Ukrainian Christmas Eve is not only very rich in traditional foods prepared freshly that day (today in our busy lifestyle most of us prepare many food items ahead of time), and shared by the family during the Christmas Eve 12-course meatless dinner, but also myriad traditions are practiced before and after the meal.
Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras – in French), which always falls before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of the Great Lent for Christians), so by tradition, everyone loves to eat, drink, and be merry, on Fat Tuesday.
Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. Everyone is rushing around to get shopping done, attend parties, put final touches on holiday decorations, and plan holiday meals.
The Ukrainians have many rich traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of them have been modernized to accommodate everyone’s busy lifestyle, but others are still kept original, and passed on from generation to generation.