine, the Holy Evening ended with carols. At first, people sang them in the family circle, then drove into the house whole groups of mummers with nativity scenes who wished the owners prosperity, health and good luck, after which, with their blessing, they sang ritual songs about the birth of Christ. As a reward, they received sweet treats or sonorous penny.
No one went to bed after the Holy Supper. People tried to spend this time with their families. It wasn’t accepted to leave the house: only the children took the goodies from the table and took them to their grandfathers and grandmothers, as well as to their godparents. Candles were burning all night on the windowsills: they lit the way for the souls of the dead, who could look into the light. They also left kutya and other dishes on the festive table.
After midnight, the girls wondered at the narrowed one: on the coffee grounds, mirrors, boots and logs. It was believed that it was on this night that the curtain of the future could be opened as much as possible. It was impossible to quarrel, get angry and say bad words, because on this night they could hear evil spirits that wandered under the windows.
